Here’s your complete guide to how to cancel car tax and getting the car tax refund you deserve!

What is car tax and how does it work?

All cars and vehicles registered in the UK have to pay car tax, or VED (Vehicle Excise Duty). The amount you pay depends on how environmentally friendly your car is when the vehicle was registered as well as how much it cost when new- and is a policy point that changes regularly!

There are a few cases where you might want to cancel your car tax, most commonly if you’re selling your vehicle. Pretty much any situation where your car will no longer be driven by you on UK roads- so if it’s been stolen or scrapped or if you’re choosing to take your car off the road. If you’re travelling or storing it you can cancel your car tax if you get a SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification). If you have unused tax months remaining on your car and one of the above situations has happened, you’ll want to cancel your car tax to get that money back.

Tax disks are now a thing of the past, as of 2014, they were replaced with number-plate recognition cameras responsible for checking if a vehicle has paid its tax. The most important thing you need to know about this change is that a VED is not transferred when a car is sold, marking a key difference from the tax disk system. This means that if you sell your vehicle before your tax runs out, you’ll want to cancel any remaining VED to get that money back.

How has car tax refund changed?

Tax disks are now a thing of the past, as of 2014, they were replaced with number-plate recognition cameras responsible for checking if a vehicle has paid its tax. The most important thing you need to know about this change is that a VED is not transferred when a car is sold, marking a key difference from the tax disk system. This means that if you sell your vehicle before your tax runs out, you’ll want to cancel any remaining VED to get that money back.

How do I cancel my car tax?

Actually, if you are looking to cancel car tax, it is done automatically by the DVLA once you tell them that your car has been sold/ scrapped/ taken off the road etc.

You can contact DVLA by phone (0300 790 6802), by email (https://live.email-dvla.service.gov.uk/w2c/en_gb/decisions/Vehicle Enquiries) or via post (Vehicle Customer Services, DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1AR.)

From the day they receive your information, you’ll automatically get a refund cheque on left-over VED, but only for the remaining full months. If you paid by direct debit then those future payments will be cancelled. It’s really important to note here that you can be fined if you don’t let the DVLA know that you don’t own the vehicle anymore!

How long does car tax refund take and happens if it does not arrive?

You should get your refund within six weeks of the DVLA receiving your request. If you haven’t received anything after that time get in contact with the DVLA by phone (0300 790 6802), by email (https://live.email-dvla.service.gov.uk/w2c/en_gb/decisions/Vehicle Enquiries) or via post (Vehicle Customer Services, DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1AR.)

If you are looking to cancel any more of your subscriptions we invite you to read out How to cancel blog series!

Understanding your taxes is just one part of getting your finances under control- at Cash Coach, we want to help you save money and improve your spending habits with our free gamified app. Are you ready to start your financial journey?