Cancel your vehicle tax and get a refund

Cancel your vehicle tax by telling DVLA you no longer have the vehicle or it’s off the road. You get a refund for any full months of remaining tax.

This page is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).

How to cancel your vehicle tax

You must tell DVLA that your vehicle has been:

sold or transferred to someone else

taken off the road, for example, you’re keeping it in a garage – this is called a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN)

written off by your insurance company

scrapped at a vehicle scrapyard

stolen – you’ll have to apply for a refund separately

exported out of the UK

registered as exempt from vehicle tax

There’s no other way to cancel your vehicle tax.

What happens after you’ve told DVLA

Your vehicle tax will be cancelled by DVLA. If you pay by Direct Debit, the Direct Debit will be cancelled automatically.

You’ll automatically get a refund cheque for any full months left on your vehicle tax. The refund is calculated from the date DVLA gets your information. The cheque is sent to the name and address on the vehicle log book.

You will not get a refund for:

any credit card fees

the 5% surcharge on some direct debit payments

the 10% surcharge on a single 6-month payment

Refund for the first tax payment on the vehicle

The amount you get back will be based on whichever is lower of:

The first tax payment when you registered the vehicle

The rate for the second tax payment onwards

If your refund does not arrive

Contact DVLA if you have not received your refund cheque after 8 weeks.

If your cheque is wrong

Return your refund cheque to DVLA if it’s in the wrong name, and tell them the right name.

Refund Section

DVLA

Swansea

SA99 1AL

Contact DVLA if you have not received your replacement cheque after 4 weeks.