The Audi A1 tax band your car falls into depends almost entirely on when it was first registered. Pre-April 2017 models are placed in one of 13 CO2 bands and can pay as little as £20 a year. Models registered on or after 1 April 2017 skip the bands entirely after their first year and settle at a flat £200 standard rate, regardless of engine or emissions.1GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Rates – Cars Registered on or After 1 April 2017
Why the Registration Date Decides Everything
Vehicle Excise Duty splits cleanly on 1 April 2017. An A1 first registered before that date is taxed for life on its tailpipe CO2 figure. An A1 first registered on or after that date pays a flat annual rate from the second year onward, no matter how efficient it is.1GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Rates – Cars Registered on or After 1 April 2017
What matters is the first registration date printed on the V5C log book, not the date you bought the car. A used A1 first registered in March 2017 stays on the older CO2 bands even if it changed hands in 2025. If you want the exact rate for your specific car, the GOV.UK vehicle enquiry service returns it from the 11-digit reference number on your log book.2GOV.UK. Check if a Vehicle Is Taxed
Pre-April 2017 A1s: CO2 Bands A to M
A1 models registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 sit in one of 13 bands (A through M) based on grams of CO2 per kilometre. The lower the emissions, the lower the rate, and that rate stays with the car permanently.3GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Rates for Cars Registered Between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017
The A1 does well here. The 1.0 TFSI petrol and 1.6 TDI diesel engines typically produced between 92 and 99 g/km, which lands them in Band A (up to 100 g/km) at £20 a year.4Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. Rates of Vehicle Tax April 2026 Some early 1.6 TDI variants from 2010 and 2011 produced around 105 g/km, putting them in Band B at the same £20 annual cost.
The bands that cover most A1 owners:
- Band A, up to 100 g/km: £20 a year, covering most 1.0 TFSI and 1.6 TDI models
- Band B, 101 to 110 g/km: £20 a year, taking in some older 1.6 TDI and 1.4 TFSI variants
- Band C, 111 to 120 g/km: £35 a year
- Band D, 121 to 130 g/km: £170 a year, typically larger engines or heavier trim
- Band E, 131 to 140 g/km: £200 a year
Higher bands climb steeply. A 1.4 TFSI with a sportier tune or an automatic gearbox can push into Band D or E, and the rare 2.0-litre variants fitted to performance models can reach Band G (151 to 165 g/km) at £275 a year.3GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Rates for Cars Registered Between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 If you’re shopping for a used pre-2017 A1 and running costs matter, look for the 1.0 TFSI or 1.6 TDI badge. Those engines almost always sit in the cheapest band.
Post-April 2017 A1s: A Flat £200 Standard Rate
If your A1 was registered on or after 1 April 2017, the CO2 figure on the spec sheet stops mattering once the first year of tax is done. Every petrol and diesel car pays the same flat standard rate of £200 a year from the second payment onward.1GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Rates – Cars Registered on or After 1 April 2017
A frugal 25 TFSI and a punchier 35 TFSI cost the same to tax annually once the first year is over. It simplifies budgeting, but it also removes the reward pre-2017 owners get for choosing a smaller engine.
The £10 annual discount that used to apply to alternatively fuelled vehicles like hybrids has been removed. Petrol, diesel, and alternative fuel A1s now pay the same £200 standard rate.5GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax for Electric, Zero and Low Emission Vehicles
First-Year Tax on a New A1
The first 12 months of road tax on a new registration follow a separate sliding scale based on CO2. With the A1 Sportback being phased out of production, this is mostly relevant to anyone registering one of the last new cars or importing one.
Current A1 engines sit in a narrow CO2 range. The 25 TFSI emits 119 to 128 g/km and the 30 TFSI emits 118 to 128 g/km.6Audi MediaCenter. Audi A1 Sportback (Until 2026) Both fall in the 111 to 130 g/km bracket, which carries a first-year charge of £455 for petrol models.4Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. Rates of Vehicle Tax April 2026
For context, the first-year rates around that band look like this:
- 76 to 90 g/km: £280
- 91 to 100 g/km: £365
- 101 to 110 g/km: £405
- 111 to 130 g/km: £455
- 131 to 150 g/km: £560 (£1,410 for non-RDE2 diesels)
- 151 to 170 g/km: £1,410 (£2,270 for non-RDE2 diesels)
Dealers usually fold this first-year charge into the “on the road” price, so you may not see it broken out on the invoice unless you ask. After that initial payment, the car drops onto the flat £200 standard rate.1GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Rates – Cars Registered on or After 1 April 2017
The £40,000 Expensive Car Supplement
Cars registered on or after 1 April 2017 with a list price above £40,000 attract an extra annual charge on top of the standard rate. The supplement runs for five years starting from the second year of registration.7GOV.UK. Administrative Amendment to Vehicle Excise Duty Expensive Car Supplement
For 2026/27, the supplement is £440, taking the total annual bill to £640 on an affected vehicle.4Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. Rates of Vehicle Tax April 2026 Most A1s sit comfortably below £40,000 in standard trim, so the supplement rarely applies. It can catch heavily optioned cars or special editions that crossed the threshold at the point of first sale. The list price used for this test is the manufacturer’s original price including options and VAT, not what a buyer actually paid after discount or trade-in.
The supplement travels with the car, not the owner. Buy a used A1 that originally listed above £40,000 within the five-year window and you inherit the extra cost.
Paying Monthly Costs Slightly More
You can pay road tax in a single annual lump sum, every six months, or monthly by direct debit. The annual payment has no surcharge. The six-monthly and monthly options both carry a 5% surcharge on top of the annual rate.8GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Direct Debit Payments
On the £200 standard rate, that adds £10 over a year. Not enormous, but worth knowing if you assumed monthly payments would simply divide the annual cost by 12.
Checking the Rate for Your Specific Car
Because the band, and therefore the price, depends on the exact registration date and CO2 figure recorded for your car, the safest way to confirm what you owe is the GOV.UK vehicle enquiry service. Enter your registration number and the 11-digit reference from your V5C, and it returns the current tax rate and status.2GOV.UK. Check if a Vehicle Is Taxed For a used A1 you’re thinking about buying, this is the check to run before you commit.