Car tax when off the road

kg85

hi was just wondering about car tax when a car is off the road. I keep getting final reminders from the tax office about not having tax, but my car is off the road, are you obliged to complete these and send them in?

djk1000

On the form for tax renewal there is a section for certifying that the car has been off the road for a period of time. Don't worry about the reminders, just fill in that box when you do want to get it back on the road.

johndaman66

Hi kg85, In keeping with djk1000's advice I wouldn't loose any sleep over the reminders. I definately wouldn't be inclined to take the car on the road though under any circumstances. I have a friend whos tax was out over two months and the car was taken off him by the guards at a checkpoint as a result. I do find it hard to believe that this was all that was out of place but so the chap tells me.

slimjimmc

johndaman66 wrote: »

Hi kg85, In keeping with djk1000's advice I wouldn't loose any sleep over the reminders. I definately wouldn't be inclined to take the car on the road though under any circumstances. I have a friend whos tax was out over two months and the car was taken off him by the guards at a checkpoint as a result. I do find it hard to believe that this was all that was out of place but so the chap tells me.

Your friend is correct, the car can be seized if motor tax is expired by more than two months, even if it is 100% otherwise.

johndaman66

slimjimmc wrote: »

Your friend is correct, the car can be seized if motor tax is expired by more than two months, even if it is 100% otherwise.

Fair enough slimjimmc Im sure it happened. But it does seem very severe considering the amount of cars on the road without insurance and flouting other laws no doubt

derry

johndaman66 wrote: »

Hi kg85, In keeping with djk1000's advice I wouldn't loose any sleep over the reminders. I definately wouldn't be inclined to take the car on the road though under any circumstances. I have a friend whos tax was out over two months and the car was taken off him by the guards at a checkpoint as a result. I do find it hard to believe that this was all that was out of place but so the chap tells me.

Just curious as mathamatical exersize. I see big old cars going cheap but the road tax is gone mega crazy but for me my insurance on big engines is very minor . I figure mathamatically if you can get one year riding around without to be caught with no road tax even if they seize the car and then you stump up and get the 3 months road tax and pay the storage costs you would be ahead of the game in costs.The only issue is what is the fine if any for no road tax .For me my milage is small as when it doesnt rain I commute with a push bike so MPG are not a big issue .
Just curiuos how the costs pan out

Derry

johndaman66

derry wrote: »

Just curious as mathamatical exersize. I see big old cars going cheap but the road tax is gone mega crazy but for me my insurance on big engines is very minor . I figure mathamatically if you can get one year riding around without to be caught with no road tax even if they seize the car and then you stump up and get the 3 months road tax and pay the storage costs you would be ahead of the game in costs.The only issue is what is the fine if any for no road tax .For me my milage is small as when it doesnt rain I commute with a push bike so MPG are not a big issue .
Just curiuos how the costs pan out

Derry

I wouldn't be inclined to think thats a good idea at all Derry. You might get away with it for a while but you would be doing very well altogether if you got away with it for a year or more I reckon, even if your mileage was small. I didn't ask my friend how much the release fee was and am not even sure if he did get it released for that matter. I reckon if your tax was out for a year or more you could be expecting a good few penalty points on your license too. I'm not sure though, maybe somebody else could clarify?

Some people are bigger risk takers than others obviously but if paying road tax on a big engined car is that big an issue I'd be more inclined to just get a smaller car and tax it and be done with it. As far as I know you are allowed a months grace to tax your car when it runs out so if this is the case you might save yourself a few quid by not taxing it for the month after it runs out and then taxing it for another three months. I'm not full sure though other people have mentioned to me that you only get ten day. Again somebody might clarify if they know for certain? You could also get a classic car with classic tax but chances are it would cost a lot to buy on day one and you might be out the cost of the tax with repairs and dealing with rust and that sort of thing

The-Game

johndaman66 wrote: »

Fair enough slimjimmc Im sure it happened. But it does seem very severe considering the amount of cars on the road without insurance and flouting other laws no doubt

I wouldn't class that as very severe, fair enough if it was only out for 2 weeks and the owner was in the process of taxing it, but if the tax has expired for over 2 months and he continues to drive on the roads that's just asking for trouble, i support the gardai in this case for taking the car.

You cant just pick and choose the laws your obeying / breaking.

kg85

Hi guys thanks for the responses.

I am in the same boat s you Derry, I have a 4 litre car which is now 10 years old and used very little. I had it taxed all summer as it gets more use evenings and weekends in the good weather, however in the winter it is not really used so I basically take it off the road and dont tax it for the winter.

The road tax is €1597 for the year which I am simply just not prepared to pay, it is way over the top even though the car couldnt be considered very environmentally friendly. A similarly sized commercial vehicle can be taxed for a few hundred euro.

My query was more about the reminders, as I understand it we do not have a system like in the UK where you are obliged to tell the DVLA if your vehicle is off the road. I get my reminders and final notices here but as far as I know there is no legal obligation to let the motor tax office know that your car is off the road?!

slimjimmc

johndaman66 wrote: »

I reckon if your tax was out for a year or more you could be expecting a good few penalty points on your license too. I'm not sure though, maybe somebody else could clarify?

Not yet, there are 42 offences but not having motor tax (no such thing as road tax, someone had to say it) is not one of them.
http://www.penaltypoints.ie/assets/pdf/new_penpoints_chart_apl09.pdf

As far as I know you are allowed a months grace to tax your car when it runs out so if this is the case you might save yourself a few quid by not taxing it for the month after it runs out and then taxing it for another three months. I'm not full sure though other people have mentioned to me that you only get ten day. Again somebody might clarify if they know for certain?

Nearly but not quite. The law is clear, once your motor tax is expired you are not permitted to drive it, full stop. So, for example, if your tax expired on Wed 31/09/09 then you're legally not permitted to drive it from 00:00 on Thurs 01/10/09. You have until 31/10/09 to pay your motor tax which will be effective from 1st Oct . However if you pay on or after 01/11/09 then you will be charged for the month of Oct at a higher rate and will still have to tax it for at least the next 3 months at normal rate. You would have to make a legal declaration that the car was of the road for the entire month to avoid being charged tax.