Car Tax Bands: UK VED Rates, First-Year Tax and EVs
Car tax bands decide what you pay in the first year, then almost every modern car moves to the same flat rate. This guide sets out the current bands, the supplement for dearer cars, and what changed for electric cars.
Key takeaways
- Your registration date decides the system: post-2017 cars pay a CO2 first-year rate, then £200 a year.
- First-year rates run from £10 for a zero-emission car to £5,690 for cars over 255g/km.
- Cars over £40,000 new pay an extra £440 a year for five years; £50,000 for EVs.
- Electric cars have paid vehicle tax since April 2025: £10 in year one, then £200.
- Cars from 2001 to 2017 stay on bands A to M, from £20 to £790 a year.
What car tax bands are
Car tax is Vehicle Excise Duty, usually called VED or road tax: a yearly tax on most vehicles used on UK public roads, collected by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). The band is set by three facts: the registration date, the carbon dioxide figure, and the price when new.
First-year rates for cars registered since April 2017
For a car first registered on or after 1 April 2017, only the first year is set by CO2. This first-year rate is paid at registration and covers 12 months.
| CO2 (g/km) | First-year rate | Non-RDE2 diesel |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | £10 | £10 |
| 1 to 50 | £115 | £135 |
| 51 to 75 | £135 | £280 |
| 76 to 90 | £280 | £365 |
| 91 to 100 | £365 | £405 |
| 101 to 110 | £405 | £455 |
| 111 to 130 | £455 | £560 |
| 131 to 150 | £560 | £1,410 |
| 151 to 170 | £1,410 | £2,270 |
| 171 to 190 | £2,270 | £3,420 |
| 191 to 225 | £3,420 | £4,850 |
| 226 to 255 | £4,850 | £5,690 |
| Over 255 | £5,690 | £5,690 |
The jump is steep at the top: 131g/km costs £560 in year one, while 151g/km costs £1,410.
The standard rate from year two
From year two onwards, the CO2 figure stops mattering. Petrol, diesel, electric and alternative-fuel cars all pay the same standard rate: £200 for a single 12-month payment, £210 by monthly Direct Debit, or £110 for six months.
The standard rate rose from £195 to £200 on 1 April 2026, and rates are usually revised each April.
The expensive-car supplement
If the car cost more than £40,000 when new, you pay an extra £440 a year on top of the standard rate, making £640 a year. The supplement runs for five years, from the second time the vehicle is taxed, then the bill falls back to £200.
The list price is the published price before first registration, before any discount, so a car bought for £38,000 can still trigger the supplement if its list price was £41,000. For electric cars the threshold is £50,000, changed on 1 April 2026.
Electric cars and the April 2025 change
Electric cars used to be exempt from vehicle tax. That ended on 1 April 2025: a new electric car now pays £10 in year one and £200 from year two, like a petrol car. One registered between April 2017 and March 2025 also pays £200, and one from before April 2017 pays band A, £20 a year.
When you budget for an electric car, add £200 a year from year two, and check the supplement if the list price was over £50,000. Hybrids were never exempt.
Cars registered between 2001 and 2017
Cars first registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 never move to the flat rate. They stay in one of 13 lettered bands, A to M, and the band sets the bill every year.
| Band | CO2 (g/km) | Annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| A | Up to 100 | £20 |
| B | 101 to 110 | £20 |
| C | 111 to 120 | £35 |
| D | 121 to 130 | £170 |
| E | 131 to 140 | £200 |
| F | 141 to 150 | £225 |
| G | 151 to 165 | £275 |
| H | 166 to 175 | £325 |
| I | 176 to 185 | £360 |
| J | 186 to 200 | £410 |
| K | 201 to 225 | £445 |
| L | 226 to 255 | £760 |
| M | Over 255 | £790 |
Band K also covers cars over 225g/km registered before 23 March 2006. Cars from before March 2001 are taxed on engine size: £230 a year up to 1,549cc, £375 above it.
How to check your car tax band
You need two numbers: the date of first registration and the CO2 figure. Both sit on the V5C registration certificate, the logbook. The free GOV.UK vehicle enquiry service needs only the registration number and shows the current tax rate and expiry date as well.
If you are buying a car you do not own yet, ask for the V5C details before you commit. A car near a band boundary is where a five-minute check saves real money.
When you stop paying: selling, scrapping and SORN
Vehicle tax does not transfer when a car changes hands. The moment you sell, your tax ends, and the new keeper must tax the car before driving it. If you have full months left, you can cancel your road tax and claim a refund for those months.
If the car is coming off the road for a while, for repairs or storage, you can declare it off the road with a SORN instead of taxing it. A SORN means the car must stay off public roads.
Worked example: a £45,000 petrol car at 140g/km
Take a new petrol car at 140g/km with a list price of £45,000, first registered in 2026. The figures below are illustrative, worked from the GOV.UK rate tables.
In year one, 140g/km falls in the 131 to 150g/km band, so the first-year rate is £560. From year two, the £200 standard rate applies, plus the £440 supplement, giving £640 a year for years two to six. That is five payments of £640, or £3,200, plus £560, which totals £3,760 over six years.
Sources & further reading
- GOV.UK, Vehicle tax ratesVerified 10 Nov 2026.
- GOV.UK, Tax your vehicleVerified 10 Nov 2026.
- GOV.UK, Check if a vehicle is taxedVerified 10 Nov 2026.
- GOV.UK, Make a SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification)Verified 10 Nov 2026.
- GOV.UK, Vehicle tax: cancel and get a refundVerified 10 Nov 2026.
- RAC, Car tax bands explainedVerified 10 Nov 2026.
This article is general information only, not financial advice.