Road Tax Calculator (2026/27)

Check your VED with the road tax calculator

Enter your car's details in the calculator above to get an estimate of the annual road tax due. The result you see depends mostly on the registration date and emissions you give it, so have your V5C logbook or registration number to hand before you start. The sections below explain how the road tax calculator reaches its figure, so you can sense-check the answer rather than take it on trust.

What VED (road tax) actually is

Vehicle Excise Duty is the formal name for what almost everyone calls road tax or car tax. It is a duty you pay to the DVLA so a vehicle can legally be driven or parked on a public road. It is not a fee for road maintenance and it is not the same as the congestion charge, ULEZ, or your insurance. If a car is kept off the road and untaxed, you must file a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) instead.

VED is a UK-wide duty. Unlike income tax, which differs in Scotland, or stamp duty, which is a separate tax in each nation, the rates for road tax are set centrally and apply the same way in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. So a driver in Glasgow and a driver in Cardiff with identical cars pay identical road tax.

How the road tax calculator works

There is no single flat rate. The amount of road tax a car pays is decided by a set of rules that branch on the car's age and how it was first registered. The plain-English logic the calculator follows is this:

• Cars first registered on or after 1 April 2017 pay a CO2-based first-year rate only in their very first year on the road, then move to a single standard rate that is the same for almost every car from the second year onwards.
• Cars first registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 sit in lettered CO2 bands (A to M). Each band has its own annual rate, so a low-emission car in an early band pays far less than a thirsty one in a high band.
• Cars first registered before 1 March 2001 are taxed purely on engine size, split simply into not-over-1549cc and over-1549cc.
• An additional surcharge applies to cars with a list price above a set threshold when new. This is the Expensive Car Supplement, added on top of the standard rate for several years after the first.

In words, the formula the calculator applies is: Annual road tax = base rate for the car's registration era and CO2 band (or engine size) + any Expensive Car Supplement that still applies. For brand-new cars the base rate in year one is the first-year CO2 rate; from year two it becomes the standard rate. Because the exact pound figures for each band change at every Budget, this guide points you to the official gov.uk rate tables for the precise amounts rather than restating numbers that may move.

First-year rate versus the standard rate

This is the part that surprises most new-car buyers. The first-year rate is emissions-led, so a high-CO2 petrol or diesel can carry a large one-off charge in year one, while a very low-emission model pays little. From the second year the same car drops to the flat standard rate that applies regardless of emissions. So when a dealer quotes "road tax", check whether they mean the first-year figure or the ongoing one, because the two can be very different.

Electric vehicle road tax rules from 2026

The long-standing exemption for electric cars has ended. Since April 2025, fully electric and zero-emission cars are no longer exempt from VED, so in the 2026/27 year an EV is taxed rather than free. In broad terms: a new electric car pays the lowest first-year rate and then the standard rate from year two, the same as a low-emission petrol car. Older electric cars registered in earlier periods have been moved into the lowest paying band rather than the zero band.

There is a sting for pricier EVs. Because many electric cars have high list prices, more of them now fall above the Expensive Car Supplement threshold and pick up that extra annual charge for several years. If you are comparing a petrol model with an EV on running costs, factor road tax in alongside the obvious savings on fuel. Our EV charging cost calculator helps you weigh the energy side of that decision.

2026/27 road tax bands and where to confirm the figures

The exact pound amounts for each VED band are published and updated by the DVLA, and they can change at any Budget. Rather than quote figures that might shift, use the official source for the precise rate that matches your car, then check your estimate against the calculator above.

Confirm the current pound figures on the official table: gov.uk vehicle tax rate tables. These are checked against the 2026/27 rates and are the definitive source for what your specific car pays.

Worked example: Priya checks the road tax on a used car

Priya is buying a used petrol hatchback first registered in 2019. Because it was registered after 1 April 2017, the first-year CO2 charge is long behind it. As the second owner she is only ever liable for the standard rate, so the road tax is the same flat annual figure regardless of the car's emissions. Her step-by-step check looks like this:

• Find the registration date on the V5C: April 2019, so it falls in the post-2017 system.
• Confirm it is past its first year, so the standard rate applies, not the first-year rate.
• Check the original list price was below the Expensive Car Supplement threshold, so no surcharge is added.
• Result: she pays the flat standard rate for that registration era, which she confirms on the gov.uk table.

The lesson is that for most used cars the answer is simply "the standard rate", and the scary first-year figures you read about online never apply to a second-hand buyer.

Worked example: Tom orders a new high-emission SUV

Tom is ordering a new petrol SUV with relatively high CO2 emissions and a list price above the supplement threshold. His road tax stacks up in three layers. In year one he pays the high first-year CO2 rate, which is the eye-watering number that makes the news. From year two the car drops to the standard rate, but because its list price was high, he also pays the Expensive Car Supplement on top for several further years. Only once that supplement period ends does his road tax settle to the plain standard rate. The total cost over the first few years is far higher than the headline standard rate alone, which is exactly why checking before you order matters.

How to reduce or avoid road tax legitimately

• Buy used rather than new. The high first-year CO2 rate is paid once, by the first registered keeper. Buy the same car a year or two later and you skip it entirely.
• Watch the list price, not just the price you pay. The Expensive Car Supplement is based on the manufacturer's list price when new, including options, not the discounted or used price you negotiate. A car can trigger the supplement even if you bought it cheaply second-hand.
• Choose a lower-emission model. For new cars the first-year rate climbs steeply with CO2, so a smaller-engined or hybrid version of the same model can cut the first-year bill sharply.
• SORN a car you are not using. If a vehicle is off the road, declare a SORN and stop paying. Just remember it then cannot be driven or parked on a public road at all.
• Disabled drivers may qualify for an exemption. Certain disability benefits allow a vehicle to be taxed in the disabled class at no charge. Check eligibility before assuming you must pay.

When you are budgeting for a car overall, road tax is only one line. Pair this with our fuel cost calculator to estimate what the journeys themselves will cost, and the cost per mile calculator to compare two cars on a like-for-like basis.

Common mistakes people make with car tax

• Assuming road tax transfers with the car. It does not. Since 2014 you cannot transfer VED when you buy or sell a vehicle. The seller gets a refund for full unused months and the buyer must tax the car before driving it away.
• Confusing the first-year rate with the ongoing rate. The headline figures quoted for new cars are usually the first-year CO2 rate, paid only once. The cost you live with year after year is the standard rate.
• Forgetting electric cars now pay. Many EV owners still believe their car is free. Since April 2025 that is no longer true, and a renewal reminder can catch people out.
• Ignoring the Expensive Car Supplement on EVs. Because electric cars often have high list prices, more of them now attract the supplement. Drivers who chose an EV partly to save on tax can be surprised by the extra annual charge.
• Letting tax lapse without a SORN. If you stop paying without declaring a SORN, the car is untaxed on the public road and you risk an automatic penalty. The DVLA runs continuous checks against its database.
• Using the wrong registration period. A car registered on 31 March 2017 follows different rules from one registered a day later on 1 April 2017. Check the exact date on the V5C, not just the model year.

These are guidance estimates only and not personal tax or financial advice. Always confirm the exact rate for your vehicle on gov.uk and check your V5C before taxing a car.

Related calculators

Once you have your road tax sorted, it helps to see the bigger picture of running and owning a vehicle. If a company provides your car, the tax works completely differently and is treated as a benefit in kind, so use our company car tax calculator for that. To plan everyday running costs, the fuel cost calculator and cost per mile calculator sit naturally alongside this one.

Tax is only part of the cost of running a car - the vehicle's insurance group also drives how much you'll pay to insure it.