As of 1 October 2014 you will no longer have to display the paper tax disc on a vehicle windscreen. Whilst you will still need to pay vehicle tax, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will retain a digital record.

It is unlikely that this change will make much of a difference to the way in which the system currently operates because surveillance cameras and electronic devices identifies the majority of ‘tax-dodgers’. It should just make “dealing with the government more hassle free” according to a Treasury spokesman.

The online ‘tax disc’ can be purchased as normal – online, at the post-office or by phone and will allow drivers to pay through direct debit in monthly instalments with a smaller additional 5% charge. The charge has been decreased from the 10% charge which previosuly occurred when a tax disc was paid for in two six-monthly instalments.

From 1 October 2014, when you buy a vehicle, the vehicle tax will no longer be transferred with the vehicle. You will need to get new vehicle tax before you can use the vehicle. It is important to note that the new changes will mean that the onus is now on the seller of a car to notify the DVLA to receive an automatic refund for any full calendar months remaining on the existing tax of the vehicle. The subsequent purchaser will need to make sure that they get new vehicle tax using the scheme, which is to be implemented from 1 October 2014.

If you have any remaining months left on your current paper tax disc from 1 October 2014, you can either remove the tax disc from your vehicle or display the disc until it expires