Here's the fact that catches out thousands of new owners every year: car tax doesn't transfer with the sale. The second a car becomes yours it's untaxed, even if the seller had eleven months left on it yesterday. Driving it home without sorting that is an offence, so here's how to tax a just-bought car properly, in about two minutes.

Why the car arrives untaxed

Since 2014, road tax has been tied to the keeper, not the car. When the seller notifies DVLA of the sale, their tax is cancelled automatically and any full months left are refunded to them. Nothing carries over to you. There's no grace period, no "few days to sort it": the car is untaxed from the moment of sale, and the responsibility is entirely yours.

This trips people up because the tax disc is long gone and there's nothing in the window to remind you. The car looks taxed. It isn't.

Taxing it: the two-minute version

When you buy, the seller hands you the green new keeper slip (V5C/2), torn from the bottom of the logbook. On it is a 12-digit reference number. That's all you need:

  • Go to the "Tax your vehicle" service on gov.uk (or phone DVLA's 24-hour line).
  • Enter the 12-digit reference from the new keeper slip.
  • Choose to pay by card, monthly Direct Debit or annually, and confirm.

It's live immediately: you can tax the car on your phone standing next to it and drive off legally straight away. Do it before you set off, not when you get home.

What you need in place first

Tax isn't a standalone thing: DVLA will only let you tax a car that also has a valid MOT (if it's old enough to need one) and, legally, you must have insurance in place before you drive it. Sort the insurance first (you can arrange cover the same day, often to start immediately), then tax, then drive. A car that needs an MOT and doesn't have one can't be taxed at all, which is one more reason to check the MOT status before you buy.

What if you don't have the new keeper slip?

If the seller didn't give you the green slip, or you've lost it, you're into paperwork: either wait for your own V5C to arrive (5 to 7 working days if the seller notified DVLA online, longer if they posted it), or apply for a replacement logbook with a V62 form and a £25 fee at a Post Office that deals with vehicle tax, where you can tax the car at the same time. Until one of those happens the car is stuck: untaxed, undriveable. This is exactly why you should never hand over money for a car without getting that slip in return. If the seller "can't find the logbook", treat it as the warning sign it usually is, not a minor inconvenience.

How much will it cost?

That depends on the car: its CO₂ emissions and when it was first registered. Older, thirstier cars can cost several hundred pounds a year; a clean modern one far less. It's worth knowing the figure before you buy, because tax is a real slice of the running cost. Our car tax calculator works it out in seconds, and a full history report shows the exact band for the specific car along with everything else on its record.

The clean handover, in order

The tidy version of buying a car: agree the deal, the seller notifies DVLA of the sale online while you watch and hands you the green slip, you arrange insurance, then tax the car with the slip's reference, and only then drive away. Five minutes of admin that keeps you legal from the first mile and starts the seller's refund cleanly. Skip it and the first speed camera or ANPR gantry you pass has you driving an untaxed car.