Vehicle tax for People With Disabilities

[stuartvolvo]

Vehicle tax for people with disabilities



You may be entitled to a free tax disc if you're a person with disabilities who gets the higher rate of the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance, War Pensioner's Mobility Supplement or have an invalid carriage.



Who can apply for a free disabled tax disc

To apply for a free disabled tax disc, the vehicle must be either:
registered in your name
registered in the name of someone who only uses their vehicle to help you – for example, takes you shopping

You’ll need an exemption certificate to get your free disabled tax disc. You may be entitled to receive an exemption certificate if you’re receiving:
Disability Living Allowance – higher rate of the mobility component
War Pensioner’s Mobility Supplement

Exemption certificates

If you’re getting Disability Living Allowance, your exemption certificate could be either a:
Certificate of Entitlement to Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
annual Certificate of Entitlement
DLA404(NI) Certificate

These exemption certificates are issued by the Disability and Carers Service.


If you’re claiming War Pensioners Mobility Supplement, you’ll have the WPA0442 War Pensioners Mobility Certificate, which is issued by the Service Personnel and Veteran’s Agency.


If you’re eligible under the Disabled Passenger Scheme, you’ll have an AA404(NI) certificate. The exemption certificate must be valid and can only be used to tax one vehicle at a time.


Using a vehicle which has a free disabled tax disc

The vehicle must either be used by yourself or by someone who only uses their vehicle to help you, for example getting prescriptions for you.

You won’t be able to get a free disabled tax disc if:
the vehicle is not used directly for your purposes
you’re no longer entitled to the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance


Renewing your free disabled tax disc

You can renew your free disabled tax disc at a Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA) licensing office or at a Post Office® branch that issues tax discs.

Changes in your circumstances

Going into hospital

Providing the vehicle continues to be used only for your purposes, exemption from vehicle tax will still apply if you’re in hospital for more than:
28 days for an adult
84 days for a child

This still applies if you lose your entitlement to Disability Living Allowance as a result of your stay in hospital.

Selling your vehicle

If you sell the vehicle, you should return the disabled tax disc to the DVA on an 'Application for a refund of vehicle tax when you have the tax disc V14(NI)'. You will also need to send a covering letter and fill in the relevant section of your Registration Certificate (V5C(NI)).


Your entitlement to a qualifying benefit has ended

If your entitlement to a qualifying benefit ends you will need to return the disabled tax disc and certificate of entitlement to the DVA. You’ll need to do this on an 'Application for a refund of vehicle tax when you have the tax disc V14(NI)'.

You’ll need to purchase a new tax disc and update the Registration Certificate V5C(NI) to reflect the appropriate paying tax class. A change from disabled to another taxation class can only be carried out at a DVA local office.

Once the changes have been made you can tax at a Post Office® that issues tax discs next time.

The vehicle is not being used solely for your purpose

The vehicle will not be exempt from tax if it’s used in a way which is not directly for the purposes of the disabled person. You should contact the DVA and tax the vehicle in the appropriate tax class.

The disabled tax disc previously issued must be returned on an 'Application for a refund of vehicle tax when you have the tax disc V14(NI)' along with the exemption certificate and a covering letter.


Invalid carriages

You don't need an exemption certificate to get a free disabled tax disc for an invalid carriage.

The vehicle must:
be registered in your name
weigh less than 509 kg
be adapted, used or kept on a road for a person with disabilities

Your vehicle doesn't need to be registered or display a tax disc if it:
weighs less than 113.4 kg
is for footway use only
has a maximum speed of four miles per hour

I hope that this information is useful, and if you have any more queries, you can find information out here

http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/vehicle-t...isabled-people

[JMCA-S60]

Originally Posted by stuartvolvo

Vehicle tax for people with disabilities

You may be entitled to a free tax disc if you're a person with disabilities who gets the higher rate of the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance, War Pensioner's Mobility Supplement or have an invalid carriage.

It is also worth pointing out that if you live in a region where Personal Independence Payments (PIP) have been rolled out, an award of the enhanced rate of the mobility component of PIP will also entitle you to a free tax disc, or the standard rate of the mobility component of PIP will entitle you to 50% discount on your vehicle tax.

[Sonolta]

I've had a blue badge for over 10 years to date, some of the main aspects of being a blue badge holder is being able to use the appropriate parking spaces (trust me when I say how totally angry you can get when non blue badge drivers use the designated parking spaces without any consideration for those of us who are entitled to use them). Furthermore, for UK disabled drivers, you can park on double yellow lines for up to 3 hours (I strongly advise anyone who hasn't already got these to get both the rear window blue badge wheelchair sticker (removable) and the dashboard clock card which you display with the blue badge itself. Make sure you don't cause any obstruction if parking on double yellow lines.

The free vehicle tax is available to those who are in receipt of certain benefits such as the higher rate of the old DLA, current PIP or Mobility Supplement if you're a *War Pensioner (*as I am), but you can also be entitled to the free road tax if you have more than one of the eligible benefits (as I was and will be again very soon) for both the War Pensioners Mobility Supplement and higher rate DLA.

I bought my car privately and the V5C was in the 'normal' tax category, but when we concluded the transaction at my home, they went to the direct.gov website and changed the vehicle ownership into my name/address and that also meant that any residual road tax was refunded to them. About 4 or 5 days later, I received the V5C in my name. When I went to the Post Office to tax the car, as the V5C was already in my name, there was no need to complete the form about changing from PLG to the Disabled tax class though you'll need to present them with the appropriate documentation that shows your entitlement at which point you'll have your car taxed and no need to send or complete other forms or paperwork. You'll get another V5C from the DVLA which will then show the car as being in the Disabled tax category, and unless anyone does their tax renewal manually, it takes less than 2 minutes to renew online and no need to queue up at the P.O. with reams of paperwork.

I don't pretend to know in any detail about such things, but it's from my own experience that I'm imparting this info others may find useful. This URL is one of many that anyone reading may find of use in addition to the direct.gov website.

If this is of use to other forum members then that's great, but at least you have a starting point to work from.

[stuartvolvo]

Thank you for your added input Sonolta, it is greatly appreciated.

Regards
Stuart

[Alec Dawe]

The problem with this is that there doesn’t seem to be any way to get exemption or a reduction in “car tax” if you become disabled in later life. I have just been assessed for, and granted a Blue Badge, and have had to buy myself an electric Mobility Scooter. But all the mobility benefits appear to be out of reach. It is not possible to make a new claim for Disabled Living Allowance, and you can not make a claim for Personal Independence Payments if you are over Pensionable Age. The only benefit that someone my age can claim for is Attendance Allowance, But this has No Mobility Component!
So at my age (71) it seems that I fall between two stools!
If anyone knows a way around this conundrum, and a way to claim some sort of mobility allowance, I’d be glad to hear it!