Owner or driver - Taxation responsibility ?

Mayze

Can someone please answer this for me ...

My mother in law is selling her car to her daughter.

Her daughter has been paying her in monthly installments, and so far is about half way through the total amount.

The change of ownership has not been registered yet.

The tax is now due to be renewed on the car, and has caused a row between mother and daughter - each of them thinks that the other one should pay it.

Can someone please tell me who is responsible for paying the tax ?

Thanks in advance for your help.

RobAMerc

The Gardai would fine the driver and not the owner if caught using it on the road with no tax.
Hope that answers your question.

Shiva

If the daughter gets stopped, she'll be answerable for driving without tax.
The Garda might listen to her excuse that its not her car, but he might just as easily charge her if its not produced.

MGrah

I would say (although I'm not a guard or a lawyer so really I'm just sticking my 2 cents in) that the owner is liable for the tax, however the driver would be liable for any fine for using a car that has not had the tax paid on it.

Either way, the daughter is the one using the car (and effectively has ownership, even if the mother is still the registered owner) so from a purely non-legal, family perspective, in my humble opinion, she has some cheek asking her mother to pay it, and should be told what's what.

I wonder how many HP companies pay road tax for their customers?

Henry Ford III

The owner is liable stictly speaking. Who is the owner in this case though?

ballooba

It is the responsibility of the driver to ensure that the car they are driving is taxed. That is the most practical way the law can be applied and is indeed the way that it is applied. You must check before you drive a car that it is properly taxed, if not then don't drive it. Simple.

Anan1

Mayze wrote:

The tax is now due to be renewed on the car, and has caused a row between mother and daughter - each of them thinks that the other one should pay it.

I'm assuming form this that the owner is asking a moral, rather than a legal question. My answer would be whoever is using the car. Tax is like petrol, it's an expense incurred to use the car rather than to own it.

Esel

Jebus, I hope you are not married to that daughter!

The daughter should pay, obviously, but as the m-i-l is still the registered owner, she could be in doodoo if the car is used while not taxed. Also, does the daughter's insurance cover her to drive it when it's not hers and is (presumably) not insured by the registered owner?

crosstownk

The driver - every single time. It is up to the driver to ensure that the car has the correct discs are displayed.

jimmycrackcorm

Technically you have to be the owner to actually tax the car. In the ops case though, the one who has to pay for the tax is the one actually using it.

eamon234

If she's driving the car full time she should transfer ownership for tax purposes, this doesn't necessarily imply that she owns the car just that she is the registered user - for example if you buy a car on HP you don't legally own it - the finance company does until you've paid your last payment but you can still tax it under your own name.
Methinks she's just being a cheap ass!

Anan1

Assuming the daughter to be the one driving the car, it is indeed appallingly cheeky for her to expect her mother to pay the tax. One can only imagine how hurtful & upsetting such a demand must be to her mother.

peasant

Assuming for a minute the the mother is a really tight person and hasn't allowed daughter the use of the car until it's fully paid for, then of course she should pay the tax as well.
Daughter could then refund whatever amount of tax is due when she takes over ownership.

Either way ...I wouldn't like to be involved with a family that has to have rows about that

R.O.R

The driver is ultimately responsible to ensure the vehicle is correctly taxed (and insured and they tyres are legal etc.), but if any fines are issued against the vehicle they become the registered owners responsibility, until they can farm them off to someone else. Unlike speeding fines, fines for no road tax don't generally come with a declaration for who was driving at the time.

Cionád

If the driver was responsible, what happens when she parks the car - is the owner then responsible again?

Esel

Cion&#225 wrote: »

If the driver was responsible, what happens when she parks the car - is the owner then responsible again?

Yes (fairly obvious I would have thought).