Car Tax Timing

[milly143]

I have two questions....

It occured to me ten minutes ago that my car tax runs out tonight so as the post office will be closed I have renewed it online. Obviously the car is now taxed but would I get into any trouble for not displaying a current tax disc in the window for the next few days?

Secondly, December is not a great month to be forking out £100 quid on tax. Come June, I never seem to be able to afford the £200 to tax it for 12 months, which would avoid me having to renew it in December. Could I tax it early, say in November without losing out on anything?

[cazzz1975]

dunno about the second question, but I renew online and I have never had a problem, as long as its on the database as paid for I dont think you would have a problem.

[wendilla]

You would still have to tax your car in June for 6 months. Why lose a months tax by taxing it in November. Tax is dear enough as it is without giving the goverment more that they should if I have read the second part of your question right.

[hammerman]

Aren't you given 5 days "grace" if you buy it online . Pretty certain that if you were stopped, the police could quickly contact the DVLA and prove you've paid etc.

[razza]

Technically speaking yes you can get done for not displaying a current tax disc,but in circumstances like yours I dont think you would.

[boxtops]

I understood from a question a few weeks back that there are no grace days applying to car tax! We usually pay for ours a couple of weeks ahead of expiry, that way you don't lose out on the term.
I know it's hard but couldn't you save £20 a month between now and June, milly, so you'd have the extra to pay the £200 in June?
We've tried to space ours so the insurance comes in one half of the year and the tax in the other, but my MOT comes at the same time as my insurance, and we have to pay for residents' car parking in our street too - triple whammy!

[razza]

That is exactly correct boxtops a lot of people are under a misapprehension about grace days,there are no grace days under any circumstances.

[Hopkirk]

.. with one exception.

You are allowed 5 days to allow it to be delivered if it was bought on line.
It is not 5 days grace, because you have to have tax, but you are allowed 5 days non display.

[Hopkirk]

http://www.taxdisc.di...+Questions#QUESTION_9

Click on the relevant question

[ummmm]

Make sure you print off the receipt and keep it in your car until it's delivered.

[Andyvon]

My car tax runs out at the end of April but I always renew it in person at the PO about three weeks beforehand. I think that's the earliest you can do it. It might be easier to renew on-line but going to the PO once a year in early to mid-December is no hardship. Having the disc ready at home would obviously avoid this problem at the time the disc runs out.

I think 'Failure to display' is a seperate offence, regardless of whether you have tax or not. Your car might be taxed but if you choose to leave the disc at home rather than display it in the car that is an offence. You must always display a valid disc in the windscreen.

[Hopkirk]

No Andyvon. Read my link. You do not always have to display the disc.

You can drive with the out of date disc for 5 days if you have retaxed on line and arewaiting for it to be delivered.

[boxtops]

Andyvon, from my point of view it's so much easier to renew on-line - you don't have dig out your insurance certificate, MOT and log book, all you need is your reminder document (or if they don't send it, just the log book) - all the checks for your vehicle happen on-line during the application process. Takes five minutes, no queuing, no refiling of documents afterwards.

[Andyvon]

OK. Thanks Hopkirk, I've never taxed on-line so I didn't know that.

[Andyvon]

Boxtops - I take the point. I'm one of those conservative people who's always about 5 years behind most others but once I've discovered the New Order there's no stopping me! I was the same with computers, then the Internet, then on-line shopping etc. Once I've discovered what everyone else was raving about I end up wondering why on Earth I didn't join them earlier! I'm sure I'll buy my tax on-line one day - then I'll wonder why I ever queued up at the Post Office!

[boxtops]

LOL andyvon - I know what you mean, it took me about 5 years to take up on-line banking - now I can't understand why I took so long! ;-)

[Andyvon]

Well......that's something I still haven't ventured into. I'm still too scared of someone like the Russian Mafia emptying my paltry account!

[chrissa1]

Taxing your car on-line is So worth it Andyvon and I would say that it takes less than 5 minutes to do especially if you know your card details by heart. Easy Peasy.

[Andyvon]

Thanks Chrissa! I think I'll give it a go in April.

Thanks to Milly as well for the thread then!

[R1Geezer]

Hopkirk is correct but in reality they can tell if you are taxed/insured/MOT'd from your number plate so unless you get jobsworth copper of he week it'll be no problem.

If you can try and buy a year at a time if you get 6 months ou pay a huge penalty percentage wise. I always have my mot/insurance around 6 months apart so I don;t have to rush around like the proverbial blue ar5e fly when the tax becomes due.

[Hopkirk]

I'm with you on the on line banking Andyvon. There's too many clever crims out there.