My elderly neighbour died at the start of the year and his wife has been asked if she will sell his tractor. It does not have a tax book as it is gone missing. She is applying for that as she has the registration number. Can she declare it off the road and avoid paying back tax? Will she get penalised when she registers it again for back tax? The tractor is over 40 years old and was last taxed in 2006.

New procedures have been introduced for declaring a vehicle is temporarily off the road so that you do not have to pay motor tax for that period.

Since 1 October 2013, you are required to declare in advance that your vehicle will be off the road and not in use for a period of between three and 12 months using a Form RF150 Declaration of Non-Use of a Motor Vehicle, which you submit to your motor tax office.

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The declaration of non-use must be made in the same month that your current motor tax disc expires. The general position is that if arrears in motor tax are due, these must be paid in full and you must also pay a minimum of three month’s motor tax before a declaration of non-use can be made.

That being said, I understand that in this particular case as the tractor is being sold, your neighbour need not worry about arrears. The new owner will only be liable for tax from the date of sale.

Registering change of ownership

If you sell your vehicle, you must register the change of ownership. This is done in two ways and depends on whether the vehicle was first registered before or after January.

As the tractor was first registered before 1 January 1993, a change of ownership should be registered through the local motor tax office. If a vehicle was first registered after 1 January 1993, the change of ownership must be registered directly with the Driver and Vehicle Computer Services Division of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.

The general position is that where a change of ownership is made for a vehicle and the current owner is deceased, a letter from the executor of the will or the solicitor for the estate indicating the buyer’s right to the vehicle should accompany the Vehicle Registration Certificate (tax book). Where the tax book is not available or cannot be produced, an application can be made for a replacement tax book. Your neighbour will need to complete a Form RF 134 which is available on the motor tax website www.motortax.ie. This form enables an application to be made for a replacement tax book where the original tax book was lost, destroyed or stolen. She must give the circumstances of the loss or destruction in the form and report the loss or destruction of the tax book to her local Garda Station and have the Garda sign and stamp the form. The completed Form RF 134 must then be returned to the local Motor Tax Office together with a fee of €12. The local Motor Tax Office will then issue the tax book in the husband’s name provided he is the registered owner and she can then use Form RF200 to sell the vehicle.

The new owner will not be able to tax the tractor until the registration of ownership has gone through. If the motor tax has already expired, the new owner is not liable for the arrears period from the expiry of the last tax disc to the end of the month preceding the date of sale.

A form called a “Declaration by Person Acquiring a Motor Vehicle” will need to be completed. This form can be obtained from the Department of Transport in Shannon and must be returned to them duly completed and sworn by the person acquiring the vehicle before a Peace Commissioner/Commissioner for Oaths/Notary Public/Solicitor. A copy of a current utility bill of the person making the declaration must be supplied with the declaration. A letter will also be required from the executor or the solicitor for the estate confirming who is entitled to be registered as owner of the tractor.

I would suggest that your neighbour phone her local motor tax office to confirm the procedure that applies in her local tax office.