Are A Class Motorhomes Taxed Differently?
In my innocence I thought there were just two tax bands (VED) for motorhomes depending on weight. Just been reading a reader review in MMM of a Concorde motorhome and he was saying that the tax for a new version is £475 a year which is the same as a large
4X4. Obviously all PVC's and Coachbuilts retain the cab but an A Class only retains the engine and chassis so is this the difference or have I misunderstood?
David
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my Hymer is 4 tons, and I pay the private HGV rate of £165 a year, it hasn;t changed for years!!
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All motorhomes over 3.5t used to be classed as Private HGV and paid the £165 annual tax payment which has not changed for years. However I recall reading that fairly recently the Government changed all the bandings and now all the vehicles are taxed
as per their emissions so if you were a Private HGV then you stay the same but any new vehicles will be as per the new rule. I think it changed 2014/15. A Concorde is certainly over 3.5t but I doubt it will exceed 7.5t so can be driven by us older folks on
our standard licence. Regards, Roy0 -
. My Concorde Charisma (new purchase ) on an 09 .plate ,is 7200kg with a 3ltr engine .Vehicle tax is £165.00 .Private HGV.
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As I understand it motorhomes will only be taxed according to their emissions if it is stated on the V55 first registration document. In theory this may/ should only affect PVCs as the emissions should not be changed by the conversion, (may not apply to
the Autotrail V Line as it has a raised roofline) With coachbuilts nobody knows what the emissions will be as it is dependent on what body is built on the chassis. Overcab, low profile, semi low profile or A class body styles will effect the emissions as
will different widths, heights and weights.0 -
In my innocence I thought there were just two tax bands (VED) for motorhomes depending on weight. Just been reading a reader review in MMM of a Concorde motorhome and he was saying that the tax for a new version is £475 a year which is the same as a large
4X4. Obviously all PVC's and Coachbuilts retain the cab but an A Class only retains the engine and chassis so is this the difference or have I misunderstood?David
Write your comments here...
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Correct MollysMummy. It's an anomaly in the taxation classes. I think the saving is £60pa although that saving has to be offset against higher tolls in most cases and occasional restricted road use. Hence, people tend not to re-plate to save money but because
they want to extra loading margin/bigger motorhome.0 -
A lad at work had his motorhome re-plated from 3500 to 4250(?) and his road tax went down
a re-plating to 4250 from 3500 could only happen if the vehicle was physically sitting on a 4250 chassis and had then been replated back upwards....
this occasionally happens of the previous owner had bought a fairly lightweight van (that could run comfortably at 3500) but on the Fiat 'heavy' (4250) chassis.
a more usual replate would be from 3500 to 3650 on a Fiat Ducato chassis or from 3500 to 3850 on a Merc Sprinter chassis.
both these are 'paper' upgrades as the axles already cope with the weights being plated to....and would then attract the lower VED rate.
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As I understand it motorhomes will only be taxed according to their emissions if it is stated on the V55 first registration document. In theory this may/ should only affect PVCs as the emissions should not be changed by the conversion, (may not apply to
the Autotrail V Line as it has a raised roofline) With coachbuilts nobody knows what the emissions will be as it is dependent on what body is built on the chassis. Overcab, low profile, semi low profile or A class body styles will effect the emissions as
will different widths, heights and weights.I don't know exactly how engine emissions are tested for classification purposes but I thought it would be the emissions of the engine like when tested for an MOT and the vehicle was not moving so the size and shape do not have any bearing? Like I said earlier
I am pretty sure private HGV class is no longer available or will soon become so. Regards, Roy0 -
Rigid vehicles (not artics) over 3500kg but under 7500kg and on two axles total, come into the VED group A0 which is currently rated at £165.
cant get the VED rate table link to work, sorry......
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A lad at work had his motorhome re-plated from 3500 to 4250(?) and his road tax went down
a re-plating to 4250 from 3500 could only happen if the vehicle was physically sitting on a 4250 chassis and had then been replated back upwards....
this occasionally happens of the previous owner had bought a fairly lightweight van (that could run comfortably at 3500) but on the Fiat 'heavy' (4250) chassis.
a more usual replate would be from 3500 to 3650 on a Fiat Ducato chassis or from 3500 to 3850 on a Merc Sprinter chassis.
both these are 'paper' upgrades as the axles already cope with the weights being plated to....and would then attract the lower VED rate.
Write your comments here...BBC our new van is going to be plated at 3850 and it's on the Fiat chassis but as far as I know not the heavy one.
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michael, AFAIK, the max axle weights on the normal 3500 ducato are 1750 (f) 1900 (r) so 3650 can be done on a paper upgrade without physical change....although distribution is vital to avoid overloading...
to go to 3850 I think, at a minimum, you might need a tyre upgrade and possibly suspension mods.....air rides are usual option in these cases...
just my understanding, from those who have done this on the MMM forum, i may well be wrong....
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My understanding is this;
New vehicle emissions are tested on a rolling road. The vehicle is driven through a set computer program and everything coming out of the tailpipe is collected, analysed and weighed. You may have seen a demonstration of this on TV during the VW emissions scandal.
The figure arrived at is meant to show what emissions are emitted when the vehicle is driven down the road but we all know that is rubbish. Anyway, after testing, we now have a figure to work with for each vehicle. We also know that that figure is only valid
for the example vehicle tested and any alteration to that vehicle could affect the emissions result. The only way to know would be to test the altered vehicle. In the case of a PVC any alteration to the body, ie raised roof, will increase wind resistance so
it is fair to assume that the emission value would change and therefore would not be able to be quoted as being the same as the example vehicle. In the case of a chassis cab there are thousands of different bodies that could mounted upon it and each may have
a different effect on the emissions. It would be too expensive to test all of the variations so these vehicles fall outside the emissions criteria for VED and are taxed differently. If over 3500kg GVW then they are taxed PHGV which is the cheapest because
nobody wants to upset the haulage industry.
The MOT emissions test (petrol)/ smoke test (diesel) is a totally different thing and is just as useless0 -
michael, AFAIK, the max axle weights on the normal 3500 ducato are 1750 (f) 1900 (r) so 3650 can be done on a paper upgrade without physical change....although distribution is vital to avoid overloading...
to go to 3850 I think, at a minimum, you might need a tyre upgrade and possibly suspension mods.....air rides are usual option in these cases...
just my understanding, from those who have done this on the MMM forum, i may well be wrong....
further to my earlier post, it looks like fiat offer a chassis with 1850 (f) and 2000 (r) capacities which, while normally plated at 3500, can be 'paper' upgraded to 3850, as Michael describes...
while the vehicle ramains plated at 3500, i suspect the axle weights will be max 1750 and 1900 .....ie the 'normal' 3500 ducato weights.
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My 2015 Niesmann and Bischoff Flair at a plate weight of 7200KG is taxed as a Private HGV and as such charged £165 per year.
The complete catogarisation of what is HGV and what is not is a mess and very much open to opinion, outwith the VED issue. The current issue with the Forth Road Bridge has led to a ban on HGV's my van is taxed as a PHGV so I assumed I could not use it, assuming
anything over 3500kg was HGV. When I called to check they advise they class anything over 7500kg as HGV so I was free to use the bridge.0
