The Government has reduced RUC rates again by 36% from 1 March 2023 to 30 June 2023.
This is part of their extended cost of living support.
Cost of living support extended for families and business - Beehive release(external link)
Transport temporary relief package – more information
During the RUC reduction period all RUC rates are cut by 36%.
You should only buy enough RUC to cover the reduction period. When buying RUC, you must complete a declaration to confirm that you're only buying enough RUC for the reduction period.
Check the RUC rates for your vehicle
Buy a RUC licence online(external link)
What happens if you buy too much RUC
If you already have a RUC licence that will cover you for that period, you can still take advantage of the discounted rates by buying a new licence during the RUC reduction period.
When you buy your new licence, our system will automatically credit you for any unused distance.
You'll be credited back at the RUC rate you originally paid. You must use all of this credit when you buy your new licence.
When you buy a new RUC licence, you'll need to enter the current reading from your hubodometer or odometer. This will be your start distance.
When you enter this distance, our system will calculate the distance you've already used (or travelled) and how much is still unused.
Any unused distance will then automatically be credited towards the new licence you're buying at the discounted rate.
This is called an overlap licence.
You'll need to make sure that the end distance of your new licence is past the end distance of your old licence. You'll also need to use all of your credit on the new licence.
Because RUC comes in units of 1000km (or 621 miles) you may need to round your licence up to the next unit.
You have a RUC licence from 4000km to 5000km.
Your current hubodometer reading is 4250km.
When you apply for a new RUC licence, with a start reading of 4250km, we'll credit you back the 750km you haven't used yet, at the RUC rate you originally paid.
You must use all of your credit on your new licence.
Our system will give you an error message if you don’t use all the credit or don’t have the right end distance.
When you buy a RUC licence online, you need to change the New start distance field to your current hubodometer or odometer reading and hit the Refresh button.
If you don't change the start distance, your new licence will start at the end of your current licence, and you won't get a credit for any unused distance.
Instructional video on how to buy an overlap licence
Buy a RUC licence online(external link)
If you're buying a RUC licence at one of our agents, you'll need to make sure you enter your current hubodometer or odometer reading into the second table on the Road user charges application for distance licence form (RUCLA).
If you don't fill in the second table, your new licence will just start at the end of your current licence, and you won't get a credit for any unused distance.
You should only buy enough RUC for the distance you intend to travel during the discount period.
If Waka Kotahi finds that your RUC purchases at the discounted rate were excessive, unreasonable or an abuse of the temporary rate reduction, we can charge you the non-discounted rates for your RUC.
If this happens, we’ll ask you to buy an overlap licence or send you an invoice for your RUC at the normal rate. You'll have to pay the difference between the discounted rate and the normal RUC rates.
If you've bought a lot of RUC in advance and don't want to buy an overlap licence, you may be able to surrender your RUC licence and get a refund instead.
You can apply to surrender your RUC licence and get a refund if:
You will NOT be able to apply to surrender your RUC licence if:
You'll need:
Apply to surrender your licence and get a refund
Your application will take up to 10 working days to process.
If your refund is approved, your RUC licence will no longer be valid and you must destroy it.
If we later find that the RUC licence label is still in use, we’ll issue an invoice to recover the refunded amount.
You must always buy your RUC before you travel.
If you don't buy your RUC in advance, Waka Kotahi could issue you with an assessment for your unpaid RUC, in the form of an invoice.
Any invoices will be charged at the standard RUC rate, not the discounted RUC rate.
RUC rates were reduced from 21 April 2022 to 31 January 2023. This was under the Road User Charges (Temporary RUC Reduction Scheme) Amendment Act 2022. This reduction ended on 31 January 2023.
The Government then announced that it would re-introduce the RUC reduction. The Road User Charges (Temporary RUC Reduction Scheme) Amendment Act (No 2) 2023 was passed into law during February and this reduction came into effect on 1 March 2023.
Any RUC licences bought between 1 February and 28 February 2023 did not come under a reduction scheme and were charged at the standard (full) RUC rate. If you bought a licence during this period you may still be able to take advantage of the 2nd RUC reduction period by buying an overlap licence.
