Electronic system to replace paper tax discs

17th December 2013

The paper tax disc (first issued in 1921) will no longer be issued or required to be displayed on vehicle windscreens, it was announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement.

Vehicle tax will still need to be paid but, with the DVLA having a digital record of who has and has not paid, a paper disc is no longer considered necessary.

Motorists will also be able to spread their payments in future.  From October 2014 they will be able to pay by direct debit annually, bi-annually or monthly.  There will be no additional fees for annual payments, but there will be a 5% surcharge for bi-annual and monthly payments – half the current 10% surcharge for a six-month tax disc.

The BBC’s transport correspondent Richard Westcott said the change next autumn would “not make a great deal of difference to most drivers, apart from removing a little bit of admin from their lives.

“Just like now, you'll still be able to buy it online and at the Post Office, you just won't get a physical disc.  You'll still get a reminder in the post a few weeks before it runs out.  And you'll be able to check how long you've got left online too.”

Most tax evaders today are caught by police cameras with Automatic Number Plate Readers.  Around 44 million tax discs were issued last year and it is estimated that some 800,000 people were caught driving without paying.