Vehicle Tax Question (avoiding double payment)

Crabman

When a vehicle is bought/sold, DVLA gets two months of tax, by only refunding a full month of tax and forcing the new keeper to tax it immediately.

What ways are there to get around this?

I thought about declaring a SORN on the final day of the month, but DVLA's system says there can be no online transactions for 5 days following a SORN declaration. Although it's not clear if this prevents the new keeper taxing it... anyone have experience?

What other options are there??

EssexExile

It's only a month's tax, one option is to not worry about it.

Joe_Horner

Yes, DVLA won't allow you to re-tax within 5 days of a SORN declaration even if there's a change of keeper. Discovered this when swapping one from my partner to me as registered keeper - sorned it on the last day of the month then couldn't tax it the next morning.

So drove it for 5 days without tax on the basis that:

(1) if spotted by a camera, it would be taxed before any notification came through,
(2) if actually stopped, I'd take a gamble on being able to explain
and
(3) if (1) and (2) failed I'd take my chance in court on the basis that I was prevented from complying with the letter of the law by a defect in their systems so I complied with it in spirit by taxing at the first possible chance (which obviously covered the 5 days anyway once it was done).

As it turned out, nothing happened and successfully avoided the double payment.

debtdebt

You're only on one side of the transaction so either paying a month or losing a month. What's the problem?

a.turner

Joe_Horner wrote: »

Yes, DVLA won't allow you to re-tax within 5 days of a SORN declaration even if there's a change of keeper. Discovered this when swapping one from my partner to me as registered keeper - sorned it on the last day of the month then couldn't tax it the next morning.

So drove it for 5 days without tax on the basis that:

(1) if spotted by a camera, it would be taxed before any notification came through,
(2) if actually stopped, I'd take a gamble on being able to explain
and
(3) if (1) and (2) failed I'd take my chance in court on the basis that I was prevented from complying with the letter of the law by a defect in their systems so I complied with it in spirit by taxing at the first possible chance (which obviously covered the 5 days anyway once it was done).

As it turned out, nothing happened and successfully avoided the double payment.

They will at a post office.

Joe_Horner

a.turner wrote: »

They will at a post office.

Not if you want to use the direct debit facility rather than pay 6 months because the PO also set up the direct debit through the online system. Or are you just assuming I didn't try that?

AdrianC

How much is 1/12 of the annual VED?

a.turner

Joe_Horner wrote: »

Not if you want to use the direct debit facility rather than pay 6 months because the PO also set up the direct debit through the online system. Or are you just assuming I didn't try that?

SORN on Friday and taxed at a post office on Saturday. It was only last week but bought the tax outright.

It also let me tax one the week before online 4 days after the sorn.

Crabman

debtdebt wrote: »

You're only on one side of the transaction so either paying a month or losing a month. What's the problem?

Vehicle is transferring between family members.

The annual tax expires 30 June. Wondering whether we could just do the new keeper tax online at 00:01 on 1 July. Do they issue penalties automatically at the start of a month?

Joe_Horner

a.turner wrote: »

SORN on Friday and taxed at a post office on Saturday. It was only last week but bought the tax outright.

It also let me tax one the week before online 4 days after the sorn.

Yeah, if you dig around, the 5 days is an "up to" 5 days. Think ours was possible after 4 iirc.

Still begs the question of why their system is so unresponsive - can you imagine the uproar if banks started refusing withdrawals against cash for 5 days while their systems updated?