Road Tax Renewal

[carron81]

Hi

Need a bit advice. Just tried to go online and renew my road tax, it runs out at the end of this month.

Was going through the online pages and was just about to confirm and it said: Renewal start date: 01 Sept 2008. My tax disc is still valid till the end of the month so I want it to start at the begining of October.

Am I right in saying that it should start in october or do i have to pay from the 1st of this month which i'm already covered for?

I have moved (told the dvla) but wondering if my old renewal doc is at my old address thats why I want to do ths online

I'm also going to visit my mum for 2 weeks so the car will be taxed but will not be able to display it on the window of the car until i get home as my car will be at the airport and if i get it ordered online (eventually) then the disc will be at my house

[Diz]

Hi, if you look on your reminder it should say in red "do not apply for your tax disc before the 15th day of the month before the tax disc is due to start" so maybe this is why its taking it to the 1st Sept?

[bednobs]

completely agree with that post. You cant apply before the 15th. Also the offence i believe is "failure to DISPLAY" a tax disc, so your car will be illegal if you drive it on the road

[eltelioni]

You can renew at the post office without the reminder. But you will have to take the registration doc with you as well as the insurance & MOT docs.

[Ethel]

The rules have changed recently. On my renewal the 15th was crossed out heavily and replaced with a statement that said it could be applied for from the 5th day:

If your tax is due to run out at the end of the month, you can renew it from the fifth day of the month.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVe hicle/HowToTaxYourVehicle/DG_4022117

But you MUST have the renewal document to do this.

Without the renewal document, it is 2 days before the current one runs out:
If you want the tax disc to start on the first day of the next calendar month, you cannot tax your vehicle more than two days in advance.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVe hicle/HowToTaxYourVehicle/DG_069680

[eltelioni]

... and you can do that before the 15th.

[eltelioni]

Ignore my last post - it overlapped with Ethel's.

[jack daniels]

in addition to eltelioni reply, it's the certificate of motor insurance, the MOT and the registration document you need but you can either ask to start the tax on the 1st Oct but even they will tell you that it'll start from the beginning of this month & to come back towards the end of Sept.
Explain your situation to the DVLA & they may be able to advice you.

[kempie]

Perhaps not of much use to you now but if you expect to be away you can renew your tax up to two calendar months in advance in person or by post at a Post Office� branch that deals with advance applications or a Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) local office.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVe hicle/HowToTaxYourVehicle/DG_4022052

[carron81]

OMG ahhh. Just been to the car and the tax disc ran out at the end of august. renewed it online and should get it within the next 5 days.

cant believe its august. i've always thought since we got the car the insurance and road tax were due in september.

do i get a fine for this? i remember seeing those tv ads saying you get an �80 fine. cant believe it :( thought i was being super organised by sorting out all my car stuff today

[moomintroll1]

You have until the 14th to retax your car, so you won't get fined for failure to relicence.

However, assuming your vehicle has been being used and kept on the road since the disc expired, you have been committing the offence of failure to display, and will continue to do so until your new disc arrives in the post and is displayed in the vehicle (failure to display is just what it says - it doesn't matter if the vehicle is actually licensed, the offence is still committed if the disc isn't clearly displayed in the vehicle).

I believe the fine for that is �30 (but it could have changed). Getting caught used to be very unlikely, but council parking wardens now report unlicensed vehicles to DVLA, so it is possible that you could be reported for that offence, especially if you park in public car parks or in controlled on-street parking bays (they usually stick a notice on the windscreen, so you would know if that had already happened).

Although renewing online is convenient, it would have been better to have done it at the Post Office in this instance, as you could have got the disc immediately.

[carron81]

i would've gone to the post office but i always thought you needed the renewal reminder , (along with Mot certificaate and insureancane) that went to my old address.

just found out you don't actually need this but I'd already paid for it online. luckily i live on an island off an island and wont be using the car and there's no police here. so should be fine, touch wood, till the new disc arrives.