I was told that I may qualify for free road tax disc.
My son is starting to receive high rate mobility and received a letter inside it it says I may be entitled to free road tax
I drive my son to all his appointments and school runs. I was told I may be able to claim the tax disc as the car is used mainly for him. Would I be able to claim for the free road tax.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Yes, if you or the person you drive around is receiving hight rate mobility then you may be entitled to a road tax exemption.
This is from the relevant government website:
https://www.gov.uk/financial-help-di...-and-transportVehicle tax exemption
Eligibility
You can apply for exemption from paying vehicle tax if you get the:
higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
enhanced rate mobility component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
War Pensioner’s Mobility Supplement
The vehicle must be registered in the disabled person’s name or their nominated driver’s name. It must only be used for the disabled person’s personal needs. It can’t be used by the nominated driver for their own personal use.
https://www.gov.uk/financial-help-disabled
It is a condition of claiming a vehicle excise duty (tax disc) exemption that the exempt vehicle is solely used for the purposes of the disabled person, not just mainly used for those purposes.
You must ask yourself whether you could justify that any use of the vehicle without your son in the car could be seen as for his benefit. Use by another family member to travel to and from work has been held not to be for the purposes of the disabled person and the exemption must not be used - I am fairly certain non-disabled people using exempt vehicles to travel to and from work have been investigated for fraud. Conversely, things done for the benefit of the whole family, such as food shopping and taking the vehicle to be serviced, are likely to be seen as for your son's purposes.
Any use made of the vehicle that is solely for the benefit of someone other than your son places you into a grey area. To my knowledge there are no guidelines as to whether a small amount of usage for other than your son's purposes would be accepted, but this is really outside the rules. In this scenario, you must decide whether you feel you can justify the use being made of the vehicle to the authorities if you are questioned about it.
If you decide to claim the exemption, the instructions on what to do are on gov.uk. If they have not sent an Certificate of Entitlement with your son's DLA award letter, you must request one from the DLA helpline.
In a week I will be driving my son to his appointments and too and from school and family shopping as for me going to work I work 4 nights and my work is about half a mile from my house i can walk to work but at nights some times i have to rush home so have to take the car. So not sure if I should claim for the road tax
Thanks breaking back and flymo for the advice.
Maybe someone else can reply who is in a similar situation.
You're in an extremely grey area, I'm afraid.
I am fairly certain there have been cases of people being prosecuted for fraud when non-disabled people were found using exempt vehicles for travel to and from work. As the disabled person is a child and therefore a non-driver, also it sounds as if the vehicle is question is the only one the family have access to, it might be more likely to draw attention from the authorities than if the disabled person was a driver or the household has several vehicles including some that are not exempt.
In your circumstances, I would reluctantly not apply the exemption to the vehicle, but you must reach your own conclusion on what to do.
Don't forget that your son's entitlement to a Blue Badge without further assessment exists whether or not you apply the exemption. If your son doesn't already have a Blue Badge, you can apply online once his DLA higher rate Mobility award has started and you have the award paperwork. A Blue Badge can only be used when the disabled person is in the car, or you are parking to drop off / pick up the disabled person. Though the rules are clearly explained in the booklet supplied with a Badge, some people still seem to believe they are allowed to use the Badge at other times, especially when running errands for the Badge Holder.
If relevant (as it might be if you are in LU1), you can claim exemption from the London Congestion Charge for a one-off £10 charge based on your son's Blue Badge if you decide not to exempt the vehicle from VED. VED exempt vehicles are automatically exempt from the Congestion Charge. It might be best not to nominate your vehicle as a long term vehicle, in case you need to enter the Congestion Charge zone for purposes not related to your son.
Many of the toll concessions require you to exempt the vehicle from VED, though some are available to Blue Badge holders (notably the Severn Bridge / Second Severn Crossing - just hand over the Blue Badge at a manned toll booth).
Thanks Flymo for the advice won't even bother as like you say that is the only car for the house so will be driving sometimes myself not son related. So am breaking the rules.
But again thanks for the heads up
Also as for the blue badge dont really need it. Maybe in the future il apply for it
Why not apply anyway? It costs you a small sum (£10 in most English council areas) for a Badge that lasts for three years or until the expiry of your son's DLA award, whichever comes first.Originally Posted by lu1massive
If you have a Badge and never use it, that's fine. However, if you don't have a Badge and could have made use of it, for example if there are no other parking spaces at the hospital one day, you're stuck. A Blue Badge, even if you only use it occasionally, can be invaluable.
I'm sorry about the VED exemption. The "sole use" requirement causes endless problems in practice, as it is hard to avoid grey areas unless the disabled person is genuinely the sole user of the vehicle.
I am a disabled driver, and my car is VED exempt. We have other cars, which other family members use for journeys solely for their purposes. However, there are still some edge cases - if one of the other cars is temporarily off the road and my car is the only vehicle available, technically a family member is not entitled to use my car for a one-off journey unless it is at least partly for my benefit.
Meanwhile, because the concession is difficult to police, I am sure there are exempt vehicles that are rarely used for the disabled person, and which are regularly used in the London Congestion Charge zone. I have had an exempt vehicle for some 12 years, and neither I nor any other driver has ever been questioned about the use to which the vehicle was put.
Sorry, have to disagree here. If the driver is doing anything which will benefit the disabled person the use of a VED exempt car is acceptable. This may involve going to work to earn money which will be used to provide heating, lighting, food etc. The carer can also use the car for such things as going to football matches, odd as it may seem, this would be of benefit to the disabled person. In fact most things can be construed as being of benefit to the disabled person if the driver lives at the address.
This is taken from an old Motability magazine letters page.
I've uploaded an image and it's pending approval.
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