3 Things You Should Know About 6 Month Tax Discs

When you come to tax your car, you normally have the choice of buying a tax disc for either 6 or 12 months.  However, recent changes to the way that car tax bands are calculated means that it’s no longer possible to buy 6 months road tax in all circumstances.

Additionally, road tax can generally work out more expensive if you buy it every 6 months than if you buy it every 12 months.

Our guide looks at three things you should know about buying 6 months car tax.

6 months car tax is not available if your annual road tax costs under £50

If your annual car tax costs under £50, you won’t be able to buy 6 months road tax.  If your car was first registered after 1 March 2001 and its CO2 emissions are under 120 g/km then you will be in bands A-C.  As the cost of 12 months tax is under £50 for cars in these bands, you can only buy an annual tax disc and not a 6 month one.

You can’t get 6 months tax on all new registrations

Vehicles being registered for the first time after 1 April 2010 in bands A to D will also not be able to get a six-month tax disc at first registration.  As no road tax is payable for cars in bands A-D on first registration, only a 12 month tax disc is available.

And, cars registered after 1 April 2010 in bands H to M will also not be able to buy a six-month tax disc. This is because the first year rate for these vehicles is higher than the normal standard rate. If you have a vehicle in these bands you will be able to get a six-month tax disc when re-taxing.

6 months tax works out more expensive than 12 months tax

Taxing your car for six months generally works out more expensive than taxing it for twelve months.  For cars registered after 1 March 2001 in bands D to M, 6 months tax works out proportionately 10% more expensive than buying 12 months tax.

For example, taxing a car in band F costs £130 for a year or £71.50 for 6 months (equivalent to £143 per year).