Motor tax clarification

28-03-2014 9:41am #1

Quick question which I just can't find the answer for online. Probably staring me straight in the face but sure ye lot know everything!

If I sell a car that has not been taxed in 4 months am I liable for the arrears?

The car has been off the road physically, but not officially signed off the road.

Ta.

Bio Mech · 28-03-2014 9:49am

No you are not.

H3llR4iser · 28-03-2014 12:02pm

Bio Mech wrote: »

No you are not.

It might also be useful to know that the new owner won't be required to pay the arrears either, as it's a question very likely to pop up during a viewing.

cerastes · 28-03-2014 12:07pm

when should thee new owner have to have it taxed by if they decide to take the vehicle away? is it meant to be taxed immediately, and is there a chance they could get stung if the tax is out for quite a while? and they decided to drive it home?

corktina · 28-03-2014 12:31pm

every chance. Vehicle can be seized.

28-03-2014 12:36pm

Cool, yeh I knew the new owner would only be liable from the beginning of the month of registration.

I was always under the impression that the once sold, outstanding tax disappears! But a friend thought I might be wrong and with the new rules regarding vehicles being off the road I thought I best check!

dodzy · 28-03-2014 12:50pm

cerastes wrote: »

when should thee new owner have to have it taxed by if they decide to take the vehicle away? is it meant to be taxed immediately, and is there a chance they could get stung if the tax is out for quite a while? and they decided to drive it home?

New owner would be liable for tax from the first day of the month in which he/she took ownership of the car*

* PITA if you were to buy it off whoopsie today:D

You would have to be very unfortunate to come across a guard that would seize the vehicle on the way home from purchasing.

filbert the fox · 28-03-2014 1:29pm

Get the seller to copy the Vehicle licencing Cert with your details filled in at the time of sals and display that on the dash or produce it in the unlikely event etc.....

ProudDUB · 28-03-2014 3:15pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Cool, yeh I knew the new owner would only be liable from the beginning of the month of registration.

I was always under the impression that the once sold, outstanding tax disappears! But a friend thought I might be wrong and with the new rules regarding vehicles being off the road I thought I best check!

If you are buying towards the end of the month, you can avoid paying tax for that entire month if you declare it off the road for that month and you don't actually drive it. That is what I did.

I bought my car on March 30. The garage owner drove it home for me. (Luckily, I lived nearby.) I got the form stamped by the Guards, stating the car was off the road for the month of March, even though I technically became its owner in March. I didn't drive the car at all that day, or the next. Then on April 1st, in I marched to the motor tax office to tax it. I was able to tax it from April onwards, as I had my off the road form.

Obviously, it takes a bit of planning to get the car from A to B if you can't drive it. But I wasn't gonna gift the Revenue the dosh for the entire month of March, when I only owned the car for about 36 hours in the entire month.

guil · 28-03-2014 3:18pm

filbert the fox wrote: »

Get the seller to copy the Vehicle licencing Cert with your details filled in at the time of sals and display that on the dash or produce it in the unlikely event etc.....

I just took a close pic of the tax book with the details filled in for if I was stopped before getting the log book.

corktina · 28-03-2014 3:19pm

That system is long gone. You don't go to the Gard's to get the form stamped any more.

ProudDUB · 28-03-2014 4:14pm

Can't be gone all that long. I did it in 2012.

28-03-2014 4:23pm

ProudDUB wrote: »

Can't be gone all that long. I did it in 2012.

Gone since last year. April I think

CiniO · 28-03-2014 4:39pm

Snotaul Goodman wrote: »

Gone since last year. April I think

Since September.
You still could declare car off the road retrospectively with garda witnessing your signature in August 2013.

cerastes · 28-03-2014 5:25pm

This system has only been in place since aug/sept last year, just wanted to know was there an official window for a vehicle to be taxed after purchase, I thought it was a week.

corktina · 28-03-2014 5:31pm

there's no leeway. It's an offence not to display a disc.

CiniO · 28-03-2014 5:37pm

cerastes wrote: »

This system has only been in place since aug/sept last year, just wanted to know was there an official window for a vehicle to be taxed after purchase, I thought it was a week.

There's no such thing.
Correct procedure when buying untaxed vehicle is not to drive it until change of ownership goes through is shannon (usually a week or so) and only then tax it and drive it.

cerastes · 28-03-2014 9:15pm

can vehicle owner declare off the road online yet?

CiniO · 28-03-2014 9:29pm

cerastes wrote: »

can vehicle owner declare off the road online yet?

Yes.
On motortax.ie website.

Notch000 · 31-03-2014 10:20am

Guess who got done for non display of tax ????

I only have the car 12 days and only recieved the log book around that date and have taxed since, not sure exactly, is there any grounds for appeal ????

corktina · 31-03-2014 10:52am

You can but try... respond to the ticket, say the car was taxed but you hadn't received the disc yet.

Notch000 · 31-03-2014 11:39am

my point is i coudent tax the car at the time as didnt have log book, it was taxed a few days after i got cert, whcih is probably a week after penality was logged

slimjimmc · 31-03-2014 12:03pm

Notch000 wrote: »

my point is i coudent tax the car at the time as didnt have log book, it was taxed a few days after i got cert, whcih is probably a week after penality was logged

Legally you shouldn't have used it on a public road until you had your disc on the windscreen so you've got little (ie. no) grounds for appeal. Check your disc, you'll see the date of issue is printed on it (small print) which is proof you weren't taxed at the time and couldn't have displayed a valid disc.

Notch000 · 31-03-2014 1:53pm

regardless of what date i taxed the car on, i could not have taxed it on the day i was ticketed as i did not have the log book to tax it on that date

PaddyFagan · 31-03-2014 1:59pm

Notch000 wrote: »

regardless of what date i taxed the car on, i could not have taxed it on the day i was ticketed as i did not have the log book to tax it on that date

So it shouldn't have been on the public road.

Almost all of us do this when we change car, but the reality is we're breaking the law. Your car was in a public place with no disc (offense 1) and wasn't taxed (offense 2) - I'd be annoyed too if it was me, but this thread is going round in circles......

Paddy

corktina · 31-03-2014 2:04pm

The only thing you can do is not park in a public place where a warden might get you. At least you can explain to a Gard if he stops you and more than likely be OK

Notch000 · 31-03-2014 2:16pm

catch 22 , chicken and egg situation

CiniO · 31-03-2014 2:47pm

Notch000 wrote: »

catch 22 , chicken and egg situation

No it isn't.
If you buy a untaxed car, out law makers planned for you, that you won't be able to use it for next few days or weeks. That's it.
No chicken and egg situation.

Bio Mech · 31-03-2014 3:24pm

Notch000 wrote: »

catch 22 , chicken and egg situation

If you want the bother you can go to court and I would think it likely the judge would strike it out, based on previous experience (my fathers very similar situation) if not you would be easiest to pay it and save yourself the headache.

Don't mind the "shouldn't be on the road" comments. Its not a huge deal really. Sometimes, practically, you just have to take the risk.

slimjimmc · 31-03-2014 4:22pm

Bio Mech wrote: »

If you want the bother you can go to court and I would think it likely the judge would strike it out, based on previous experience (my fathers very similar situation) if not you would be easiest to pay it and save yourself the headache.

Don't mind the "shouldn't be on the road" comments. Its not a huge deal really. Sometimes, practically, you just have to take the risk.

That's all well and good but if you're prepared to take the risk you should be prepared to take the consequences.

Going to court is also a risk, a judge might strike the case but there again he might not and you'll be faced with a bigger fine, and if it's a quiet news day you can look forward to your name possibly being published the local rag. Either way you'd likely taken time off work to appear and hired legal rep. The motor tax system is poor for change of ownership situations but the OP was caught fair and square.:(

cerastes · 02-04-2014 7:56pm

CiniO wrote: »

Yes.
On motortax.ie website.

It looks like you cant revive the motor tax after its been off the road without going to tax office, bit silly if thats true.

PaddyFagan wrote: »

So it shouldn't have been on the public road.

Almost all of us do this when we change car, but the reality is we're breaking the law. Your car was in a public place with no disc (offense 1) and wasn't taxed (offense 2) - I'd be annoyed too if it was me, but this thread is going round in circles......

Paddy

Its a bit ridiculous, there should be a reasonable allowance, if you purchased a car or any vehicle, to drive it home on that day or within a certain timeframe. If you pay for the tax when you arrived or if you choose to leave it parked up and SORN'd that should be the owners option, no harm comes from driving a car home that you just purchased.

CiniO · 02-04-2014 8:02pm

cerastes wrote: »

Its a bit ridiculous, there should be a reasonable allowance, if you purchased a car or any vehicle, to drive it home on that day or within a certain timeframe. If you pay for the tax when you arrived or if you choose to leave it parked up and SORN'd that should be the owners option, no harm comes from driving a car home that you just purchased.

I agree.
It's ridiculous that you are not allowed to drive untaxed tax, while they don't provide facility to tax it straight away after purchase.
It should be possible to tax it online 24/7 at any random time. A need for change of ownership to come through before it's taxed is mad.

Same thing with registering imported vehicle over 4 years old.
Car becomes due NCT on that day (day of registration) but you can not even book your NCT appointment for few days after that as they don't have car in their system yet.
Once you book it, usually waiting times are few weeks, possiblyu few months, if someone doesn't know the trick how to do it quicker.
Legally you are not allowed to use the car during that time (for those few weeks or months).

mickell · 22-04-2014 11:34am

What would happen if I sold a vehicle out of tax by over 6 months, (not declared off the road)
the new owner taxed it from the day they purchased it from me,
and I then buy it back off them a month later ?
Can that be done ??

CiniO · 22-04-2014 11:36am

mickell wrote: »

What would happen if I sold a vehicle out of tax by over 6 months, (not declared off the road)
the new owner taxed it from the day they purchased it from me,
and I then buy it back off them a month later ?
Can that be done ??

Of course it can be done.

corktina · 22-04-2014 11:53am

That's how it is set up currently. They wouldn't even need to tax it before you bought it back.

mickell · 22-04-2014 12:01pm

So no - one, ask's why did you sell and buy the same vehicle within a few months ?
bit of an obvious loop -whole ?

CiniO · 22-04-2014 12:04pm

mickell wrote: »

So no - one, ask's why did you sell and buy the same vehicle within a few months ?
bit of an obvious loop -whole ?

See there's nothing illegal about selling and buying a vehicly as many times you wish. So there would be very little point in anyone asking why did you do that.

corktina · 22-04-2014 12:17pm

So long as you genuinely sold the vehicle , then there's nothing to stop you buying it back. There would be Insurance issues of course with it being owned by someone else and eyebrows raised if it were found you were still in fact the main driver....raised eyebrows is probably all the authorities could do about it at present...no doubt the loophole will be shut eventually.

Motor tax clarification

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