Road Tax Late Renewal: 17 Questions & Answers
It happens to the best of us. We’re cruising down the road (okay, more like stopped at yet another red light), and we suddenly remember that we don’t remember when we last paid for our vehicle’s road tax, if it’s already nearing its expiry date, or wait — Oh no, am I already too late to pay my road tax???
Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Here are a whole bunch of frequently asked questions when it comes to road tax late renewals — and all the answers you need.
And to make life even easier for you, here are all the road tax renewal links you’ll need at a glance:
FAQ:
1. How often do I need to renew my road tax?
2. How do I check when road tax is due?
3. How do I check how much road tax I need to pay?
4. What if I missed my road tax expiry date?
5. How much do I have to pay in road tax late renewal fees?
6. Will I get fined for road tax late renewal?
7. What do I have to do before I can renew my road tax?
8. What is the fastest way to renew my late road tax?
9. Is there a grace period for late road tax renewal?
10. Can I pay my road tax renewal in instalments?
11. Can I appeal for a waiver of late road tax renewal fees?
12. Are there any consequences for road tax late renewal?
13. Can I still drive or ride my vehicle legally when my road tax is overdue?
14. Does road tax late renewal affect vehicle insurance coverage?
15. Are there any discounts for road tax?
16. Who can I contact with questions or road tax enquiries?
17. What is the best way to avoid road tax late renewal?
1. How often do I need to renew my road tax?
Your vehicle’s road tax can be renewed for 6 months or 12 months. How often you need to renew your road tax will depend on the duration you renew it for. You just need to make sure you renew it on time. Many people prefer to renew their road tax for 12 months so that they have to worry about it only once a year.
Note: Those with Weekend / Off-Peak / Revised Off-Peak Cars can only renew their road tax for 12 months; there is no 6-month option available for these.
2. How do I check when road tax is due?
You can easily check when your road tax is due at LTA’s OneMotoring website here.
3. How do I check how much road tax I need to pay?
The amount of road tax you have to pay differs according to your vehicle’s age as well as engine capacity. If you already know these two details, you can check your road tax payable here.
Or, it may be easier to simply input your Vehicle Registration Number here.
4. What if I missed my road tax expiry date?
If for some reason you missed renewing your road tax on time, there will be late fees involved. Because the fine increases the later you pay it, it’s best to renew your road tax immediately and not let the late fees accumulate.
5. How much do I have to pay in road tax late renewal fees?
The following tables explain just how much late renewal fees you’ll have to pay if you missed renewing before your road tax expiry date, for both car road tax as well as motorcycle road tax.
Tables taken from OneMotoring website
6. Will I get fined for road tax late renewal?
The consequences of a road tax late renewal can be having to pay a late fee of up to $270 (refer to tables above).
However, more importantly, you can be prosecuted in court for the offence of not only using but also keeping a vehicle without a valid road tax under Section 15 of the Road Traffic Act. This offence carries a fine of up to $2,000 upon conviction in court.
7. What do I have to do before I can renew my road tax?
There are 3 main road tax prerequisites you have to fulfil before you can renew your road tax.
1. Vehicle Insurance Coverage
Your vehicle needs to be covered by a car insurance or motorcycle insurance for the entire period of your renewed road tax.
Make sure that your vehicle insurance covers third-party liability for deaths and bodily injury.
2. Vehicle Inspection
If your vehicle is due for periodic inspection, you will receive an inspection notice usually three months before your road tax expires.
If you missed your car inspection or motorcycle inspection date, make sure you proceed immediately to any LTA-Authorised Inspection Centre to have your vehicle inspected first, before renewing your road tax.
3. Clear Any Outstanding Fines
To be able to renew your road tax, you have to first make sure that any outstanding fines are already paid. Here is a checklist of agencies to check that you’ve settled all fines or warrants from them first:
HDB Housing and Development Board
URA Urban Redevelopment Agency
TP Traffic Police
LTA Land Transport Authority
Important: You need to meet all these road tax prerequisites at least 3 working days in advance.
This means that if you’ve just paid off your outstanding TP fine on Friday, for example, the earliest you can renew your road tax is on the following Thursday, so bear this in mind.
To make things easier, you can just click here to check if you have met your road tax prerequisites and to find out your road tax payable.
Additional Note: If you have a Weekend / Off-Peak / Revised Off-Peak Car, then you will also need to check that your number plate inspection has been done at an LTA-Authorised Inspection Centre.
8. What is the fastest way to renew my late road tax?
There are five ways you can pay your road tax:
1. GIRO
2. Road Tax Collection Centres
3. AXS Machines
4. SAM Machines
5. Online at OneMotoring
Of the five ways, renewing your road tax online is probably going to be the fastest way without leaving your house.
Just remember that even if you are renewing your road tax online, you still would have had to first fulfil the road tax prerequisites at least 3 working days in advance.
9. Is there a grace period for late road tax renewal?
If you’ve been driving for a long time, you might remember a time when there was such a thing as a grace period for paying your road tax. This actually dates back to when we still used paper discs.
Back then, there used to be a five-day grace period to allow the new paper disc to arrive in the post before you displayed it on your car windshield.
Because this is a thing of the past, there is no longer any grace period when it comes to road tax renewal.
10. Can I pay my road tax renewal in instalments?
The direct answer is no, LTA itself will not accept road tax payable in instalments.
However, there are ways to do so by means of certain credit cards.
For example, with DCS Card Centre-issued Diners Club Cards, you have the option to stretch your road tax payment over 3 or 6 months, interest free.
Meanwhile, with the DBS Esso Card, you can take advantage of their 12-month instalment plan for your road tax renewal, as well as your car insurance or motorcycle insurance payments.
11. Can I appeal for a waiver of late road tax renewal fees?
For LTA to consider your appeal for a waiver of late road tax renewal fees, you are required to pay all fees, including the late fees, before submitting your appeal.
Once you have paid, you can then submit your appeal via www.lta.gov.sg/feedback.
12. Are there any consequences for road tax late renewal?
We’ve discussed the late fees you’ll have to pay on top of the road tax payable if you make payment after the road tax expiry date.
But it’s important to note that there can be an escalation of additional penalty fees and fines imposed if your road tax still remains unpaid.
It is possible that LTA may send you a Notice to Attend Court (NTAC) for non-payment of road tax. It’s still not too late to make a complete payment then for all your road tax and late fees. Upon successful renewal, your court case will then be automatically closed.
In really serious cases where the road tax remains unpaid, a warrant can be issued to seize your vehicle to be auctioned off by LTA to recover the tax and fees due.
To avoid all this, make sure to renew your road tax on time!
13. Can I still drive or ride my vehicle legally when my road tax is overdue?
A vehicle can be used on the road as long as it has valid road tax and insurance.
If the road tax expiry date of your vehicle is 1 October 2023, this means that your vehicle has a valid road tax until 1 October 2023, and you can still drive your vehicle up to 2359 hours on 1 October 2023.
Driving on the road past midnight on the same night is already considered 2 October 2023 and will be a traffic offence.
Therefore, make sure that you give yourself ample time to fulfil the road tax prerequisites and renew your road tax before the actual date of expiry.
14. Does road tax late renewal affect vehicle insurance coverage?
Paying your road tax late does not affect your vehicle insurance coverage, but making sure your vehicle insurance coverage is valid for the duration of your road tax renewal is one of the important road tax prerequisites.
To make things easier for you, DirectAsia actually helps you extend or reduce the period of your vehicle insurance so that it matches your road tax duration. This way, you can simply renew both your road tax and your vehicle insurance together at the same time in the future!
15. Are there any discounts for road tax?
No, there are no discounts for road tax in Singapore.
16. Who can I contact with questions or road tax enquiries?
You can contact LTA through their contact form here, or submit an appeal here.
17. What is the best way to avoid road tax late renewal?
Now that you know about the consequences of late renewal of your road tax, the best way is to try and pay your road tax in a timely manner.
LTA will actually send you a road tax payment notice about 1 month before your road tax expiry date. You will receive this via hardcopy or e-letter in your email inbox depending on your notification preferences (which you can amend here).
But you can actually pay your road tax as early as 3 months before its expiry date.
One of the best ways to make sure you pay on time is to set up a GIRO payment, so that the road tax payment is deducted from your bank account automatically in time before your road tax expiry date.
Don’t worry, you will be notified before this deduction takes place so that you can ensure that you have the appropriate funds in your bank account. You will also receive a confirmation when your road tax has been paid.
Don’t forget to pay your fines and make sure you have already secured your car insurance or motorcycle insurance before renewing your road tax!
