Road tax, TV license reimbursement to end March 1

Published Feb. 13, 2013
By Staff Reports
48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England -- Starting March 1, duty locations in the United Kingdom will no longer be eligible for a Cost of Living Allowance for Unique Expenses, which include road tax and TV license.

The COLA for Unique Expenses is an allowance that reimburses individual members dollar-for-dollar for specific expenses incurred at a designated location that is not paid by stateside-based members.

For the average member stationed in the U.K, this change means that Vehicle Excise tax and Television License fee will no longer be directly reimbursed. Service members will be responsible for covering any such fees, if incurred. This change does not affect a member's regular overseas COLA.

However, due to these changes, this year's COLA survey is of particular significance. It is vitally important for service members to identify and include the fees as part of their annual expenses - even if they were already reimbursed this year.

In the "remarks" section of Part VI of the survey, personnel should write in the amounts they pay for their total annual road tax costs (for all of their vehicles) and TV license to ensure the Defense Travel Management Office and Per Diem Committee's receive an accurate picture of what it costs to live in the U.K.

To access the 30-minute survey, go to http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/lps-uk.cfm.

To purchase a TV license or for more information, visit www.tvlicensing.co.uk.

To purchase road tax for a vehicle visit https://www.taxdisc.direct.gov.uk/EvlPortalApp/app/home/intro?skin=directgov.

For more information on the road tax visit https://www.gov.uk/browse/driving/car-tax-discs.