Drivers who reduce car tax bill to £0 from April face £1,000 fine

Drivers who reduce car tax bill to £0 from April face £1,000 fine
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Motorists dodging new 2025 car tax rule changes face a staggering £1,000 fine. It is against the rules to drive a vehicle without paying VED with any tax evaders set to face sizeable penalties if caught, road users have been warned ahead of the shake up from the new Labour Party government.

The RAC advises: "If you’re the registered keeper of an untaxed vehicle, you’ll be issued with a Late Licensing Penalty (LLP) letter. The fine is £80, but this can be reduced to £40 if you pay within 33 days. If you fail to pay, the case will be referred to a debt collection agency.

"Anyone caught using or keeping an untaxed vehicle without a SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) will be issued with an Out of Court Settlement (OCS) letter. The OCS is set at £30 plus one-and-a-half times the outstanding vehicle tax rate."

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If this is not paid, the case may be pursued via a magistrates’ court, with a penalty of £1,000 or five times the amount chargeable (whichever is greater), road users have been warned. This penalty increases to £2,500 if you’re caught using or keeping an untaxed vehicle on a public road with a SORN in place.

In both cases, the vehicle might be clamped, and a £100 clamp release fee will be payable within the first 24 hours, motorists have been told. If the vehicle is removed, the fee increases to £200, along with a £21 per day storage fee beginning once the vehicle has been removed to the vehicle pound.

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The RAC said: "Driving without car tax, can lead to serious consequences - with a fine up to £1000. Now that the disc is now longer in use, the police use a network of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras to check if a car is taxed. If a car that is not taxed is abandoned, the vehicle is stored for a period between 7 and 14 days, at which point it might be disposed of at auction, broken for spares, or crushed.

"You need to make a SORN when you take a vehicle ‘off the road’ and you want to stop taxing and insuring it."