Say Goodbye to the Tax Disc!

As of the 1 October 2014 you can wave goodbye to the paper tax disc and may remove it from your motorcycle or window screen. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean we don't have to pay it!

As of the 1 October 2014 you can wave goodbye to the paper tax disc and may remove it from your motorcycle or window screen.  Unfortunately, this doesn't mean we don't have to pay it!  

In the ever moving digital world, your road tax is now checked electronically against a database rather than by looking for a tax disc.  This shift to end the need to display a tax disc also means that you cannot now sell a vehicle with tax on.  So any vehicle you buy after 1 October will need to be taxed and the DVLA state you need to do this before you can use the vehicle.

If you sell, scrap, export or SORN a vehicle after 1 October you will automatically get a refund for any full calendar months left on the vehicle when you notify DVLA.

As is the case now, the DVLA will continue to send renewal reminders, do don't worry if you can't remember when your tax is due.  There is also a handy tool on the government website https://www.gov.uk/check-vehicle-tax where you can check vehicle tax!

Here's some interest vehicle tax and tax disc facts you may not know….

1.   Vehicle tax was introduced in 1888, when Queen Victoria was on the thrown and the Marquess of Salisbury was Prime Minister.

2.  The first tax discs were introduced in Britain in 1921, that's 93 years ago.

3.  They changed from grey to colour in 1923. 

4.  They become perforated in 1938 but due to lack of resources during the WW11 this ceased until 1952.

5.  In 1961, the tax disc included anti forgery methods and drivers were given the flexibility of paying for 12 months at any point during the year, rather than having to all apply on the same date.

6.  In 2014 tax discs were abolished!