Selling your car, getting a new one, or not going to be driving for a while? You don’t want to be paying unnecessary tax on your vehicle. This blog explains all you need to know about car tax and how to cancel it.
What Is Car Tax?
Car tax — otherwise known as vehicle or road tax — is a common form of taxation in the UK that applies to almost all vehicles on the road.
Vehicle tax is a fee charged for the use of the vehicle on roadways across the country and is charged based on vehicle emissions. The cheapest road tax rate is £0 a year on net-zero CO2 emissions. That fee can go up to a maximum of £2,135. Vehicle tax is an annual fee, although it can be paid in instalments.
You have to pay road tax if you use your car on public roads or park on a public road — even if you’re not using it. You do not have to pay road tax if your car is used or stored exclusively on private land.
What Is Car Tax Spent On?
Car tax is a general taxation, like income tax and other forms of tax. The purpose of this tax is to accumulate money the government can invest in public infrastructure. Because of this, there is no specific benchmark for what vehicle tax actually pays for.
Road tax may sometimes pay for road repairs, new roads and other vehicle-related activity, but more often than not, other forms of taxation cover these issues. Why? Because road tax simply isn’t enough to cover the vast expenses required to keep Britain’s roadways functional.
How Do I Cancel My Car Tax?
Cancellation of road tax is straightforward, although the steps you have to take vary depending on the circumstances of the vehicles change in use. If you’ve sold the vehicle, you’ll need to submit information to the government about the sale of the car. If you are no longer driving your vehicle, but you still own it, you’ll have to declare it offroad and obtain a SORN. If you intend to leave it parked in a public space, you cannot do this. If your vehicle has been scrapped, you’ll need proof of destruction.
To find out what steps you need to take, you can visit the Government website for vehicle tax reclaims and select the option that applies to your situation. Once you’ve provided the DVLA with the correct information, your tax will be cancelled immediately. If your previous tax payment covers a period when you will no longer be using the vehicle, you will be refunded a percentage of your tax.
The simplest and fastest way to cancel road tax is online, but you can do it over the phone on 0300 790 6802 or via email here.
What about Car Tax on Leased Vehicles?
If you’ve leased your car, you may have concerns about vehicle tax payments or might want to ensure tax is cancelled if you’ve ceased leasing a previous model and moved to another car. To find out if you’re responsible for tax payments, you need to look at your leasing contract.
At Kardi Vehicles, we offer only the best car lease deals to customers — and that means everything is taken care of. When you lease a car, you expect certain premium customer care options that come as standard with private ownership, including not having to worry about the nitty-gritty paperwork. All vehicles leased through Kardi Vehicles are taxed for the full duration of the contract. If you switch vehicles, or your lease ends, you do not need to worry about vehicle tax — we take care of that for you.
This practice is common across car leasing, but not mandatory. So always be careful when leasing a car to make sure you’re aware of your responsibilities, and the promises of your car leasing company.
If you are concerned about tax on your car, you can always check if it is taxed via the government’s official DVLA portal.
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