road tax
Somebody famous said "There are 2 things in life that are certain — death and taxes". If you own a car in the UK you'll have to pay road tax unless your car is exempt. It is a political issue with the tax being increased significantly to persuade drivers to chose lower emissions vehicles.
Road Tax — or Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) — is a government tax on car ownership, it may not be 'fair' but that's life. The government have been collecting Road Tax in one form or another for most of the life of the motor car but funnily enough only a small proportion of it actually gets spent on roads. It is administered by the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) in Swansea.
You can pay for your Road Tax on-line (which is dead easy), at a post office (usually only big ones do it) or via the telephone (0870 850 4444). You receive a tax disc that you must display in the bottom nearside corner of your windscreen. Failure to display a valid tax disc , or worse not to have your car taxed, is likely to get you fined and points on your licence.
You have to pay Road Tax on each car you own every year — the only cars that don't pay Road Tax are those that are 'off the road' and not being used, a 'classic' car registered before 1973, or a low emissions vehicle in VED tax band A, like a Toyota Prius or a VW Polo Bluemotion, but you still have to have your car registered . To officially register your car as 'off the road' you have to use the DVLA's Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) process.
You only have the choice of buying 6 months- or 12 months - road tax. There is no such thing as 'pay as you go' road tax yet. If you are unfortunate enough to write your car off or something breaks that's not worth repairing, you can 'cash-in' a tax disc with time left on it at a post office or via the DVLA but you get less than the proportion of time left on it.
If your car was registered before 1st March 2001 then car tax is based on the size of the engine — up to and including 1549cc is £125 and 1550cc and over is £190. This will increase in years to come but it is not currently linked to the cars emissions.
The cost of Road Tax for cars registered after 1st March 2001 is now based on the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of individual models and is ridiculously complicated. It will range between nothing for the most economical models and £435 for the least, although most 1st cars will fall in the range of £20 — 180. You can work out the cost of your road tax with the DVLA's road tax calculator or the one at Parkers and good luck!
The tax is being increased in each of the next few years but with the increasing being greater for the higher emissions vehicles that are not the best 1st cars. It's an increasingly important part part of your cars overall running costs.
If you are disabled you should be able to claim exemption from road tax The vehicle must be registered in your name or registered in the name of someone you nominate to drive for and it must must only be used for your purposes, not theirs or anybody else's. More information on disabled car tax exemptions on the DirectGov website.
Many used car dealers will do this with cars on their forecourt, as it adds up if you've got several cars so be prepared and know what you are buying — has it got tax or not? Don't get caught out and perhaps use this to get the price down a bit.
If you get caught with valid road tax or without the tax disc being correctly displayed the authorities have the power to fine you, tow your car away and even crush your car!
