Drivers warned they face £1,000 fine for making one big car tax mistake

Drivers are being warned by experts that they could be slapped with a hefty £1,000 fine for making one big car tax mistake.

There has been a huge rise in the number of drivers caught not paying road tax with total offences nearly doubling last year.

The recorded offences reached a massive 107,000 in 2023, up from 56,311 the year before, representing a massive spike in the space of just 12 months.

Experts believe the increase may be partly down to the cost of living crisis, with more motorists opting to try their luck in a bid to save cash, as well as an increased crackdown on tax dodgers.

The AA has now sounded the alarm for UK drivers that those who fail to pay road tax can be slapped with an £80 fine and penalties can rise to as much as £1,000 for long-standing offences.

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for The AA, believes the huge amount of people being caught for not paying their road tax should serve as a warning and called the spike in car tax avoidance "concerning".

He said: "It is also concerning that driving without tax almost doubled in a year.

"While too early to tell if this rise is related to the cost of living, the high conviction rates should serve as a deterrent not to dodge paying for a virtual tax disc."

This comes days after motorists across the UK were warned of a potential new charge that could be introduced under the October Budget.

With Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warning that the next few months will be "painful" for many Brits, some are predicting that road tax may change to a pay-per-mile system.

Whilst the current Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) system of road tax charges motorists on the size of their car's engine or how much carbon dioxide it produces, a pay-per-mile system would charge motorists on the number of miles they spend behind the wheel.

Currently, it is yet to be confirmed whether the Government will introduce a pay-per-mile tax system or the rate at which drivers will be charged. However some have proposed that it could be set at 15p per mile.