Motoring Calculator

Vehicle Road Tax (VED) Calculator 2026/27

From April 2025, electric and low-emission vehicles pay road tax for the first time. Use this calculator to find your exact VED rate — including first-year rates, the standard rate, and the expensive car supplement (£620/year for cars over £40,000).

Your Vehicle

Your VED Rate

2026/27 VED Rate Changes

The most significant change for 2026/27 is the extension of VED to zero-emission vehicles. From 1 April 2025:

  • New electric cars (registered April 2025+): £10 first-year rate, then £200/year standard rate
  • Existing EVs (registered April 2017–March 2025): £200/year standard rate from April 2025
  • EVs over £40,000 list price: Also pay the £620/year expensive car supplement for 5 years (years 2–6 of ownership)
  • Petrol/diesel: All rates increased by RPI inflation
Find your vehicle's exact emissions and registration details on the DVLA Vehicle Enquiry Service.

How VED Is Actually Worked Out

Vehicle Excise Duty for cars registered from April 2017 onwards works on a two-tier system. The first-year rate is charged when the vehicle is first registered and is banded strictly by CO₂ emissions — the more a car emits, the steeper the first-year charge, ranging from £0 for zero-emission vehicles up to several thousand pounds for the highest-emitting models. From the second year of registration onwards, almost every petrol, diesel and hybrid car moves onto the same flat standard rate, regardless of its original emissions figure. This is why a car's road tax often drops sharply after its first year, then stays level for the rest of its life.

Diesel cars that don't meet the RDE2 (Real Driving Emissions step 2) standard are charged an extra diesel supplement on the first-year rate only, moving them up one or more CO₂ bands. Most diesel cars sold new since 2020 meet RDE2 and are exempt from this supplement — check your V5C logbook or the manufacturer's specification if you're unsure.

The Expensive Car Supplement Explained

Any car with a list price over £40,000 when new — including the value of factory-fitted options — attracts an additional annual supplement on top of the standard rate. This applies from the second year of registration and runs for five years (so effectively years 2 to 6 of the vehicle's life), after which the car reverts to paying only the standard rate. Importantly, the £40,000 threshold is based on the manufacturer's list price before any discount you actually negotiated, so a heavily discounted car can still trigger the supplement if its official list price was above the threshold. Since April 2025, this supplement also applies to electric and zero-emission vehicles, which had previously been exempt — many higher-spec EVs now comfortably exceed the £40,000 threshold once options are included.

Paying Your Road Tax — Options and What Happens If You Don't

VED can be paid annually, in a single six-month instalment, or by monthly Direct Debit. Paying monthly or twice-yearly costs slightly more overall than a single annual payment, because of an in-built surcharge, but spreads the cost more evenly. Whichever method you choose, the DVLA now manages everything electronically — there is no paper tax disc, and enforcement uses Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras that check a vehicle's registration against the DVLA database in real time.

Driving or keeping an untaxed vehicle on a public road (without a valid SORN declaration) can result in an automatic Out of Court Settlement letter, typically starting around £30–£80, rising substantially if it proceeds to court — potentially up to £1,000 or more, plus the outstanding tax itself. If you don't intend to use a vehicle on the road, declaring a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) is free and removes the requirement to tax it, provided it's kept off public roads entirely.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to pay road tax on a car I've just bought?+
Yes. Vehicle tax does not transfer between owners — when you buy a car, whether new or used, you must tax it in your own name before driving it, even if the previous owner's tax hasn't expired. The seller receives an automatic refund for any full remaining months, and you start a fresh tax period from the point of purchase.
Are hybrid cars taxed the same as petrol or diesel?+
Mild hybrids and standard hybrids are taxed on the same CO₂-banded system as petrol and diesel cars, though their typically lower emissions figures usually place them in a cheaper band. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) follow the same structure but often qualify for a small annual discount compared to an equivalent non-hybrid model, reflecting their lower official CO₂ rating — though this discount has been reduced in recent years as PHEV real-world emissions have come under scrutiny.
What happens to my road tax if I sell my car privately?+
As soon as you notify the DVLA of the sale (either online or by returning the relevant section of your V5C), your vehicle tax is automatically cancelled and any full remaining months are refunded to you by cheque or bank transfer. The buyer must then tax the vehicle themselves before driving it — they cannot rely on your existing tax, even if you've just paid for a full year.
Is my classic or historic car exempt from road tax?+
Vehicles built more than 40 years before 1 January of the current year are eligible for the Historic Vehicle tax class, which is completely exempt from VED. This exemption rolls forward automatically each year as older vehicles cross the 40-year threshold. You still need to apply to have the vehicle formally reclassified with the DVLA and it must still be taxed (at £0) annually or SORNed — the exemption isn't automatic just because a car is old enough.