Changing V5C owner when tax is in different name?

Phemo

Phemo

Phemo

Soldato
Joined
6 May 2004
Posts
6,071
Location
Fareham
Hi guys,

Got a bit of a situation that I really should've thought a bit more about at the time. Basically I bought a car privately for my wife and as I travelled up to pick it up alone, I've had to sign the V5C and put it in my name. I then gave her the V5C/2 code so she could set tax up herself and she has done this setting it up as a direct debit and in her own name.

She has now decided she wants the car in her name so it means updating the V5C. Normally I'd be quite against it as it's putting another owner on there for no real reason but we'll end up keeping the car until it dies anyway so I'm not worried about that.

The problem is under the new tax rules obviously the DVLA will automatically refund the previous keeper for any unused tax or cancel the direct debit. In this case it's set up as a direct debit but under another name so what will happen here?

Since it's paid by direct debit there are no months to be refunded. I'd imagine that they'll cancel the existing direct debit anyway and then it means paying for the same month twice. If that does happen I just don't want there to be any risk of driving around without tax before being able to set it up again since there will be a delay between them sending a notification letter out and it being received.

TLDR; Car V5C is in my name, tax is in wife's name, we want to change the V5C so she is the registered keeper - what happens with the tax side?

Personally I think it should just be left as it is as it's still all being paid for and is no faffing around but there we go :)
 
Well since it's paid for by direct debit there'll be nothing to refund anyway. My assumption would be that they'll just cancel the direct debit and then she'll need to use the V5C/2 to set up yet another direct debit and pay twice for that month. Makes sense for it to be that way as far as the new rules are concerned.

I'll give the DVLA a call to clarify anyway.
 
cancel the DD before it comes out for the new month, then sort out the new DD on the first day of the next month, then send off the document?
 
Go here: https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax

1. Hit Apply Now
2. Choose "I don't have the V11 reminder, just the registration certificate or new keeper supplement"
3. Choose "New keeper (using V5C/2 new keeper supplement document reference number)"
4. Fill in the 12 digit ref number from the V5C/2 and reg.

Follow the next steps and then send the completed V5 to the DVLA showing a keeper change. That way the car is retaxed in the new keepers name. I would do this around the 28th of this month but cancel the DD about the 20th and you SHOULDNT miss out on any tax.
 
Bit off topic here as the op has an answer but is it me or are people generally getting themselves into some sort of worry for absolutely nothing since the change of rules?

Worrying about whether it ends up technically unpaid/untaxed for a couple of days really isn't worth it, nothing will happen - I doubt the system can even keep up to flag up on any of the databases should you be driving it past cameras or the traffic police in that time.
 
I am not sure why people worry about it being untaxed if they do it right.

The tax is not cancelled until the DVLA receive and process the completed V5 from previous keeper. This can take 1-2 minimum going by Royal Mail. Just tax it online using the process above when you get home and it'll be fine.
 
Normally I would have done exactly that, as it'll still show taxed as the DVLA wouldn't know any different at that point.

However I had my suspicions about the seller. He had the dealer slip missing on the V5C I signed so that made me wonder whether the car was taxed or not so I check the DVLA database and sure enough, it wasn't. I wasn't prepared to risk driving from Birmingham to Portsmouth like that so I got my wife to tax it which she would have had to do anyway.

Car was fine and yes I did test drive it but not on public roads luckily.

Anyway thanks for the pointers. Will just leave it towards the end of the month, get her to cancel her direct debit, set up a new one on the 1st and send the DVLA form off then too. Sorted.
 
Quick tax/insurance question to save making a new thread:

I bought a bike and just got the V5 through. The previous owner SORN'd it when he sold it to me, it has no insurance on it yet. Now when I go online to tax it, it only seems to check if the bike has an MOT, which is does. But although it will allow me to tax it, will I still get a fine for taxing it without valid insurance?

The reason its not insured is I haven't passed my test yet so I can't ride it anyway, taxing it now would just save messing around later. On the gov.uk website it says that to tax it at a post office you only need the MOT certificate and the V5C, proof of insurance is no longer a requirement, is this something that has changed with the new system?
 
You can sorn it online in 5 seconds with the V5. You can also then tax it online in seconds when you pass.(As long as it's still MOT'd). I don't see the problem.
 
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