New Car Tax Rates 2026: Plus Road Tax Calculator
Confused about different car tax rates and what you should be paying? Our guide explains everything while our 2026 road tax calculator eliminates the guesswork.
| Author: David Ross | Last updated: 11th February 2026 |
2026 Quick Rates
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Standard Rate (Post-2017): £195 (Forecast: £205 from April)
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Expensive Car Supplement: £425 (threshold rising to £50,000 for EVs in April)
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Electric Car Rate: Now £195 (First-year: £10)
2026 car tax guide: quick links to rates, rules and calculator
- ⚡ Car tax rates for new cars (post-April 2017)
- 💰 The £40k expensive car supplement: how much will you pay?
- 🔋 Electric Car Tax 2026: new rules for EV owners
- 🚗 Road tax bands for older cars (2001–2017)
- 📜 Classic Car Tax Exemption: does your car qualify?
- 🛣️ Pay-Per-Mile 2028: what the eVED updates mean for you
- 💷 How to cancel car tax and claim a refund
Confused about car tax - or VED as it's also known? You're not alone, there have been a raft of changes over the past few years, creating a confusing system. Here's how much you car tax you will have to pay in 2026.
It's a common assumption that car road tax is a single rate of taxation. In reality, it's become more complicated than that over the past two decades.
While moves have been made to make the system easier to understand and fairer for all, piecemeal changes changes have created four types of taxation, each further broken down into bands.
Car Tax Calculator: check your VED rate by registration
2026 car tax rates: how much will your road tax increase in April?
Car tax rates will increase from April the 1st 2026 in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI). The details will be annonced in the spring budget statement, due at the end of March 2026.
Analysts forecast a possible rise of around 4.6%, which would mean the standard rate of VED increasing to £205 a year.
At the same time, the £40,000 expensive car supplement threshold for electric cars will increase to £50,000. So if you're buying a new EV that's between £40k and £50k it's best to wait until April 2026. Remember, tax is applicable from the date of the first registration.
Pay-per-mile road tax: what the 2028 'eVED' means for you now?
There has been much talk of pay per mile road pricing replacing the car road tax VED rates but this is unlikely to be introduced any time soon. The time and cost of implementing a ULEZ style system with cameras across the major road networks is likely to be prohibitively expensive.
A Transport Committee previously hinted at charging motorists to use the busiest motorways so the idea is not a new one.
In the Autumn 2025 Budget it was announced that an EV pay per mile scheme will be introduced in 2028 where electric car drivers will pay 3p a mile and plug-in hybrids will pay 1.5p a mile.
How exactly the system will work has yet to be decided but there are suggestions that owners will have to take their car to an MoT testing station annualy to have their mileage verified and recorded.
Road tax rates for cars registered from 1 April 2017
Previously, all new cars were taxed against three road tax VED bands — Zero, Standard and Premium — with rates calculated using a combination of CO2 emissions and the list price of the vehicle.
This has now changed and as of April 2025, all cars pay the same rate of car tax, regardless of emissions.
Tax year 2025 to 2026 (effective from April 1st 2025)
| Year | Car tax rate 2025/2026 |
|---|---|
| Standard rate 2025/2026 | £195 |
First tax payment when you register the vehicle
If you are buying a new car, you have to pay a rate based on a vehicle’s CO2 emissions the first time it’s registered. This is in addition to the standard £195 tax you will also pay.
Tax year 2025 to 2026 (effective from April 1st 2025)
| CO2 emissions (g/km) | Standard rate | First year rate |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | £195 | £10 |
| 1 to 50 | £195 | £110 |
| 51 to 75 | £195 | £130 |
| 76 to 90 | £195 | £270 |
| 91 to 100 | £195 | £350 |
| 101 to 110 | £195 | £390 |
| 111 to 130 | £195 | £440 |
| 131 to 150 | £195 | £540 |
| 151 to 170 | £195 | £1360 |
| 171 to 190 | £195 | £2190 |
| 191 to 225 | £195 | £3300 |
| 226 to 255 | £195 | £4680 |
| Over 255 | £195 | £5490 |
The £50,000 EV threshold: how the 2026 'luxury tax' rules have changed
If you buy a car with a list price of more than £40,000, it will be subject to extra tax of £425 a year for five years. This applies from its first birthday. It's worth bearing this in mind if buying a used car. Electric and hybrid cars are no longer exempt or offered a discounted rate.
Effective from 1 April 2025, these are the current 2025/2026 car tax rates, applicable from the second to sixth year of taxation. This is effectively the £195 standard rate plus the £425 premium.
| Expensive car supplement | Tax amount |
|---|---|
| Annual rate | £620 |
This only applies to cars registered from April 1st 2025 so if you buy an EV that cost more than £40k but was registered before that date, you will only have to pay the standard £195 rate.
A vehicle's list price, Basic Retail Price or Recommended Retail Price is the cost of the vehicle plus options and is the figure used to calculate whether or not a vehicle is subject to the Expensive Car Supplement.
The 'on the road' price adds VAT, first registration fee, delivery to the dealer, numberplates and the first year's VED.
From April 2026, the expensive car supplement for EVs will increase from £40,000 to £50,000, reflecting the fact that electric cars generally cost more than an equivalent petrol or diesel car.
Electric car tax 2026: why EVs are no longer free to tax
Electric cars are no longer free to tax. This changed on 1 April 2025 when they moved to the standard rate charge, currently £195 a year.
Previously, EVs were exempt from both the annual standard rate VED and the premium car supplement for new cars with a list price of £40,000 or more.
This will change from April 2026 when the threshold will increase to £50,000, reflecting the fact that electric cars generally cost more than an equivalent petrol or diesel car.
Under the new rules, zero emission cars registered on or after 1 April 2025 that cost more than £40k will be liable to pay the lowest first year rate of VED (which applies to vehicles with CO2 emissions of 1g/km to 50g/km) currently £10 a year.
From the second year of registration onwards, they will then move to the standard rate, currently £425 a year. That's in addition to the £195 a year standard tax rate. This is payable for 5 years so it's important to check if you're buying a used car.
The car tax discount for hybrid cars and other alternative fuels also ended in 2025.
Road tax for cars registered between 2001 and 2017
If your car was registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017, you pay VED road tax based solely on its CO2 emissions.
This is a more complex system than the ones before and after it. During its lifespan, this road tax system was modified under several governments. You will need to know your car's CO2 emissions in order to calculate its road tax or you can use the calculator above.
It did, however, create several opportunities for car owners to pay zero or very little road tax. As car manufacturers learned to take advantage of the system, more cars fell into lower bands and this ultimately led to its abolition.
Effective from 1 April 2025, these are the current 2025/2026 car road tax rates, applicable for models first registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017.
Tax year 2025 to 2026
| Vehicle Excise Duty band | CO2 emissions (g/km) | Standard rate |
|---|---|---|
| A | Up to 100 | £20 |
| B | 101 to 110 | £20 |
| C | 111 to 120 | £35 |
| D | 121 to 130 | £165 |
| E | 131 to 140 | £195 |
| F | 141 to 150 | £215 |
| G | 151 to 165 | £265 |
| H | 166 to 175 | £315 |
| I | 176 to 185 | £345 |
| J | 186 to 200 | £395 |
| K* | 201 to 225 | £430 |
| L | 226 to 255 | £735 |
| M | Over 255 | £760 |
*Band K includes cars emitting over 225g/km registered before 23 March 2006.
Car tax for models registered between 1985 and 2001
The system for cars registered between 1 January 1985 and 28 February 2001 is based exclusively on engine size. It's simple to understand with just two rates — one for those of 1549cc and below, the other for models of 1550cc and above.
Note that models registered or manufactured before 1 January 1985 are exempt from paying car tax.
Effective from 1 April 2025, these are the current car tax rates, applicable for models first registered between 1 January 1985 and 28 February 2001.
Car tax for cars and vans registered before 1 March 2001
| Engine size | Car tax rate 2025/2026 |
|---|---|
| 1549cc and below | £220 |
| Above 1549cc | £360 |
Classic car tax exemption: how the 40-year 'Historic Vehicle' rule works
From 1 April 2026, vehicles built before 1 January 1986 are eligible for the 'Historic Vehicle' tax class. This rolling 40-year exemption allows you to stop paying VED (road tax) and removes the requirement for an annual MoT, provided the vehicle has not been substantially changed.
If there's any good news to be had regarding VED car tax it's that classic models first registered at least 40 years ago are exempt from paying it. This is officially called historic vehicle tax exemption.
At the start of each year, on a rolling basis, the latest possible first registration date to qualify for VED exemption moves forward by twelve months.
If you do not know when your vehicle was built, but it was first registered before 8 January 1985, you can still apply to stop paying vehicle tax.
Importantly, you must register to tax your vehicle even though you do not have to pay.
Is VED the same as road tax and car tax?
VED - which is shorthand for vehicle excise duty - is often called road tax or car tax. It's essentially the duty you have to pay to the government in order to legally drive or park on public roads.
Essentially there's no difference between road tax and car tax, they are just two terms to describe VED. The reason we call it car tax rather than road tax is that the VED you pay doesn't actually directly pay for road maintenance. Rather it goes into a central government fund with other taxes such as council tax.
How to cancel car tax and claim a refund
Unlike the old days when car tax stayed with the vehicle when it was sold on, now it is essentially a contract between you and the DVLA, so as soon as its ownership is transferred, you no longer have to tax it.
That might seem more complicated but it takes the tax element out of buying or selling a car, and also means you don’t have to pay car tax for a car you are not using.
Here's how to cancel car tax and get a refund.
Road Tax Calculator UK
Car Tax 2026: frequently asked questions
Why do I have to pay car tax for an electric vehicle in 2026?
As of 1 April 2025, the UK government removed the VED exemption for zero-emission vehicles. All electric cars, vans, and motorcycles are now required to pay vehicle excise duty. For 2026, most EV owners will pay the £195 standard rate (increasing in line with RPI in April), bringing them in line with petrol and diesel car owners.
What is the 'Expensive Car Supplement' threshold for 2026?
For petrol and diesel cars, the threshold remains £40,000. However, from 1 April 2026, the threshold for electric vehicles (EVs) increases to £50,000. If your EV has a list price over this amount, you must pay an additional £425 per year for five years, starting from the second time the vehicle is taxed.
Is pay-per-mile road tax being introduced this year?
No, a national pay-per-mile scheme is not being introduced in 2026. However, the government has announced an 'eVED' pay-per-mile pilot scheduled for 2028, where electric cars will be charged approximately 3p per mile. For now, the standard annual VED system remains in place for all drivers.
How do I get a car tax refund after selling my car?
Car tax refunds are processed automatically by the DVLA once you notify them that the vehicle has been sold, scrapped, or SORN’d. The refund is calculated from the beginning of the next month and is usually sent as a cheque to the address on the V5C logbook within six weeks. Note that the DVLA does not refund partial months.
At what age does a car become tax-exempt as a 'Classic'?
In the UK, a vehicle becomes eligible for the 'Historic Vehicle' tax class when it is 40 years old. From 1 April 2026, vehicles built before 1 January 1986 qualify for tax exemption. You must still "tax" the vehicle every year, but the cost will be £0. At this age, most vehicles also become exempt from the annual MOT test.
Can I transfer my car tax to a new owner?
No. Since 2014, car tax is non-transferable. When a vehicle changes hands, the existing tax is automatically cancelled, and the seller receives a refund for any full remaining months. The new buyer must tax the car in their own name before driving it away.
