When is your car tax due? How to check if your car is taxed and penalties for forgetting
FAILING to pay car tax can land you a fine of up to £1,000. Here’s how to check when your tax is due, what tax band your car is in, its CO2 emissions and what penalties you face for not taxing your vehicle.
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Drivers can land a fine up to £1,000 for failing to tax their car.
Car tax is a legal obligation of every driver in the UK to take out for their vehicle.
Here’s how to check if your car is taxed:
Motorists can simply input their car’s registration number into the online tool, found on the Gov.uk website to find out when their vehicle is due and when it needs renewing.
Car tax is due annually and, charges can differ significantly per vehicle, based on numerous different factors.
It is calculated by what fuel type your vehicle is, the CO2 emissions it produces and, the vehicles age and when it was registered.
The cost of car tax significantly increased in the first year for cars registered from April 1st 2017, compared to those registered before.
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Vehicle Excise Duty price increases explained:
How tax for petrol and diesel cars compare before and after April 1st 2017
Pre- April 1st 2017
120g/km - £30
150g/km - £145
170g/km - £210
Over 255g/km - £515
Post-April 1st 2017
120g/km - £160
150g/km - £200
170g/km - £500
Over 255g/km - £2,000
Under the new rules, only cars that produce zero emissions and cost less than £40,000 can dodge paying car tax.
Any car that costs £40,000 or more has to pay a luxury car surcharge of £310 for the first five years.
A car that produced 120g/km C02 emissions pre-April 1st 2017 paid just £30 for car tax, while a car registered after that date pays £160.
In addition to the inflated first year fees, a set of standardised second and subsequent year rates came into force.
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These standard rate charges will vary for drivers depending on what type of car they are and what fuel they use:
-£140 per year for petrol and diesel vehicles
-£130 per year for ‘alternative fuel’ vehicles, such as hybrids
-£0 per year for zero emissions vehicles, such as fully electric
Diesel drivers face paying more car tax if they register and tax a car after April 1st 2018.
In the latest crackdown on harmful toxic emissions drivers face paying up tot £500 in the first year.
Cars that will be hit the hardest by the rate increase are diesels that produce between 171g/km - 255g/km of CO2 emissions.