Delay paying £190 car tax on EV until April 2026 (action needed before the end of March 2025)

I had mine yesterday and SWMBO's for her MG5, did them both online at £0, in less than 5 minutes.
 
emmrecs said:
Ditto here. But I need an MOT and third service (happening Feb 25th) so no re-tax yet.
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So has the date for your MOT passed by then. If it was still current, you should be able to tax it ?.
If the date has passed, but the car is booked in for its MOT, then you are still covered legally, but it could be still flagged up via a number plate recognition check.
 
emmrecs said:
No, this will be its first MOT (car was bought March 22) so tax due March 1st 2025, but requires a valid (electronic) MOT certificate to have been issued to be able to renew the tax.
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If it was registered March 21st a new MOT is not due until March 21st, so you don't require a MOT to tax it on March 1st, assuming your insurance is valid.
 
Kithmo said:
If it was registered March 21st a new MOT is not due until March 21st, so you don't require a MOT to tax it on March 1st, assuming your insurance is valid.
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Apologies for the confusion, I meant it was bought in March 2022! The actual "date of collection" was, I think, March 25th.

When I checked the online form to renew the tax it definitely said an MOT certificate was required.
 
Something doesn't add up ... a car registered at any time during March will have VED effective from 1st March. i.e. even if you register the car on the 31st you still "pay" for that whole month from 1st March. So what really matters is when the car was actually registered.
 
My road tax reminder that I received through the post, did include a reminder on the form, me that an MOT certificate will be required.
BUT - The date is clearly shown when that requirement date will be !.
In our car, it will be just prior to the 3rd anniversary, of when the car was first registered by the supplying dealer.
This was done in early March 2022 and the reminder stated that a road tax renewal was due BY the last day of Feb 2025 ( mid night ).
I was able to renew on line straight away, with no problems and with zero cost.
Just to be clear, if your car has now passed its third anniversary year ( this will be the original date of first registration shown on your V5 ) without having a current MOT certificate, then your car is not legally covered to be driven on the road and your car insurance will be invalid.
You are only covered to drive your car to a place where the car has been a pre booked appointment on that day !.
Not any other period after the 3rd anniversary date has passed, from the first date of registration.
 
@siteguru and @Lovemyev

Thanks for this!

Indeed I can, and have retaxed my car from March 1st, even without an MOT certificate!

Its actual date of first registration was March 25th 2022 so now I need to decide whether to "postpone" the MOT test date by a few weeks!
 
Lovemyev said:
My road tax reminder that I received through the post, did include a reminder on the form, me that an MOT certificate will be required.
BUT - The date is clearly shown when that requirement date will be !.
In our car, it will be just prior to the 3rd anniversary, of when the car was first registered by the supplying dealer.
This was done in early March 2022 and the reminder stated that a road tax renewal was due BY the last day of Feb 2025 ( mid night ).
I was able to renew on line straight away, with no problems and with zero cost.
Just to be clear, if your car has now passed its third anniversary year ( this will be the original date of first registration shown on your V5 ) without having a current MOT certificate, then your car is not legally covered to be driven on the road and your car insurance will be invalid.
You are only covered to drive your car to a place where the car has been a pre booked appointment on that day !.
Not any other period after the 3rd anniversary date has passed, from the first date of registration.
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No it won't - this is an urban myth, and the contrary (i.e. your insurance IS valid) has been upheld by the Insurance Ombudsman. Insurance may only be invalidated if the vehicle wasn't roadworthy, and that factor of roadworthiness would have been picked up by an MOT.

The rest of your post is fine. :)
 
siteguru said:
No it won't - this is an urban myth, and the contrary (i.e. your insurance IS valid) has been upheld by the Insurance Ombudsman. Insurance may only be invalidated if the vehicle wasn't roadworthy, and that factor of roadworthiness would have been picked up by an MOT.

The rest of your post is fine. :)
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Tom - Only speaking for myself here, personally I would not consider driving with an expired MOT.
The prospect and thought of being involved in a serious car accident, then is attended by the police.
The checks then discover the car is not currently carrying a valid MOT.
Then facing the prospect of a prosecution is clearly not great.
Being dependent on the insurance ombudsman to find in your favour in court, can be very risky.
If they did find in your favour, the insurance company could be facing the cost of the claim.
So, is this likely to happen ???.
Depending where you search, the answers on this topic does differ in some aspects.

Here is a quick example taken on the subject.

What Happens If You Drive Without An MOT?​

The consequences of driving without an MOT varies depending on the severity of your offence.

As mentioned previously, if you only drive without an MOT to the testing centre and can prove this to the police, they cannot fine you but will probably suggest you do not risk it again.

If you are pulled over by the police and cannot produce a valid MOT certificate or proof of an appointment, they are within their right to fine you up to £1,000. In the very rare occasion, if you genuinely forgot your renewal date and are only a day or two late, you might just get lucky and given a warning.

1. Your car failed an MOT test
It’s possible that your car fails a new MOT test while a current certificate is still valid. If this happens and no ‘dangerous’ problems are found, you CAN take your vehicle away for repairs and return at a later date for a full or partial retest.

2. You missed an MOT test​

If you have missed your test and your certificate has expired, you CAN be prosecuted for driving without an MOT.

The info below has been taken from the RAC website and suggests that "certain" insurance companies will NOT provide cover and that owner should check with them.

3. Can i drive my car without an MOT if it is booked in?​

Yes, you can drive a car to a pre-booked MOT test without a valid MOT certificate, even if it is on SORN and doesn't have car tax.

The vehicle must have insurance and you should check the policy is valid for driving without an MOT, as some insurers may not cover vehicles under these circumstances.

There is no law on how far you can drive a car without a valid MOT to a pre-booked appointment, but you should try and keep the distance as short as possible. Otherwise, if you are stopped by the police or involved in an accident, then you may still be could still be prosecuted for any defective parts on your vehicle.

There is an on-line MOT reminder service which is a helpful for some people.

www.gov.uk

Get MOT reminders

Sign up to get free reminders by text message or email a month before your MOT is due
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk
 
Lovemyev said:
Tom - Only speaking for myself here, personally I would not consider driving with an expired MOT.
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Neither would I ... I was simply correcting your previous mis-statement that no MOT = invalid insurance, which is absolutely not the case. :)
 

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