Car tax
Car tax calculator
Most cars registered since 1 April 2017 pay £200 a year in vehicle tax from 1 April 2026. It’s £640 if the car cost over £40,000 new and is under 6 years old; for an electric car, that applies over £50,000 and only if it was registered from 1 April 2025. Older cars pay by CO2 band or engine size, from £20 to £790, and cars built before 1986 pay nothing.
Work out the tax on a car
You need the date of first registration and the fuel. Some cars also need the CO2 figure or engine size, all on the V5C logbook.
On the V5C logbook, section B.
Put in the registration date to see the rate.
How car tax is worked out
Vehicle tax (Vehicle Excise Duty, or VED) depends first on when the car was first registered. That date puts it in one of 4 systems:
- Registered on or after 1 April 2017: a flat yearly rate, plus the expensive car rate for some cars. CO2 only sets the first payment.
- Registered 1 March 2001 to 31 March 2017: a yearly rate set by CO2 band, A to M.
- Registered before 1 March 2001: a yearly rate set by engine size.
- Built before 1 January 1986: historic, no tax to pay.
Cars registered from 1 April 2017
After the first year, every car in this group pays £200 a year, whatever the fuel or CO2. Cars with a list price over £40,000, or over £50,000 for an electric car, pay £640 for 5 years.
| Payment | Standard | With expensive car rate |
|---|---|---|
| 12 months, single payment or Direct Debit | £200 | £640 |
| 12 monthly Direct Debits, total | £210 | £672 |
| 6 months, single payment | £110 | £352 |
| 6 months by Direct Debit | £105 | £336 |
First payment on a new car
The first payment, made when the car is registered, covers 12 months and depends on CO2. Diesels that don’t meet the RDE2 standard for nitrogen oxides pay the higher column.
| CO2 | Petrol, electric, alternative fuel, RDE2 diesel | Other diesel |
|---|---|---|
| 0g/km | £10 | £10 |
| 1 to 50g/km | £115 | £135 |
| 51 to 75g/km | £135 | £280 |
| 76 to 90g/km | £280 | £365 |
| 91 to 100g/km | £365 | £405 |
| 101 to 110g/km | £405 | £455 |
| 111 to 130g/km | £455 | £560 |
| 131 to 150g/km | £560 | £1,410 |
| 151 to 170g/km | £1,410 | £2,270 |
| 171 to 190g/km | £2,270 | £3,420 |
| 191 to 225g/km | £3,420 | £4,850 |
| 226 to 255g/km | £4,850 | £5,690 |
| Over 255g/km | £5,690 | £5,690 |
The expensive car rate
The extra £440 a year applies when the list price was over £40,000, or over £50,000 for an electric car. The list price is the published price before the car was first registered, before any discount. It runs for 5 years from the second time the car is taxed, so from its first birthday to 6 years after first registration. Electric cars registered before 1 April 2025 don’t pay it.
Cars registered 1 March 2001 to 31 March 2017
These cars pay by CO2 band, and every fuel uses the same table. Electric cars are in band A. A car over 225g/km registered before 23 March 2006 stays in band K. Bands A to C have no 6-month option.
| Band | CO2 | 12 months | 12 monthly DDs | 6 months | 6 months DD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Up to 100g/km | £20 | £21 | n/a | n/a |
| B | 101 to 110g/km | £20 | £21 | n/a | n/a |
| C | 111 to 120g/km | £35 | £36.75 | n/a | n/a |
| D | 121 to 130g/km | £170 | £178.50 | £93.50 | £89.25 |
| E | 131 to 140g/km | £200 | £210 | £110 | £105 |
| F | 141 to 150g/km | £225 | £236.25 | £123.75 | £118.13 |
| G | 151 to 165g/km | £275 | £288.75 | £151.25 | £144.38 |
| H | 166 to 175g/km | £325 | £341.25 | £178.75 | £170.63 |
| I | 176 to 185g/km | £360 | £378 | £198 | £189 |
| J | 186 to 200g/km | £410 | £430.50 | £225.50 | £215.25 |
| K | 201 to 225g/km | £445 | £467.25 | £244.75 | £233.63 |
| L | 226 to 255g/km | £760 | £798 | £418 | £399 |
| M | Over 255g/km | £790 | £829.50 | £434.50 | £414.75 |
Cars registered before 1 March 2001
Tax on these cars depends on engine size: £230 a year up to 1,549cc and £375 above that. Monthly Direct Debits total £241.50 and £393.75.
Historic cars built before 1986
From 1 April 2026, a car built before 1 January 1986 pays no vehicle tax. If you don’t know when it was built, one registered before 8 January 1986 qualifies. To claim it, you apply to put the car in the historic tax class. Cars over 40 years old don’t need an MOT either, unless they’ve been substantially changed; see when is my MOT due.
Questions
How much is car tax in 2026?
For a car registered on or after 1 April 2017 it's £200 a year from 1 April 2026. Add £440 if the list price was over £40,000, or over £50,000 for an electric car, making £640. Cars registered from March 2001 to March 2017 pay by CO2 band, from £20 to £790.
Do electric cars pay car tax?
Yes, since 1 April 2025. An electric car registered from April 2017 pays the standard £200 a year, and one registered between March 2001 and March 2017 pays the band A rate of £20. A new electric car's first payment is £10. Electric cars registered from 1 April 2025 with a list price over £50,000 also pay the £440 rate.
How long do you pay the expensive car rate?
For 5 years, starting from the second time the car is taxed. In practice that means from the car's first birthday until 6 years after it was first registered. After that it drops to the standard £200. It counts the list price when new, so a used car bought cheaply still pays it if it cost over the threshold new.
Is it cheaper to pay car tax monthly or yearly?
Yearly. Paying 12 months in one go costs the same whether by card or Direct Debit. Monthly Direct Debits add 5%: a £200 yearly rate becomes £210 over 12 payments. Two single 6-month payments cost more again, £220 at the standard rate, while two 6-month Direct Debits come to £210.
Where do I find my car's CO2 figure?
On the V5C logbook, section V.7, in grams per kilometre. It only changes the tax for cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017, and for the first payment on a new car. For cars registered from April 2017 onwards, the yearly rate is the same whatever the CO2.
Do classic cars pay road tax?
No, if they're old enough. From 1 April 2026, a car built before 1 January 1986 pays nothing, and if the build date isn't known, one registered before 8 January 1986 qualifies. To claim it, you apply to move the car into the historic tax class.
Where these rates come from
GOV.UK’s vehicle tax rate tables (last updated by GOV.UK on 9 September 2026) and its historic vehicles guidance, read 11 Oct 2026. These are the rates from 1 April 2026; they normally change each April. The calculator works on the rules and doesn’t look up any car, so it can’t tell you whether a particular car is taxed. GOV.UK’s check vehicle tax service does that, and you pay at gov.uk/vehicle-tax.
Some vehicles pay nothing whatever their age, including vehicles used by a disabled person. GOV.UK lists them on vehicles exempt from vehicle tax.
Related
Work out a car’s age from its plate on what year is my number plate, check whether it can enter a clean air zone or London’s ULEZ, and see its full MOT history.