40 YO tax exemption woes
Author
Discussion

crofty1984

Original Poster:

16,507 posts

221 months

Just a bit of a heads up to anyone it may affect as it caught me by surprise. I've been (im)patiently waiting for my car to reach 40 years old this year. I went to the post office and it wasn't giving them the option to update it. I called the DVLA and apparently despite being first registered on 1st August 1985, the DVLA don't let you swap it over until the end of their financial year, so that's me paying 30 quid a month until 1st April.

Bums. frown

Dave Hedgehog

15,294 posts

221 months

that was always my understanding that on the 1st of April cars that had achieved 40 yo were added to the exemption

ChocolateFrog

32,483 posts

190 months

You've got a Post Office nearby? Fancy.

InitialDave

13,547 posts

136 months

Yes, it's how it's always been AFAIK.

Bit annoying but ah well.

sixor8

7,096 posts

285 months

It's been this way since the rolling Historics VED exemption was brought back in 2014, with a 40 yrs threshold. It had been frozen at pre 1973 since 1998 (when it was 25 yrs) by Gordon Brown. frown

TarquinMX5

2,279 posts

97 months

IIRC, it's a little more complicated as in if at January 1st the car is more than 40- years old then it becomes exempt from the following April. Mot exemption is simply 40-years. Why they're not both the same, who knows?

Turbobanana

7,389 posts

218 months

Always been like that. Good example of "read the small print".

More positively, only another 7 months to wait...

sixor8

7,096 posts

285 months

Yesterday (20:17)
quotequote all
TarquinMX5 said:
IIRC, it's a little more complicated as in if at January 1st the car is more than 40- years old then it becomes exempt from the following April. Mot exemption is simply 40-years. Why they're not both the same, who knows?
The 40 year MoT exemption is already laid down by DVSA. I expect the rolling forward of VED set at £0 (so not really an exemption, just zero rated for VHI) has to be approved by the Treasury, i.e. In the budget. Which is why I wonder if it'll continue much longer. frown

A car has to be transferred into the VHI category to be £0 VED. No MoT requirement is automatic.

catso

15,278 posts

284 months

My Motoguzzi (Motorbike) fell fowl of the rules by a day.

To qualify, it needed to be 40 years old and registered before (IIRC) the 8th of January 1980 but it was first registered (in Italy) on the 9th so I had to wait another year.

Obviously the bike was built and bought in 1979 as the factory and likely the bike shop would have been closed until at least 6th Jan (Epiphany, national Holiday) but registered early '80 - this being a classic Italian thing, registering a '79 bike in '80 to make it a year later on the reg, presumably to help with future residual values?

I discovered that I could have got a dating letter from Moto Guzzi (doubtful?) or the UK owner's club stating it was actually built in 1979 which may have been accepted but this would have been complex and likely cost as much (or more) as the tax so didn't bother.

As it happened the 40 year thing fell during lockdown and so the MOT was given a free 6 month extension, taking me into the winter after which I SORN'd it so it was only the tax I had to pay and it became MOT exempt/free tax from April the following year.


Watcher of the skies

894 posts

54 months

catso said:
My Motoguzzi (Motorbike) fell fowl of the rules by a day.

To qualify, it needed to be 40 years old and registered before (IIRC) the 8th of January 1980 but it was first registered (in Italy) on the 9th so I had to wait another year.

Obviously the bike was built and bought in 1979 as the factory and likely the bike shop would have been closed until at least 6th Jan (Epiphany, national Holiday) but registered early '80 - this being a classic Italian thing, registering a '79 bike in '80 to make it a year later on the reg, presumably to help with future residual values?

I discovered that I could have got a dating letter from Moto Guzzi (doubtful?) or the UK owner's club stating it was actually built in 1979 which may have been accepted but this would have been complex and likely cost as much (or more) as the tax so didn't bother.

As it happened the 40 year thing fell during lockdown and so the MOT was given a free 6 month extension, taking me into the winter after which I SORN'd it so it was only the tax I had to pay and it became MOT exempt/free tax from April the following year.

Maybe it's time to 'give the bird' to the rules laugh

droopsnoot

13,634 posts

259 months

catso said:
I discovered that I could have got a dating letter from Moto Guzzi (doubtful?) or the UK owner's club stating it was actually built in 1979 which may have been accepted but this would have been complex and likely cost as much (or more) as the tax so didn't bother.
I've done that on two cars - one of them is registered on 13th January, the other closer to the end of January. One dating certificate was free of charge and just involved emailing some photographs to Vauxhall Heritage (though I believe they now make a small charge) and the other was done entirely by email and at no cost with Audi UK customer services.

That reminds me, I need to send the confirmation letter off for the second one and get the date of manufacture added to the V5C, as that will become eligible on April 1st next year as long as the rules don't change.

Edited by droopsnoot on Thursday 11th September 12:10