We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

earliest you can tax a car so don't lose a month???

Hi All,
Just bought a car, now need to tax it, at the moment my friend who bought it for me has it at his lock up, so off road, I don't want to tax it and lose a months tax (we are on a budget here!!!!) so does anyone know the earliest I can tax it and not lose out? :confused: or will I have to wait till next Tuesday???? :eek:

thanks all
:beer:

Comments

  • Rikki
    Rikki Posts: 21,625 Forumite
    If it currently has no tax it will be the first of the month (Wednesday 1st October) I'm afraid.
    £2 Coins Savings Club 2012 is £4 :).............................NCFC member No: 00005.........

    ......................................................................TCNC member No: 00008
    NPFM 21
  • Conor_3
    Conor_3 Posts: 6,944 Forumite
    You can buy a tax disc to start on October 1st from today. HOWEVER you cannot drive it on the road as the tax disc isn't valid until October 1st and if you were caught driving it before then, you would have the car seized and be liable for a fine. The only way you could drive it now would be to tax it from 1st September thus losing 3 weeks.
  • Wig
    Wig Posts: 14,139 Forumite
    What you should do is

    1. SORN it today online

    2. Obtain nsurance from the 1st Oct and get certificate

    3. Tax it to be valid from the 1st Oct on or after the 25th September but the post office probably don't know there is a restriction of 5 days prior only (where there has been a break in Tax) and they would probably allow it to be paid for from 15 days prior. But they shouldn't really.
  • redux
    redux Posts: 22,976 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    It's worth checking the official website

    The paying early is only available for a car already taxed, and apparently it's now from the 5th.

    I think that in the past I was told that in those circumstances ( I bought from a dealer), the disc could only be bought one day beforehand. Now it appears to be two days:
    If your vehicle has been untaxed, because you’ve just bought it, the tax disc has run out or a SORN is in force, you can tax from the first day of the month in which you apply.

    If you want the tax disc to start on the first day of the next calendar month, you cannot tax your vehicle more than two days in advance.

    http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVehicle/HowToTaxYourVehicle/DG_069680

    I'd get an insurance certificate organised, borrow the MOT, and arrange to officially change the ownership on the last day of this month. Take the transfer part of the registration document to the Post Office, and let them send it off to Swansea.
  • I don't know what kind of car it is but I'll take a stab at the tax working out at about £15 a month. If you tax it now you'll lose out on the equivalent of 23 days tax....£11.50.

    BUT....if you have already insured it (it's unclear if you have or not), then you should consider that you are, relatively speaking, losing money whilst the car is off the road. If your insurance worked out at £1.50 a day then the days up to the end of the month with the car not in use could easily add up to more than the £11.50 you are saving.

    ALSO...the car started depreciating the moment that you bought it (£1 a day?...£2 a day?.....£4 a day?...more?). So if you bought the car for the purpose of using it then I would say that you should tax it now and start receiving the benefits of having a car straight away.

    Good luck whatever you decide.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 346.1K Banking & Borrowing
  • 251.2K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 451.1K Spending & Discounts
  • 238.2K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 613.3K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 174.5K Life & Family
  • 251.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.