Do I cancel my road tax if I sell my car?

If you’re thinking about parting ways with your vehicle, you might be wondering: ‘Do I have to cancel my road tax if I sell my car?’

Whether you’re upgrading to something shinier, downsizing for simplicity, or just moving on, selling a car comes with some important bits of paperwork. Dealing with your vehicle taxes is one of these things you’ll have to tick off the list. Let’s take a look at how you do this and why it’s an important step to remember.

Key Takeaways

• What is road tax, and why do I need to pay it?
• Do I need to cancel my road tax when selling my car?
• How do I cancel my road tax?
• Can I get a road tax refund?

What is road tax, and why do I need to pay it?

Road tax, officially known as Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), funds public infrastructure projects, which means if you’re using the roads, you’re also contributing to their upkeep.

Everyone with a registered vehicle must pay road tax, and driving an untaxed car could leave you with big fines.

Do I need to cancel my road tax when selling my car?

Well, the short answer is yes, you do need to cancel your road tax.

When you sell or transfer ownership, you need to let the DVLA know. If you don’t, you could end up still paying the road tax on a car you no longer own.

Cancelling your road tax isn’t just for when you’re selling, though. There are several other scenarios when you might have to do this, including:

• Taking the car off the road (Statutory Off Road Notification or SORN)
• Having the car written off by your insurance company
• Scrapping the car at a scrapyard
• Reporting the car as stolen
• Exporting the car out of the UK
• Registering the car as exempt from vehicle tax

How do I cancel my road tax?

Cancelling your road tax is pretty straightforward! All you have to do is let the DVLA know you’ve sold your car or transferred vehicle ownership.

This can be done in a few minutes through the government website.

Just make sure you have your V5C document. As soon as you’ve let the DVLA know that you’ve sold your car, your vehicle tax will be cancelled – if you pay by direct debit, this will also be automatically cancelled.

Can I get a road tax refund?

Yes, you can get a road tax refund if you cancel your vehicle tax. The refund is automatically calculated and sent out by the DVLA when you let them know you’ve sold your car.

Your refund will cover any full remaining months of tax and the amount will be sent to the registered keeper’s address as a cheque.

Remember to double-check your details with the DVLA to make sure you receive your money.

Ready to sell your car? We’re ready to buy!

So now you know the ins and outs of cancelling your vehicle tax, are you ready to sell?

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