Road Tax Question

R00STER00

My Road Tax is due to run out this month. I will probably be unable to get to a Post Office until Saturday because of work.

Will it be ok if I leave renewing it until Saturday (i.e. 1st Oct)?

lush_walrus

Yes you have 14 days either side of the due day to pay it. There was talk that this would be withdrawn, but I renewed my tax last month about 10 days late and it was fine

Bossyboots

lush_walrus wrote:

Yes you have 14 days either side of the due day to pay it. There was talk that this would be withdrawn, but I renewed my tax last month about 10 days late and it was fine

The 14 days is a concession on renewal. It means that if your vehicle fails its MOT for example or you cannot get to the post office, you have a period of grace.

HOWEVER, that does not mean you can use your vehicle on the road without a valid tax disc unless you are driving it to a pre-booked MOT. This means for the OP that they can get a lift or public transport to the post office but must not drive the untaxed car there.

R00STER00

Thanks for the quick replies guys.

I have another car so won't need to take the untaxed one on Sat.

Dave_G_5

You can get your car tax on line now! So you don't even need to go to the post office!

Bossyboots

Dave_G wrote:

You can get your car tax on line now! So you don't even need to go to the post office!

Thats fine if you do it far enough in advance but the disc doesn't arrive straightaway so you wouldn't be able to use the car until it arrived if you leave it too late.

Dave_G_5

Forgot to say, buying on line is through the DVLA web site. It doesn't actually say on there wether you can use your car on the road while waiting for the disk to arrive (it takes 5 days) but your car would be on the database as being taxed so it should be ok in theory.

There is no 14 day concession period for car tax, if it is to be parked or used on the public highway then it should be taxed.

Bossyboots

Dave_G wrote:

Forgot to say, buying on line is through the DVLA web site. It doesn't actually say on there wether you can use your car on the road while waiting for the disk to arrive (it takes 5 days) but your car would be on the database as being taxed so it should be ok in theory.

There is no 14 day concession period for car tax, if it is to be parked or used on the public highway then it should be taxed.

That last bit is true, but you have a concession of 14 days provided your car is off the road in which you will not be fined for not renewing the tax. As you say, to use it on the road it must be taxed. The only exception to this is driving to pre-booked MOT.

You cannot use your car on the road without the disc, regardless of whether you have paid for it online. There is a criminal offence of failing to display a valid vehicle licence and this applies at all times, even if your disc has slipped down your dashboard. If it cannot be seen to be displayed you are committing an offence.