Drivers could get refund on tax for some vehicles | Tech News

Motorists across the UK could be throwing money away on cars they no longer drive. It’s mandatory for all vehicles on the road to be taxed, but if your car is gathering dust, you can stop paying tax and even claim a refund for any full remaining months.

Remember, you can’t just halt road tax payments; you must notify the DVLA with a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) to confirm your vehicle is off the road. The DVLA assures that cancelling your tax will trigger a refund “for any full months of remaining tax”.

So, if you’ve got six months of tax left, you could pocket a tidy sum, with refunds potentially running into thousands depending on the vehicle – check out current rates on GOV.UK. To get your tax refunded, start by contacting the DVLA, and note there are several reasons why vehicle tax can be cancelled, such as if the vehicle:

• Sold or transferred to someone else
• Taken off the road, for example you’re keeping it in a garage – this is called a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN)
• Scrapped at a vehicle scrapyard
• Registered as exempt from vehicle tax
• Exported out of the UK
• Written off by your insurance company

If you sell or transfer your vehicle, take it off the road (known as a Statutory Off Road Notification or SORN), scrap it at a vehicle scrapyard, register it as exempt from vehicle tax, export it out of the UK, or have it written off by your insurance company, you could be eligible for a refund on your vehicle tax. This also applies if your vehicle is stolen, but you’ll need to apply for a refund separately.

If you pay your tax via Direct Debit, this will be cancelled automatically. You’ll receive a refund cheque for any full months left on your tax, calculated by the DVLA and sent to the name and address on the vehicle’s logbook (V5C).

However, you won’t receive a refund for any credit card fees, the 5% surcharge on some direct debit payments, or the 10% surcharge on a single six-month payment. To register a vehicle as SORN, visit GOV.UK. For any other reason you want to cancel your vehicle tax, contact the DVLA.