British drivers can land a huge fine for making a simple error when applying for car tax. Thousands of motorists are at risk of lading a fine for not taxing their vehicle for a simple misunderstanding, claims report. There are around three million cars on the road in the UK which do not require any road tax payment each year. Several cars in operation on the roads, such as electric cars costing under £40,000 and vehicles that are 40-year-old or older, will not have to pay any vehicle excise duty.
However, while these drivers are exempt from paying tax they must still register their vehicle.
Registering your vehicle for tax is free to do and is a requirement of motorists even if their car is exempt.
A failure to do so could result in the driver being handed an £80 fine.
It was found that 34,012 of these drivers were fined for not paying car tax.
Steve Nowottny, news and features editor at MoneySavingExpert said: “While the DVLA may argue it’s important drivers follow the rules so it has accurate records, evidently something’s going wrong.
“The fact so many people are falling foul of this peculiar process suggests at the very least it needs to communicate more clearly with motorists.”
“It sounds bizarre that you can get fined for not applying to tax a vehicle which doesn’t need to have tax paid on it,” Nowottney added.
“But these figures show that each year thousands are getting caught out – so make sure you’re not one of them.”
“If your vehicle’s nil-rated, make sure you diarise to apply to tax it each year, and if you’re contacted by the DVLA don’t ignore it – even if you’re told you’re owed £0.”
Motorists can also be at risk of having their vehicle clamped for failing to tax it even if they are required to pay £0 for it.
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