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Road Tax Singapore All you need to know

Owning a car in Singapore is an expensive affair. Besides the cost of the car and COE, car owners have to factor in parking fees, ERP, insurance as well as road tax.
Owners of Singapore-registered vehicles are required by law to renew their road tax annually or every six months.
When you buy a new car, your road tax may be included in the total cost. Please check if this is so with your motor dealer.
If you are buying a used vehicle, please check that it has a valid road tax before you drive it as it may be included with the vehicle.
Before you renew your road tax, you must ensure you meet the following renewal pre-requisites:
Your vehicle must be insured for the entire period you are paying road tax.
Your vehicle must pass the vehicle inspection if it is due for the periodic inspection.
Weekend cars, revised off-peak cars and off-peak cars need to have the number plate seal of their vehicle inspected at an LTA authorised inspection centre.
Clear any outstanding fines from the Housing and Development Board, Urban Redevelopment Agency, Land Transport Authority and the Traffic Police. This is because if you have outstanding fines, it may get in the way of you renewing your road tax.
How is road tax calculated?
The following are taken into consideration:
- Engine Capacity
The larger the capacity of your car’s engine, the higher the amount you’ll have to pay.
- Age of the vehicle
Vehicles that are more than 10 years old incur a surcharge of 10-50% on top of the standard road tax.
Where to renew your road tax
- You can do it online
You can renew online at OneMotoring. It requires a valid Credit / Debit Card (VISA or Mastercard only) or Internet Banking Account with Citibank, DBS/POSB, OCBC/Plus!, Standard Chartered Bank or UOB (eNETS Debit) with adequate balance and payment limit for deduction of the amount payable. Allow three working days to receive your road tax.
- You can do it at AXS Stations
The service is available daily from 1am to 12 midnight. Allow three working days to receive it. Find more about paying at AXS stations here.
- You can do it via GIRO: LTA Digital Services
If you want to renew using GIRO, you must submit your application for 'Interbank GIRO for Road Tax' to LTA at least one and a half months before the road tax expiry date.
Note that your application for GIRO usually takes one month to process, so do set up your application ahead of time if this is your chosen method of payment.
Once your application is approved, you will be informed of it by the LTA.
- You can do it at SingPost and Road Tax Collection Centres
Bring along original copies of your pre-requisite certificates as well as your road tax renewal notice. Renewal is on the spot. This is the quickest way to renew.
Once you have succeeded in renewing it, you will receive a payment notice which must be kept in your car at all times.
Additional information
To renew online, at AXS Stations or via GIRO, ensure that all renewal pre-requisites are fulfilled at least three working days in advance.
You must renew before the expiry date or you will be required to pay a late renewal fee.
Those caught without a valid road tax can face fines of up to $2,000 and risk having their vehicles seized.
If you are driving to Malaysia, do remember to bring along printed proof of the validity of your road tax.
You have to renew your road tax if it expires before you sell or deregister your car. When a car is sold, any road tax that has been paid will accompany it and be transferred to the new owner. You may want to think about including the unused road tax into the selling price of your vehicle.
For more information go to OneMotoring
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Important notice about road tax renewal
Please note, once you have renewed your vehicle insurance please allow at least 2 working days for Land Transport Authority (LTA) to validate your information, before proceeding to renew your road tax. Please allow for this extra waiting time before driving or riding your vehicle. Remember it is an offence to drive without road tax.