By law, you must tax your vehicle if you’re using it or keeping it on a public road. If you’re keeping the vehicle off the road, you must either tax it or register it as off the road by making a ‘Statutory Off Road Notification’ (SORN).
If you do not tax your vehicle, you could find your vehicle clamped or impounded. You could also face financial penalties or court action. So, remember to tax your vehicle on time - it’s never been easier!
In this blog, we tackle several of the biggest myths about vehicle tax.
Wrong! You can set up a Direct Debit when you tax your vehicle online (your vehicle must be insured and have a valid MOT in place if it needs one). By setting up a Direct Debit, you can spread the cost by paying your vehicle tax annually, 6 monthly or monthly - whatever works best for you!
Your Direct Debit will renew automatically when your vehicle tax is due to run out (providing you’re shown as the registered keeper and the vehicle has a valid MOT and insurance). So, there’s no need to worry! Find out more about setting up a Direct Debit for vehicle tax.
If you’re the new keeper, you can use the green ‘new keeper’ slip from the log book to tax your vehicle straight away.
In fact, you must still tax your vehicle even if you do not need to pay anything.
Some types of vehicles are ‘exempt’ from vehicle tax, which means you do not need to pay, but you still need to tax the vehicle. The quickest way to do this is using our online service.
If you’re unsure if your vehicle is exempt from vehicle tax, read our guidance on GOV.UK. To tax your vehicle as exempt for the first time, for example as disabled, you need to change your vehicle’s tax class.
Wrong. If you’ve pre-arranged an MOT test you can drive a SORN vehicle to its appointment.
If you haven’t received your V11 vehicle tax reminder, you can use your V5C registration certificate (log book) instead. Your V5C will have a reference number which you can use to tax your vehicle.
If you’ve changed address, let us know by updating the address on your V5C. If your vehicle needs taxing in the next 4 weeks, you’ll need to tax your vehicle using your current V5C before changing your address.
Use GOV.UK to check if your vehicle is taxed. If you need to tax your vehicle, you can do so quickly and securely online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on GOV.UK.
Simply visit www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax and read the information on the page. Check you have everything you need and click ‘Start now’. Answer the questions on each page and complete the required information to tax your vehicle - sorted. So, tax it, don’t risk it!
It would be useful for readers to know if they have to pay extra to spread the cost using direct debit or if the toal comes to the same annual amount.
For monthly or 6 monthly direct debits there is a 5% surcharge, on annual renewals there is no surcharge
Comment by John Taylor posted on 29 March 2023Although I am already familiar with all this information, it is a good idea to alert those that are not.
Well done!
Why does it take 3-5 working days for the (user) system to show taxed/SORN; technically after taxing your vehicle you could be stopped as system showing 'untaxed/SORN' until system has been updated, surely the technology should be more instantaneous if paying by credit/debit card?
This also causes delays if wanting to change the VRM; needs to be taxed/SORN with new keeper supplement then the arduous task of waiting upto 5 days for system to update, then change the VRM online approx. 30 seconds for a further wait of upto 5 days for DVLA to send new V5C then you can tax it. internal systems may operate independently to what end user use but hey. its 2023 and we are in a digital era!
Hello Steve, thanks for commenting on our blog. In most cases our http://www.gov.uk/check-vehicle-tax service is updated within 48 hours excluding weekends and bank holidays. But it can take up to 5 working days in some instances because of the way the data is processed for example if the status of a vehicle has been changed our updated.
Comment by David Robert Gibson posted on 29 March 2023Please end VED, it is unfair and inequitable. Replace it with a portion of fuel tax, which inevitably will be proportionate to use of the public highway.
i agree ved is unfair on older more than 1.4 l family cars which may do lower miles than smaller car. petrol tax is fairer and custom elecrticity tax on EV chargers
Comment by Buscarello posted on 30 March 2023Problem with removing VED it would result in hundreds of vehicles left parked abandoned in the street.
