Tax Exempt???

Does anyone know how old a car has to be before it is tax exempt!

mine is 1981.

also which plates German Style or BLACK back with Chrome TEXT???

I think the car had to be registered before 1975 to be tax exempt  It sucks that the law changed.No cars registered after that will ever be tax exempt now (unless the law changes again)

Not 100% sure on this, but I think its even worse than that!!

My understanding is that your car has to have been manufactured before 1st Jan 1973. I think even if your car was registered a bit later than this, if you can prove it was manufactured before the cutoff date you can still claim the exemption.

Shame really - would be nice if they could update the date and bring it forward a bit. There can't be very many cars left on the roads that are pre '84 these days, so I'd be in favour of them "adjusting" it to 1st Jan 1984  

Chris

think theres a way of pettitioning and getting it brought forward?

c11rgd said

think theres a way of pettitioning and getting it brought forward?

1973

About the same chance as hell freezing over, seeing pigs flying, once in a blue moon!

They make too much revenue from it

I believe on VW campers that there is only one chassis number, and many have that ground out and replaced from a pre-1973 model to overcome this obstacle.

Highly illegal.

You are all going to think I'm a know it all but this is the rules as noted by ChrisB, A car is Tax exempt if manufactured before 1 Jan 1973, It can be registered later than this.

The confusion has been created by the original rule brought into place by the conservatives which had a rolling 25 year date for exemption…great…then labour came in and abolished it hence 1973  

I was reading and article in Practical Classics in March and they estimate if the rolling date was re-introduced 20,000 cars would qualify.

But they still make ?202 million pounds of tax from the ?325million pounds spent on Petrol each week.

So they loose ?3.6 million a year but take ?10.5 billion at the pumps a year anyway and save a  few classic cars on the way and keep restoration garages open etc etc.

Politics gone mad…and that applies to any of them  

Thanks for the clarification Rob - I wasn't sure if the dates I had in my mind were correct  :wink:

It would be great if they re-introduced the rolling rule, but in the current enviro-friendly climate I can't see any political party doing it. It would only affect a very small number of car owners (in voting terms) and reduce the money coming into the treasury, so all round an unlikely move on any politicians part.

Still, I'd be happy to be proved wrong on this one  

Chris

ChrisB said

Shame really - would be nice if they could update the date and bring it forward a bit. There can't be very many cars left on the roads that are pre '84 these days, so I'd be in favour of them "adjusting" it to 1st Jan 1984  

Chris

There's more than you think!!! thats why they changed their minds as look at all the lost revenue, even though most of these cars are only on the road for the summer its still a big loss.

73 is the cut of year . what is funny whatching people selling 1980 cars on evil bay .saying get your self a tax free car  

An interesting point in the practcal classic article was that post 1973 cars were being scarpped unnesserally due to the TAX cost and the fixed date of 1973 was unfair. By moving the date It should help the restoration industry which is currently woth 1.6 Billon and increase the need of skilled mechanics.
How diffcult is it to find a decent garage these days to look after your pride and joy! the one that are around are costly (If they are good) and if you ask them they don't make allot of money doing the things they enjoy.

Best example I can think of is a Midget, there is a particlur model that spans the 1973 date and one that is tax exempt can cost ?500 to ?1000 more than one which requires taxing in the same condtion even though both cars identical!

I think my opinion is that Road Tax is out of date on all cars and should be added to fuel duty so the more miles you do the more you pay ie reps etc pay more as they use the road more…

I only do 6000 miles a year and the wife only does 7000 but i pay the same as a 40000 mile a year rep  :roll:

PS I don't want a 1.1 either  

Just noticed in The May Practical Classics that if the Cons got in they would reintroduce the 25 year rolling date….Politicians are like……

no no no stop it they are truthfull, they are truthfull  

Around 1998 the Irish Gov't introduced a rolling 30-year classic car ruling, and it has stimulated the classic car scene very well over here. There are quite a lot of pre 1975 cars being restored and, because there is a shortage of suitable cars, a lot of condition 1 cars are coming in from the UK and some from South Africa.

The details are that when a car reaches thirty years old (from date of first registration), the car tax goes down to a fixed fee of ?35 per year, and there is no need to get an NCT (MOT).
Also, imported cars over 30 years old are only due a token import duty, as opposed to a minimum of ?350.

See the Irish aren't daft, they can see beyond the tax.

The engilsh on the other hand can't even ban smoking without having a row first  

Well I'm sure by the time my 1990 VW is 30 years old you'll have to get a special license to burn petrol  :cry:

See the Irish aren't daft

I like that ! 35 Euro. Tax

I dont like the :

"and there is no need to get an NCT (MOT)"

Too many plonkers over hear would abuse that one


Cheers………

I dont like the :

"and there is no need to get an NCT (MOT)"

Too many plonkers over hear would abuse that one

…although our MOT system isn't that tight, think 'postal MOTs' are still easy to get if you know the right person :roll: . Some of the dodgy, cheap bangers sold with 12 mnths MOT can't be that legit either.

I'd like a rolling year on year for classic cars, but I think 25 years is a bit too 'young' and might be abused a bit. 30 years seems more realistic to me. Once a car is 30 years old most of the remaining ones should be in the hands of genuine enthusiasts!

Cheers,

Drew.