# Motor tax - pay quarterly and it costs over 12% more??



## sadie (1 Jan 2009)

When you opt to pay motor tax in quarterly instalments rather than the full annual total, you pay over 12% more over the year in nearly every case. What could the reason be for this? Surely it penalises those least able to pay the full amount in one go? If it is an administration fee it's pretty high surely. See rates on www.motortax.ie


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## rmelly (1 Jan 2009)

I wouldn't have considered these to be instalments. For the issuer there is 4 times the administration cost as 4 payments are processed and 4 certs need to be issued instead of 1 (I certainly assumed this was the case anyway?)

I'm not sure of the % of users who pay online versus those who queue or return by post so can't say whether the 12% is justified.

However in general I'd view it as a fee to discourage users paying this way. As for the ability to pay, people choose to have a car so should be aware of ALL the costs associated and budget for them.

A bit of budgeting throughout the year quite easily solves this problem, for example I put aside €125 a month every month to cover my motoring expenses for the year other than petrol, so insurance, tax, rescue service, car service, NCT if needed, as most of these fall due in the same month.


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## allthedoyles (1 Jan 2009)

sadie said:


> When you opt to pay motor tax in quarterly instalments rather than the full annual total, you pay over 12% more over the year in nearly every case. See rates on www.motortax.ie


 
I agree Sadie , in fact it an extra 15% according to the new 2009 Rate Sheet .( for my 1.4 car )

You mention instalments , and I often wonder why the local authorities , would not set up this for easy payments ....where we can pay by monthly direct debit ............it would make life so much easier for those of us who are unable to set aside € 125 euro a month to cover our motoring expenses !

While on the subject ....TV licence is another example where it is not possibel to pay by monthly direct debit ....


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## gipimann (1 Jan 2009)

According to the An Post TV Licence page (see payment methods), you can pay for the licence in instalments - doesn't give any detail of any additional charges though.

An Post TV Licence


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## allthedoyles (1 Jan 2009)

gipimann said:


> According to the An Post TV Licence page (see payment methods), you can pay for the licence in instalments - doesn't give any detail of any additional charges though.
> 
> An Post TV Licence


 
Yes you can pay by Direct Debit....However they will take the full amount in one go........It is a YEARLY DD --- NOT a MONTHLY DD.........


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## z104 (1 Jan 2009)

allthedoyles said:


> Yes you can pay by Direct Debit....However they will take the full amount in one go........It is a YEARLY DD --- NOT a MONTHLY DD.........


 
This is not true. I pay mine by DD at something like 15 euro per month.



On the subject of paying quarterly, I think it's very unfair that local authorities charge people more to pay 3 or 6 months. This penalises people for being poorer.


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## allthedoyles (1 Jan 2009)

Niallers said:


> This is not true. I pay mine by DD at something like 15 euro per month.
> .


 
Well my local PO clerk informed me that there was NO monthly direct debit . He said the only option was a yearly direct debit.

I will have to look into this again and will revert in due course


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## MalMc (3 Jan 2009)

Im sure the way the government see it is you get a 12% discount by paying annually!


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## rmelly (3 Jan 2009)

I guess that if the prices were the same then the people who can pay in full (for whatever reason) would be subsidising those who pay quarterly (again for whatever reason). In those circumstances more would choose to pay quarterly, further increasing the administration effort required, and proably increasing the price for all concerned.


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## Bell Butts (3 Jan 2009)

My car insurance works the same way - it's cheaper to pay in one installment than to pay monthly or at other intervals.


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## star32 (5 Jan 2009)

re: the tv licence. I also pay mine by monthly dd. Have been doing so for 3 years now. There is no extra cost. They just divide full amount by 12. Used to hate budgeting for it so its a great option.


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## sadie (8 Jan 2009)

rmelly said:


> In those circumstances more would choose to pay quarterly, further increasing the administration effort required, and proably increasing the price for all concerned.


 
If it is a deterrent against increased administration then why do they not emphasise the savings associated with paying full annual fee upfront? I have queried it with Dept of Environment and will pass on their reply when it arrives...


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## FKH (9 Jan 2009)

It also stops people setting up a DD, getting the Tax Dsic and then cancelling the disc so that it looks like the car has been taxed for a year.

I know of one incident where a foreign driver rear ended a work colleague and he had done this with his insurance so that while he had no cover it looked like he was insured for the year if he was stopped.


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