Car tax due.....can i be a week late

ysoskint

My car tax is due at the begining of Feb. I forgot that I have a very large payment coming out on 1st Feb. This means I can't afford my car tax that week. Can you be a couple of weeks late renewing your car tax or will I be fined?

Thanks & I will start to buy car tax stamps if they sell them!!

tomstickland

Rules say you will be fined. However, I went three weeks whilst I waited for my V5 and no fines happened. Don't chance it though.

trigger_mike

No, if you get caught the police will not take your excuse for an answer, i would'nt risk it, not for the risk of a £1000 fine.

rockape_2

you have 14 days to get new tax once it has expired, i had the same problem this month, but a quick call to the dvla put me straight!!! hope this helps

tiger

1-2 weeks is ok ithink

trigger_mike

I still wouldn't recommened doing it though, as read on the DVLA's website:
What happens if you do not re-license your vehicle?
The new rules mean that keepers who fail to re-license their vehicle (or declare SORN) will incur an automatic penalty of £80 (reduced to £40 if paid within 28 days). Those who ignore the penalty could receive a County Court Judgement against them, could be stopped by the police, and/or have their vehicles clamped. Determined offenders will be faced with prosecution and could be fined a minimum £1000.

Bunnyhop

I was a week late with mine last time, someone spotted my car parked on the road and I got a fine (it wasn't a £1000, think it was around £50) I always thought you got 14 days "grace" but apparently you don't and even if you've bought a tax disc in the mean time they don't let you off the fine!

Paul_Varjak

If you are going to be late paying you will have to sign and send the SORN to the DVLA AND keep your car off the highway! You have to do both of these things - not just one of them!

Debt_Free_Chick

rockape wrote:

you have 14 days to get new tax once it has expired, i had the same problem this month, but a quick call to the dvla put me straight!!! hope this helps

That's actually not true, even if DVLA told you. Continuous Registration was introduced in January 2004. At all times, a car must either display a current, valid tax disc or be covered by the SORN.

If your car is on the highway without a current valid tax disc, you can be fined and DVLA run monthly checks to identify those vehicles that have no current tax disc. There's a penalty of £80 for failure to renew a tax disc and a fine of £1,000 for driving a car without a tax disc.

You are unlikely to get the £80 penalty if the new disc starts on the day after the old one expired, but you can still get caught (e.g. by the Police) for having an untaxed car on the highway.

Perhaps DVLA were explaining that they wouldn't send you the penalty notice, if you renewed within 14 days? If so, fair enough .... but you still run the risk of getting caught without a valid tax disc.

The new rules are here - have a look at "Tax Disc" on page 2.

Debt_Free_Chick

ysoskint wrote:

My car tax is due at the begining of Feb. I forgot that I have a very large payment coming out on 1st Feb. This means I can't afford my car tax that week. Can you be a couple of weeks late renewing your car tax or will I be fined?

Thanks & I will start to buy car tax stamps if they sell them!!

Car tax stamps are no longer available, but you can buy Post Office Stamps instead. These can be used for all sorts of Post Office products, including car tax.

darktrader

Car tax due.....can i be a week late?

NO