Car Tax Checker: check if your car is taxed
Check if a vehicle is taxed
There’s two common questions that we’ve all probably asked ourselves at one point: Is my car taxed? When is tax due on my car? The answers to these questions are not always easy to remember, especially when you opt to renew your car tax annually.
Fear not though, as now you can use our free-to-use Car Tax Checker. The Car Tax Checker below is a tool which can confirm whether your car or vehicle has valid road tax in place, and when it will expire.
How do car tax checks work?
To find out your car’s tax status all you need is your vehicle’s registration number. Enter that into our Car Tax Checker tool down below and you’ll get all the information you need!
How to check if your vehicle is insured
To find out if your vehicle is insured, we’d firstly recommend that you double check whether you have any car insurance documentation.
If for some reason you can’t find any car insurance policies in folders or in your emails and are still not sure if your car has been insured, you can also check askMID. Read our article Is my car insured? How to check using askMID to find out more about how you can use this tool.
If you find that your vehicle is in fact uninsured, get in touch with the team here at Howden. Our team of industry specialists can help you get your hands on a car insurance policy that not only meets your budgetary expectations, but also ticks all your boxes with regard to cover.
Car Tax Checker FAQs
How much does it cost to tax my car?
The cost of car tax varies for each car. Its age, engine size, the amount of CO2 it emits or the type of fuel it uses, will impact how much it costs to tax it.
To find out whether your car is taxed or not enter your vehicle registration number into our Car Tax Checker above.
How do I tax my car?
You can use the reference number from any of the following three documents to tax your car:
A vehicle tax reminder (V11)
Your vehicle’s logbook (V5C), which must be in your name
The green ‘new keeper’ slip, if you’ve just bought the car
If you don’t have any of these documents, you’ll have to apply for a new logbook. You can usually do this whilst also taxing your vehicle. For more details on this, have a read of our article: How to tax a car: Your complete guide.
Can you tax a car without an MOT?
No, if your car requires does not hold a valid MOT certificate, you are not able to tax it. You must tax your car once it has passed its MOT. If you do tax your car without having a valid MOT, you risk invalidating your insurance.
The only scenarios where you can tax your car without it having a valid MOT are:
If the car is MOT exempt
If the car is road tax exempt
If the car is under 3 years old
If the car has been confirmed as SORN (statutory off-road notification)
If the car is used and registered to a disabled person.
You can find out more about road and car tax exemptions in our appropriately named article: Road tax exemption: all you need to know.
Can I tax a car without a V5?
Yes, you can tax a car without a V5, as long as you are the car’s registered keeper.
You will need to apply for a new V5C or a replacement, and you can do this at the Post Office or via the GOV.UK website, where you can also tax your vehicle at the same time. Having a V11 reminder or V62 form can help make the process of taxing your car without a V5 document easier.
How is road tax calculated?
Road tax, which is also commonly known as Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), regularly changes, and it depends on vehicle tax bands.
Cars in the UK sit under different tax bands and each band will have different rates applied to them, which car owners then pay as their car tax. Which car tax bands and rates are applied to your vehicle depends on either it’s engine size, fuel type of how much CO2 it emits. It could be either of these aspects of the vehicle, depending on when the vehicle was originally registered.
For instance, for cars registered between March 1st 2001 and March 31st 2017, their owners pay car tax based on CO2 emissions – the lower the emissions, the lower the road tax.
What happens if I drive an untaxed car?
Whilst there are some exemptions, on the whole, technically, it is illegal to drive a car that hasn’t been taxed. If you’re caught, the police will most likely issue you with a fine.
How do I cancel car tax?
You can cancel your car tax by informing the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) via the GOV.UK website. You should only cancel your car tax if you no longer own the car, or you’ve taken it off the road (SORN).
We have a step-by-step guide on cancelling car tax which you can read here: How to Cancel Car Tax: A Step-by-Step Guide.
How to get a car tax refund
To get a car tax refund, you need to cancel your car tax. You can do this by informing the DVLA via the GOV.UK website.
Once the DVLA have been informed of your car tax cancellation you’ll receive a refund cheque for any full months left on your vehicle tax. If you pay your car tax via Direct Debit, this will also be automatically cancelled.
Do electric cars need to be taxed?
It was confirmed in 2022 by the UK government that drivers of electric vehicles will need to pay Vehicle Excise Duty, also known as road tax, from April 1st 2025.
Looking for car insurance? Get in touch with us today! You can either give us a call on 01235 550 200, get a quote via the Howden website, or visit us in your local branch.
