Finance & Money
Rates & guidance reviewed
Vehicle Excise Duty — car tax or road tax — depends on when the car was first registered, what it runs on, how much CO₂ it produces, and (for newer cars) the published list price when it was new. The rate you paid last year may not be the rate this year.
This free UK VED calculator uses published bands for 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. Choose the registration era, enter CO₂ or engine size, and (for cars from April 2017) the list price to see first-year tax, the standard rate, and the expensive-car supplement if it applies. Everything runs in your browser.
It is a planning estimate for cars only. Vans, motorcycles, motorhomes, disabled-exemption and historic-vehicle applications have different rules. Always confirm with GOV.UK, your V5C or the official vehicle enquiry service before you pay.
UK car tax (VED) · 1 April 2026 – 31 March 2027
First registered
Fuel type
From the V5C, windscreen label or manufacturer data.
Published price before discounts — not what you paid used.
Used for the EV expensive-car exemption.
Static sample calculations you can read without using the form. Figures match this tool's maths — always re-run with your own numbers for a personal estimate.
Typical family petrol, under the expensive-car threshold.
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111–130 g/km first-year band. No expensive-car supplement under £40,000 list.
Same emissions, but the list price triggers the five-year supplement.
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£200 standard + £440 expensive-car supplement for five years from the second tax payment.
Zero CO₂, first registered in 2026 — under the £50,000 EV supplement threshold.
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EVs first registered from 1 April 2025 pay first-year tax and the standard rate. Supplement only if list price is over £50,000.
Graduated CO₂ system for cars registered 1 March 2001 – 31 March 2017.
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Pre-March 2001 cars are taxed on engine size, not CO₂.
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Not over 1,549 cc is £230. Historic vehicles manufactured before 1 January 1986 may be exempt if you apply.
UK car tax is not one table. Cars first registered on or after 1 April 2017 pay a first-year rate based on CO₂, then a flat standard rate (£200 in 2026/27) plus, for some expensive cars, a five-year supplement from the second tax payment. Cars first registered from 1 March 2001 to 31 March 2017 stay on older CO₂ bands A–M for every renewal. Cars registered before 1 March 2001 are taxed on engine size (not over 1,549 cc vs over).
That is why two cars with the same emissions can have very different bills: a 120 g/km petrol registered in 2016 is Band C at £35, while a 120 g/km petrol registered in 2018 pays £455 in year one and £200 a year after that.
When a car is first registered, the first 12 months are a ‘showroom’ rate from a CO₂ table. Petrol, RDE2 diesel, hybrids/alternative fuel and zero-emission cars share one first-year column. Diesel that does not meet Real Driving Emissions 2 pays the higher column — often the next band up. Most newer diesels meet RDE2; ask the manufacturer if the V5C is unclear.
From the second tax payment, 2017-on cars pay the standard rate. In 2026/27 that is £200 whether the car is petrol, diesel, hybrid or electric. The old £10 alternative-fuel discount has been removed.
If the published list price when the car was first registered is over £40,000 (petrol, diesel or hybrid) you pay an extra £440 a year for five years, starting from the second tax payment — £640 in total in 2026/27. Electric and other zero-emission cars use a £50,000 threshold, and only if they were first registered on or after 1 April 2025. Zero-emission cars registered before that date do not pay the supplement, even if they were expensive when new.
List price is the published price before dealer discounts, not the used price you pay today. It should be on the V5C or available from the dealer. The five-year clock starts at the second licence, not the day you buy a used car — a three-year-old expensive car may only have a couple of supplement years left.
Zero-emission cars are no longer tax-free. A new EV first registered from 1 April 2025 pays £10 for the first year, then the £200 standard rate. EVs first registered between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2025 pay the standard £200 on renewal (no first-year rate now). Older EVs on the 2001–2017 system pay the low graduated band — typically £20 for 0–100 g/km.
From April 2028 the government has announced a separate pay-per-mile charge (eVED) for electric and plug-in hybrid cars on top of VED. This calculator does not model 2028 mileage charges.
It does not look up a number plate, apply disabled or historic exemptions automatically, or price vans, motorbikes, motorhomes or trade licences. Direct Debit usually costs slightly more over 12 months than a single payment. Six-month tax is 55% of the 12-month rate, not half. Tax is not transferable when you sell — the new keeper taxes the car and the seller can claim a refund for full remaining months.
To tax a vehicle you generally need insurance and, if it is old enough, a valid MOT. For the live taxed/untaxed status of a specific registration, use the official GOV.UK vehicle enquiry service — not this page.
Always confirm rates, bands and eligibility on official pages. Our tools are simplified estimators for guidance only.