Do motor tax arrears carry?

ScouseMouse

Just having a conversation with a buddy of mine and I don' believe what he just told me.

He had a car taken off him for having car-tax arrears. He left it with them over a year ago and I assume its been scrapped.

Now he reckons he still has the arrears outstanding so if he buys a car now, with no tax, he has to pay for the seized cars arrears, and any car he buys now.

To me that's a load of bollix. Tell me that's not true!

Cheers

PirateShampoo

It's not true.

Spacerhead

No not true, the tax dies with the car, unsure though if the car was auctioned (rather than scrapped) would the new buyer have to pay the tax arrears or can the Gards zero it?

Dartz

New owner == zero tax. You're starting from scratch.

slimjimmc

Spacerhead wrote: »

No not true, the tax dies with the car, unsure though if the car was auctioned (rather than scrapped) would the new buyer have to pay the tax arrears or can the Gards zero it?

A new buyer is not liable. Tax arrears are not passed on the new buyer and the previous owner isn't required to pay arrears either.

Spacerhead

Does this mean that if you owed say 2 years tax on your car you could sell the car to a mate, pay him the money for say 3 months tax and then buy the car back off him and the tax arrears would vanish!?

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

Bandito909

Spacerhead wrote: »

Does this mean that if you owed say 2 years tax on your car you could sell the car to a mate, pay him the money for say 3 months tax and then buy the car back off him and the tax arrears would vanish!?

Yuss sir, you could put the car in his name. he waits for the logbook to come back. Change it back to your name. You tax it from scratch. No need to tax it when it's in your mate's name.

It does add extra owner's to the logbook however. But meh, do it while ya can I reckon.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

Spacerhead

Bandito909 wrote: »

Yuss sir, you could put the car in his name. he waits for the logbook to come back. Change it back to your name. You tax it from scratch. No need to tax it when it's in your mate's name.

It does add extra owner's to the logbook however. But meh, do it while ya can I reckon.

Is this legal or would the Revenue consider this a scam and come after you for the arrears anyway, seeing as the Revenue handle vehicle ownership and I presume Motor Tax as well they or their computers could put two and two together?

9935452

Spacerhead wrote: »

Is this legal or would the Revenue consider this a scam and come after you for the arrears anyway, seeing as the Revenue handle vehicle ownership and I presume Motor Tax as well they or their computers could put two and two together?

At the moment its a legal loophole

Atlantic Dawn

Spacerhead wrote: »

Is this legal or would the Revenue consider this a scam and come after you for the arrears anyway, seeing as the Revenue handle vehicle ownership and I presume Motor Tax as well they or their computers could put two and two together?

The tax is on the car not on the owner, when the ownership is changed the arrears are erased. There's not much benefit though driving around with a car with tax months out of date risking it getting seized unless you like living on the edge.