Driving without tax

What is the penalty for driving without Tax Guide? Is it illegal to drive without tax? How long can you drive without road tax? No, the punishment for driving without road tax does not include penalty points on your licence.

Those caught driving a car without road tax by police face a fixed penalty notice (FPN) of up to £00 which is payable on the spot. Police use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to detect cars without tax.

If you are caught driving an untaxed vehicle, you could be fined up to £000. It’s illegal to drive without your vehicle being taxed. However, there are some scenarios where driving without vehicle tax is unavoidable. But before we look at what the law has to say about driving without tax, first let’s revisit what vehicle tax is – and what it isn’t.

Read our complete guide to vehicle tax here. We explain what vehicle tax is, why it’s collecte and how much you’ll have to pay.

The basic penalty for driving without relevant vehicle tax (road tax as it used to be known) is £if imposed by the DVLA. If you make a payment to the DVLA within days it can be halved.

Although driving without tax is an offence, it is irrelevant in most cases to what is stated as being a prerequisite for insurance cover. Check if the vehicle is taxed before you report it - this is a free service. However, if you’re convicted of driving without insurance, an INendorsement will remain on your driving licence for four years - and you’ll need to disclose it to insurance providers for a further year.

It is a driving offence to drive a vehicle without road tax on a public road in the UK. However, if you are driving your vehicle to a pre-booked MOT test, this is an exception where you can drive on a public road without your vehicle being taxed. In the absence of payment, a Single Justice Procedure Notice is issued which can result in a fine of £0or times the road fund licence figure.

If your car is not exempt from vehicle tax, an exception may be made if you are caught driving without tax on the way to a pre-booked MOT. This is not guaranteed however, and will depend on the situation – if you are driving to an MOT test centre which is particularly far away, the police are unlikely to be sympathetic. I let my road tax lapse and have.

However, it has always been possible to avoid paying car tax by stopping driving at all, and officially informing the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) that you’re taking your vehicle off public roads. If you’re caught without having paid car tax, you can be fined up to £000.

The consequences are serious and could lead to a criminal conviction. At the very least you could get a fixed penalty fine of £3and six penalty points on your licence. So, there are serious consequences. You can also drive your vehicle on a road without road tax in these circumstances too but your vehicle must be insured.

Certificate of roadworthiness If you are driving a vehicle that has passenger seats or more, or you drive a goods vehicle, goods trailer or ambulance, you must have a certificate of roadworthiness. Long story short, it’s illegal to drive without car tax, but there are some scenarios where driving without car tax is unavoidable.

Unless you meet certain criteria, the only time you’re allowed to travel without car tax is when you’re driving to a pre-booked MOT test. We’ve covered the question of when you can drive without car tax here.

Excerpt: If you’re driving or storing your car on a public road you need to pay road tax (also known as vehicle tax or car tax ). Hefty fees are also required to release an untaxed vehicle. Riding a motorbike declared SORN (Statutory Off-Road Notification) or having paid the incorrect amount of road tax is an offence too. Paying back duty may also apply.

I was considering selling the car with tax but its not feasible for me to get insured on the car just to get tax so I decided I had to sell it without. If you are not using your vehicle on public roads and you do not wish to tax it, it must be declared with a SORN. Driving to an MOT Appointment Without Tax. The exception here is that a vehicle with a SORN (no tax ) can be legally driven to a pre-booked MOT.

What happens if I’m caught driving without an MOT? If you’re stopped by the police and asked for a copy of your valid MOT, not being able to show one can have serious consequences.