Taxing a newly acquired car at the end of a month

[Jobbo]

My Jimny arrived in the evening on 28 April. I thought I'd tax it that night but the online system told me the tax would be backdated to 1 April. So I left it until 29th, on the basis that whenever I've bought a car in the last few days of the month I've always got road tax which runs for 12 months from the 1st of the next month.

But it still wanted to backdate to 1 April yesterday, and still wants to today. What gives? It's £21 a month but that's £21 for a month I haven't used it. I would have SORN'ed it straight away but if you do that, you can't un-SORN it immediately and my wife needs to drive it on Saturday when her car is having its cambelt changed.

It's annoying enough that the DVLA get double tax for the month in which you sell a car now, but getting rid of the old slight flexibility in the system is just unfair.

[Broccers]

DId the last person end the tax early or was it a dealer?

I must admit I didnt tax the boxster until it ran out from the previous owner, just because.

[Jobbo]

It was from a dealer. The tax always ends now as soon as you tell the DVLA about change of keeper though, if you buy privately.

So many times I've taxed a car towards the end of the month and got a 12 months plus a few days' tax disk; the online system shouldn't be so constrained by full months.

[dan]

Try again on the 1st May?

[Simon]

Are you new to cars? This has been a thing for years now. Just wait until tomorrow like Dan says.

[Broccers]

It was from a dealer. The tax always ends now as soon as you tell the DVLA about change of keeper though, if you buy privately.

True - the seller gave me the whole thing to fill in and send off so I didnt bother until the end of the month... cunning

[Jobbo]

Are you new to cars? This has been a thing for years now. Just wait until tomorrow like Dan says.

Has it? I've bought loads of cars which weren't taxed and regularly taxed them in the last few days of the month without having to pay for the whole month. That's just been standard practice.
I'm waiting for 1 May, just a bit concerned that there will have been a new V5C issued by then and it won't let me.

[Simon]

Are you new to cars? This has been a thing for years now. Just wait until tomorrow like Dan says.

Has it? I've bought loads of cars which weren't taxed and regularly taxed them in the last few days of the month without having to pay for the whole month. That's just been standard practice.
I'm waiting for 1 May, just a bit concerned that there will have been a new V5C issued by then and it won't let me.

Genuinely confused by this. It hasn't been 'standard practice' for a good few years now. It's been since they changed it over to 'you can't transfer the tax when selling the car'. Maybe 3 or 4 years ago?

[Beany]

I think he means that when you do tax it, you only paid pro rata for the preceding month, or it just covered it in the cost - I'm pretty sure I had that with the BMW.

[Simon]

I think he means that when you do tax it, you only paid pro rata for the preceding month, or it just covered it in the cost - I'm pretty sure I had that with the BMW.

I seem to remember on boatshoes people moaning about paying for the whole first month in loads of threads. I'm pretty sure it's always been like this since the switchover, but my Google-Fu is weak today.

[Matty]

I think he means that when you do tax it, you only paid pro rata for the preceding month, or it just covered it in the cost - I'm pretty sure I had that with the BMW.

I seem to remember on boatshoes people moaning about paying for the whole first month in loads of threads. I'm pretty sure it's always been like this since the switchover, but my Google-Fu is weak today.

Yeah, you pay the whole month regardless of what day you tax it - which is why everyone was moaning that the Gov are getting double tax for that month when you transfer car ownership.

So if you sell a car on the 20th of May, the previous owner will be paying upto the 31st of May, new owner will be paying from the 1st of May. When I sold my Elise on the 25th, the new owner didn't bother taxing it until the 1st of the following month.

[Rich B]

If it has the potential to cause other issues, then it’s £21. Just pay it and forget about it.

[Beany]

I may be misremembering, I'll grant you!

[Orange Cola]

Government department in making changes to suit themselves non shocker.

Sadly I know people who will ask a dealer to hold a car until the start of the next month before they’ll collect it just so they avoid paying the tax for a whole month when they don’t need it. Madness, but not as bad as new cars sitting for months in a dealer “until the new plate comes out”.

[Jobbo]

Are you new to cars? This has been a thing for years now. Just wait until tomorrow like Dan says.

Has it? I've bought loads of cars which weren't taxed and regularly taxed them in the last few days of the month without having to pay for the whole month. That's just been standard practice.
I'm waiting for 1 May, just a bit concerned that there will have been a new V5C issued by then and it won't let me.

Genuinely confused by this. It hasn't been 'standard practice' for a good few years now. It's been since they changed it over to 'you can't transfer the tax when selling the car'. Maybe 3 or 4 years ago?

You obviously never bought a car on the 28th of the month then. Go along to the post office, pay for a year's road tax, get a tax disk which expires 12 months from the 1st of the next month. Completely usual, I've done it quite a few times. Not since tax disks were abolished, though.

[Orange Cola]

I remember doing that for the first time, walking out the post office and reading the tax disc thinking ‘so, can I not drive this for the next few days then?’

[Jobbo]

I remember doing that for the first time, walking out the post office and reading the tax disc thinking ‘so, can I not drive this for the next few days then?’

Yeah, first time I was given one I queried it and the post office lady said, "Oh, it's not fair to charge you for the whole month when you only get a couple of days' use, so we're allowed to give them out in the last days of the months."

[dan]

yeah, in the olden days when tax discs were a thing. Hasn't been the case for years, how is this even a thread

[PaulJ]

yeah, in the olden days when tax discs were a thing. Hasn't been the case for years, how is this even a thread

Sentimental old fool that I am, I save our final tax discs, framed them and they currently form part of the 'art gallery' aspect of my garage.

[Jobbo]

yeah, in the olden days when tax discs were a thing. Hasn't been the case for years, how is this even a thread

I thought the abolition of tax disks and automatic refunds when you sold a car were just that; had no idea it affected buying an untaxed car