VED car taxed second time

eTeRis

Hello all,

I'm new here, so if my questions has been asked before, please tag the link to it.

I'm going to buy a second hand car which had 1 previous owner. The original list price of the car was higher then £40k so I will have to pay tax £155+£335 for the five years.

Would be legal to?

1. Buy the car and tax it for 6 months
2. Change ownership to my spouse, who's surname is different but same address. It's like selling the car again
   
3. Get tax refund and avoid that extra £355, because car would be taxed for the third time under new ownership
   

jimjames

It's certainly legal to sell a car to someone else and them tax it. If the rule is that the higher rate is payable for 5 years then it's irrelevant who the owner is so your plan is pointless and could even cost you more if you both need to tax it for the same month when you get the refund.

eTeRis

jimjames said:

It's certainly legal to sell a car to someone else and them tax it. If the rule is that the higher rate is payable for 5 years then it's irrelevant who the owner is so your plan is pointless and could even cost you more if you both need to tax it for the same month when you get the refund.

I'm not saying you are wrong.
Then how come the second hand car of which original price was higher than £40k, but with two previous owners and less than 4 years old don't have to pay extra VED?

Car_54

eTeRis said:

jimjames said:

It's certainly legal to sell a car to someone else and them tax it. If the rule is that the higher rate is payable for 5 years then it's irrelevant who the owner is so your plan is pointless and could even cost you more if you both need to tax it for the same month when you get the refund.

I'm not saying you are wrong.
Then how come the second hand car of which original price was higher than £40k, but with two previous owners and less than 4 years old don't have to pay extra VED?

I'm not saying you're wrong either, but can you show some evidence to support that?

jimjames

eTeRis said:

jimjames said:

It's certainly legal to sell a car to someone else and them tax it. If the rule is that the higher rate is payable for 5 years then it's irrelevant who the owner is so your plan is pointless and could even cost you more if you both need to tax it for the same month when you get the refund.

I'm not saying you are wrong.

Which bit? I assume you're not arguing about the legality of selling a car to someone?

The_Fat_Controller

The extra tax for 5 years has to be paid irrespective of the number of owners.

Jenni_D

The_Fat_Controller said:

The extra tax for 5 years has to be paid irrespective of the number of owners.

I agree. Isn't the extra VED based on the original list/purchase price rather than any subsequent resale price?

jimjames

eTeRis said:
The original list price of the car was higher then £40k so I will have to pay tax £155+£335 for the five years.

The_Fat_Controller said:

The extra tax for 5 years has to be paid irrespective of the number of owners.

Bizarrely the OP even says that before trying to suggest there is a loophole with ownership.

Herzlos

Given that you're starting with a car that's less than 5 years old and was worth over £40k at the time - how much money is an extra owner going to take off the resale value?

You'd need to pay the tax until the car is 5 years old, though admittedly I don't know what happens if there's been a gap in tax and your annual VED payment would take you beyond the 5 year point. I suspect you'd lose the difference. You could, of course, SORN the car until the dates line up but then you've got a car you can't use.

Is it really worth the hassle over £355?

Grumpy_chap

I don't understand the link the OP is making between the VED surcharge and the vehicle having more owners.

I also don't understand how anyone can purport to afford a <5yo >£40k car yet not the associated costs of running the vehicle which are known in advance.

Car_54

Grumpy_chap said:

I don't understand the link the OP is making between the VED surcharge and the vehicle having more owners.

I also don't understand how anyone can purport to afford a <5yo >£40k car yet not the associated costs of running the vehicle which are known in advance.

I don't believe the OP said he couldn't afford it. He'd prefer not to pay it, which is an attitude towards taxes which most of us shere.