Car Tax Bands 2026/27: VED Rates for Every Car, Including EVs

Car tax (officially Vehicle Excise Duty, or VED) is worked out in two stages: a one-off first-year rate based on your car's CO2 emissions, then a flat standard rate every year after that, regardless of emissions. If your car had a list price over £40,000 when new, you also pay an extra supplement for five years — and since 1 April 2025 that applies to electric cars as well.

So the answer to "how much tax is my car" depends on three things: when it was first registered, what it emits, and what it cost new. Everything below explains which of the three systems your car falls into.

Key points

• Cars registered from 1 April 2017 pay a CO2-based first-year rate, then the same flat standard rate from year two.
• Zero-emission cars are no longer exempt — they pay a nominal first-year rate and then the full standard rate.
• Cars with a list price above £40,000 pay an additional supplement for five years, starting with the second licence.
• Cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 stay on the old A–M CO2 band system for life.
• VED is a UK-wide tax — the rates are identical in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

First-year rates: what you pay when a car is new

The first-year rate (sometimes called the "showroom tax") is charged once, on the car's first licence, and is built into the price you pay at the dealership. It rises steeply with CO2 emissions, which is why a large petrol SUV can cost thousands in its first year while a small hybrid costs a few hundred.

The band structure below is the one in force for cars first registered on or after 1 April 2017. The cash amounts shown are the rates that applied in 2025/26; VED rates are normally uprated each April in line with RPI, so the 2026/27 figures may be slightly higher.

Diesel cars that do not meet the RDE2 emissions standard are charged the first-year rate for the band above their actual CO2 figure, which can add hundreds of pounds. Almost all diesels sold new now meet RDE2, but older nearly-new stock may not.

The first-year rate only ever applies once. Buying a one-year-old car second-hand means you skip it entirely and go straight onto the standard rate.

The standard rate: what you pay from year two onwards

From the second licence onwards, nearly every car registered since April 2017 pays the same flat annual amount, whether it is a 1.0-litre city car or a V8. The standard rate was £195 a year in 2025/26 and is expected to rise with RPI for 2026/27.

Two details catch people out:

• The alternative fuel discount is gone. Hybrids, plug-in hybrids and LPG cars used to get £10 off the standard rate. That discount was removed from April 2025, so they now pay the same as petrol and diesel.
• Paying monthly costs more. Spreading VED over 12 monthly Direct Debit payments, or paying twice a year, adds a 5% surcharge. On a £195 standard rate that is about £9.75 extra a year — so a single annual payment is the cheapest option.

EVs now pay car tax too

Electric cars lost their VED exemption on 1 April 2025. The change works like this:

• New EVs registered on or after 1 April 2025 pay the lowest first-year rate (£10), then move onto the full standard rate from year two.
• Existing EVs registered between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2025 moved straight onto the standard rate at their first renewal after 1 April 2025.
• Older EVs registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 pay the lowest band of the old system — a small annual amount rather than nothing.

The government has also announced an intention to charge electric and plug-in hybrid cars a per-mile road charge later this decade, alongside (not instead of) VED. That is a future change rather than a 2026/27 one.

The expensive car supplement (the £40,000 rule)

If a car's list price was more than £40,000 when it was first registered, an additional supplement is added to the standard rate for five years, starting from the second licence. The supplement was £425 a year in 2025/26, on top of the standard rate.

The trigger is the published list price including options, delivery and VAT — not what you actually paid. A car discounted to £38,000 from a £42,000 list price still counts. And because the supplement follows the car, not the owner, buying a three-year-old car that cost £45,000 new means you inherit the remaining years of it.

Worked example: a £45,000 petrol car emitting 145g/km

1. Year 1: first-year rate for the 131–150g/km band = £540.
2. Years 2 to 6: standard rate £195 + expensive car supplement £425 = £620 a year.
3. Five years of that: £620 × 5 = £3,100.
4. Total over six years: £540 + £3,100 = £3,640.
5. Year 7 onwards: the supplement drops away, leaving £195 a year.

The same maths for an electric car

A £48,000 EV registered new in 2026 pays £10 in year one, then £195 + £425 = £620 for years two to six — a six-year total of £3,110. The CO2 saving on the first-year rate is real, but the supplement wipes out most of the difference on cars above £40,000. Figures here use the 2025/26 rates; check the current year's amounts before relying on them.

Cars registered before 1 April 2017

Older cars never move onto the new system. There are two legacy regimes:

• Registered 1 March 2001 to 31 March 2017: a single annual rate based on CO2 bands A to M. Band A (up to 100g/km) is £0, and the rates climb steeply from there to the top band. There is no first-year rate and no expensive car supplement.
• Registered before 1 March 2001: a flat rate based on engine size — one amount for engines up to 1,549cc and a higher one above that.

Cars built more than 40 years ago are exempt from VED under the rolling historic vehicle exemption, but you still have to tax them each year (at £0) or declare them off the road. Vehicles used by someone receiving certain disability benefits can also be exempt or pay a reduced rate.

How to check how much tax your car costs

To work out your own figure you need the registration date, the CO2 emissions figure (on the V5C logbook) and, for newer cars, the original list price. Then:

• Use the car tax calculator to get the annual amount for your car, including the expensive car supplement where it applies.
• Check the current status and expiry date with the free check vehicle tax service on GOV.UK.
• Cross-check the official band amounts against the GOV.UK vehicle tax rate tables.

If the car is not being used and is kept off the public road, a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) stops the tax and can trigger a refund of full remaining months.

What to do next

Put your registration details into the car tax calculator to see the first-year rate, the standard rate and whether the £40,000 supplement applies — and compare two cars before you commit, because a few grams of CO2 or a few hundred pounds of list price can change the bill by thousands over six years.