Is it possible to get a tax refund?

If you’re having your car collected, you should contact the DVLA as soon as possible. The DVLA will cancel the vehicle tax on your car and issue a V5C (logbook) form within seven days. You will then be able to take this to any Post Office and get a refund on your tax.

DVLA vehicle tax refunds are backdated to when your car was registered – so if you scrap a car that is just a few months old, you could be entitled to a tax refund dating back several months!

What am I entitled to?

The DVLA manage the refund on behalf of the Treasury, and there’s no calculator, but there is a simple formula to use. First add together your vehicle’s age, remaining months left on your tax and its purchase price. Then divide the answer by 5 – and this is how much you can expect to receive. So if your car is six years old and you spent £5k on it, then giving it up for scrap would mean you have five months left on your tax, and a value of £2.50 per month. Your payment would be £7.50. 

How do I get my money back?

The V5C (log book) is your car’s ownership certificate. You can only use this online service if you haven’t already sent the V5C back to the DVLA. Once they receive your application, they’ll cancel your Direct Debit and automatically refund any full months left on your tax.

The DVLA will refund your full remaining tax for any mot months left before having your car scrapped. To find out more about this, speak to your local DVLA. Once you’ve been issued with a V5C, you can use the DVLA’s online tax refund calculator to add all of the details in one go. You simply enter the information on your V5C, and you can then calculate how much money you’re due in a simple format. For how long you need to keep your logbook, check with your local DVLA office.

What happens if I've already submitted my V5C?

If you’ve already sent your V5C to the DVLA, don’t worry! When the new ‘vehicle tax’ applies, the DVLA will realise you have now sold your car/vehicle. We suggest you contact the DVLA to confirm your refund is in progress.