Reclaim overpaid car tax?

Rowley1

Cars aged 40 years and over are now exempt from road tax or Vehicle Excise Duty (VED). My own car became eligible for VED exemption from 1/4/2017.

Unfortunately I was not aware of this at the time and when the usual annual V11 reminder came from the DVLA in 2017 this did not mention it either, so I paid the full amount as usual.

When I discovered the change in the law the following year, I contacted the DVLA and asked for a refund. They refused saying they only refund full remaining months once they have been notified that the tax class has changed, and that no backdated refund is due.

The only proof I have that my car is over 40 years old is the paperwork the DVLA provides me with, so why do I need to notify them? They know how old my car is.

I have had no luck in my dealings with the DVLA who are effectively saying "tough luck". Other forms of tax are refundable if you overpay/pay in error. Why should car tax be different?
Any constructive suggestions would be welcome.

foxy-stoat

If you have already tried to reclaim paid tax years and the DVLA have said no then I am not sure what else you can do.

In order to get the free VED you need to apply for it with the DVLA, it is not an automatic thing.

twhitehousescat

is your v5 marked as historic in taxation class , if not you will need to send v5 off to have it changed

if it is marked as historic , I am surprised the system allowed you to pay , as all my historic motorcycles come up as £0.00

Rowley1

At the time it was not registered as Historic. Once I realised that the tax regime had changed I registered it and it is now tax exempt. It is the previous year that I am trying to claim back, when I didn't realise that things had changed - even though the DVLA did!
If you overpay Income Tax you can reclaim it and backdate it for several years. Why should car tax be different? Especially when they sent me a demand for the money in the V11 document, which did not mention Historic status and also wrongly stated that the vehicle needs an MoT certificate.

Takmon

Rowley1 wrote: »

At the time it was not registered as Historic. Once I realised that the tax regime had changed I registered it and it is now tax exempt. It is the previous year that I am trying to claim back, when I didn't realise that things had changed - even though the DVLA did!
If you overpay Income Tax you can reclaim it and backdate it for several years. Why should car tax be different? Especially when they sent me a demand for the money in the V11 document, which did not mention Historic status and also wrongly stated that the vehicle needs an MoT certificate.

I've just looked online and it's pretty clear that you need to keep paying tax until you apply for a vehicle tax exemption. So up until this point it is required, the same applies for the MOT and still requires a certificate until you apply for it to stop. But you don't have to do this.

Nowhere do the DVLA state this is an automatic process.

Aylesbury_Duck

Rowley1 wrote: »

At the time it was not registered as Historic. Once I realised that the tax regime had changed I registered it and it is now tax exempt. It is the previous year that I am trying to claim back, when I didn't realise that things had changed - even though the DVLA did!
If you overpay Income Tax you can reclaim it and backdate it for several years. Why should car tax be different? Especially when they sent me a demand for the money in the V11 document, which did not mention Historic status and also wrongly stated that the vehicle needs an MoT certificate.

It shouldn't be but it is and as I understand it, there is no way to reclaim it. I have a friend who has a car which he uses in his wheelchair and which his carer drives. He discovered that he need not have paid tax for years but there was nothing he could do to claim it back.

foxy-stoat

Car is only tax exempt when it was registered at Historic, and the only way to change the class was to register it.

Nothing to do with overpaying Income Tax.