To find out when your car tax is due, enter your registration number into the DVLA’s free vehicle enquiry service on GOV.UK. The results page shows whether the vehicle is currently taxed and the exact month and year the current tax period ends.1GOV.UK. Check if a Vehicle is Taxed Vehicle tax always expires at midnight on the last day of that month, so once you have the month, you have the deadline.
How to Check Your Due Date
The quickest route is the online check. You only need the number on your licence plate. No paperwork, no reference numbers, no account.2GOV.UK. Get Vehicle Information From DVLA The service confirms whether the vehicle is taxed or registered as off the road, and displays the expiry date alongside the make and model. Check that the details on screen match your car before relying on the date.
If you want to see the current tax rate as well as the due date, you will need the eleven-digit reference number from your V5C registration certificate (the logbook).1GOV.UK. Check if a Vehicle is Taxed
Prefer the phone? The DVLA vehicle tax service is available 24 hours a day on 0300 123 4567.3GOV.UK. Tax Your Vehicle – Section: Other Ways to Apply
When Vehicle Tax Actually Expires
Expiry is always at midnight on the final day of the month shown on your record. If your tax runs from April, a twelve-month payment expires at midnight on 31 March the following year; a six-month payment expires at midnight on 30 September. Because the date sits at the end of a calendar month, your renewal deadline stays the same year to year.
The DVLA sends a V11 reminder by letter, email, or text message several weeks before the tax runs out. The V11 carries a sixteen-digit reference number you can use to renew.4GOV.UK. Register Your Vehicle as Off the Road (SORN) If you pay by Direct Debit, collections happen automatically, but the underlying expiry still follows this month-end cycle.
How to Renew Before the Deadline
You can renew online, by phone, or at a Post Office branch that handles vehicle tax.3GOV.UK. Tax Your Vehicle – Section: Other Ways to Apply Whichever route you choose, you need one of these reference numbers:
- The sixteen-digit number from your V11 reminder
- The eleven-digit number from your V5C logbook, if you are the registered keeper5GOV.UK. Tax Your Vehicle Without a Vehicle Tax Reminder
- The twelve-digit number from the green new keeper slip, if you have just bought the car and the V5C is not yet in your name5GOV.UK. Tax Your Vehicle Without a Vehicle Tax Reminder
To pay in person, take your V11 or V5C to a participating Post Office, along with your payment or bank details if you want to set up a Direct Debit at the counter.3GOV.UK. Tax Your Vehicle – Section: Other Ways to Apply
Paying Annually, Six-Monthly, or Monthly
A single twelve-month payment costs nothing extra. Paying every six months or monthly by Direct Debit spreads the cost but adds a five percent surcharge on top of the annual rate.6GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Direct Debit Payments – Set Up a Direct Debit Monthly payments are only available by Direct Debit, and Direct Debit cannot be set up over the phone. Once it is running, renewals happen automatically as long as there are funds in the account, so you will not miss a deadline.
If You Miss Your Renewal Date
The DVLA enforces vehicle tax electronically. Cameras and database checks can flag an untaxed vehicle without any police involvement. The main consequences:
- A late payment penalty of up to £1,000, or five times the annual tax, whichever is greater7GOV.UK. DVLA Enforcement of Vehicle Tax, Registration and Insurance Offences
- Wheel clamping, with a £100 release fee payable within 24 hours7GOV.UK. DVLA Enforcement of Vehicle Tax, Registration and Insurance Offences
- Impounding if the release fee is not paid on time, adding a £200 fee and £21 per day in storage7GOV.UK. DVLA Enforcement of Vehicle Tax, Registration and Insurance Offences
Vehicles left unclaimed from a pound can eventually be sold or crushed. Even a short lapse can become expensive fast.
If You Have Just Bought the Car
A previous owner’s tax does not carry over. When a car changes hands the remaining tax is cancelled automatically, the seller is refunded for full unused months, and the buyer must tax the car before driving it on a public road. Use the twelve-digit number on the green new keeper slip that the seller hands over at the point of sale to tax it online, by phone, or at a Post Office.5GOV.UK. Tax Your Vehicle Without a Vehicle Tax Reminder This applies whether you bought from a dealer or a private seller.
If the Car Is Not Being Used
A vehicle that is neither taxed nor declared off the road counts as illegally untaxed, even sitting on a private driveway. If you are not going to use the car or keep it on a public road, make a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) instead of paying tax. A SORN is free, can be filed online, by phone, or by post, and stays in place until you tax the vehicle again, sell it, export it, or scrap it.8GOV.UK. When You Need to Make a SORN – Overview
A SORN starts immediately if your tax has already expired, or if you apply outside the month your tax is due to expire. If you apply during the month of expiry, the SORN starts on the first day of the following month. You cannot backdate one.8GOV.UK. When You Need to Make a SORN – Overview
One point worth checking this year: from 1 April 2025, zero-emission cars are no longer exempt from vehicle tax.9UK Government Publishing Service. V149 Rates of Vehicle Tax If you drive an electric car that used to be taxed at £0, run the online check on your registration number now, because you will owe tax at your next renewal.