Road tax on an Audi A3 in the UK depends almost entirely on when the car was first registered. From April 2026, most A3s registered on or after 1 April 2017 pay a flat standard rate of £200 a year, with a first-year charge based on CO2 and an extra £440 surcharge for five years on models that cost more than £40,000 new. A3s registered before April 2017 sit in the older emissions-band system, where annual Audi A3 car tax ranges from £20 to £790 depending on CO2 output.
Annual Rate for A3s Registered After April 2017
Every A3 first registered on or after 1 April 2017 pays the same flat standard rate from its second year onward, whatever the engine. From April 2026, that rate is £200 a year for petrol, diesel, and alternative fuel cars.1GOV.UK. Rates of Vehicle Tax for Cars, Motorcycles, Light Goods Vehicles and Private Light Goods Vehicles April 2026 A frugal 30 TFSI and a high-output RS3 pay the same £200 once they’re past their first birthday.
The old £10 discount for alternative fuel vehicles has been scrapped, so the A3 40 TFSI e plug-in hybrid pays the same £200 standard rate as a petrol A3 from year two.2GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax for Electric, Zero and Low Emission Vehicles
Expensive Car Supplement on Pricier A3s
If your A3 had a list price above £40,000 when new, an extra £440 is added on top of the standard rate for five years, starting from the second time the car is taxed.3GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Rate Tables That takes the annual bill to £640 for those five years.
The RS3 Sportback, starting above £62,000, comfortably triggers this surcharge, and the S3 typically does too. Standard A3 models generally sit below the threshold, though heavily optioned trims can creep past it. It’s the original list price that counts, not what you paid on the used market.
First-Year Rate on a New A3
The first year is the one time CO2 matters for a post-2017 A3. The initial payment scales sharply with emissions. From April 2026, first-year rates for petrol cars and RDE2-compliant diesels include:1GOV.UK. Rates of Vehicle Tax for Cars, Motorcycles, Light Goods Vehicles and Private Light Goods Vehicles April 2026
- 1–50 g/km: £115, which covers the A3 40 TFSI e plug-in hybrid at roughly 25 g/km
- 51–75 g/km: £135
- 76–90 g/km: £280
- 91–100 g/km: £365
- 101–110 g/km: £405
- 111–130 g/km: £455, which covers most standard A3 petrol variants such as the 30 TFSI and 35 TFSI
- 131–150 g/km: £560
- 151–170 g/km: £1,410
- 171–190 g/km: £2,270
Diesels that haven’t been tested to the stricter RDE2 standard pay a higher first-year rate. A non-RDE2 diesel in the 131–150 g/km bracket, for example, pays £1,410 instead of £560.1GOV.UK. Rates of Vehicle Tax for Cars, Motorcycles, Light Goods Vehicles and Private Light Goods Vehicles April 2026 Your V5C shows which standard the engine meets. After year one, every one of these cars drops to the flat £200 standard rate.
Older A3s Registered Before April 2017
An A3 first registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 uses a completely different system: thirteen emissions bands labelled A through M, with the annual bill tied to CO2 every year rather than just the first. Key April 2026 rates for the bands most A3s fall into:1GOV.UK. Rates of Vehicle Tax for Cars, Motorcycles, Light Goods Vehicles and Private Light Goods Vehicles April 2026
- Band A, up to 100 g/km: £20, covering efficient diesels like the 1.6 TDI
- Band B, 101–110 g/km: £20
- Band C, 111–120 g/km: £35
- Band D, 121–130 g/km: £170
- Band E, 131–140 g/km: £200
- Band F, 141–150 g/km: £225
- Band G, 151–165 g/km: £275
- Band K, 201–225 g/km: £445
- Band L, 226–255 g/km: £760
- Band M, over 255 g/km: £790
A frugal A3 1.6 TDI under 100 g/km sits in Band A at £20 a year. At the other end, the 3.2-litre V6 and early RS3 models land in Band K or L, where annual bills reach £445 to £760. Your V5C shows the exact CO2 figure and matching band.
How to Tax Your A3
You’ll need one of two reference numbers. The easiest is the 16-digit number printed on your V11 reminder letter, which DVLA sends before your tax expires. If you don’t have the V11, the 11-digit number on your V5C registration certificate works instead.4GOV.UK. Tax Your Vehicle Without a Vehicle Tax Reminder If you’ve just bought the car and don’t yet have the full logbook, the green new keeper slip from the V5C works too.
Your A3 also needs a valid MOT recorded in the DVLA database before you can tax it. MOT records can take up to two days to update after a test, so a fresh pass may not show immediately. The quickest route is the GOV.UK online portal, which handles verification and payment in a few minutes. A Post Office that handles vehicle licensing is the in-person option.5GOV.UK. Tax Your Vehicle
Payment Options and the 5% Surcharge
You can pay in one annual lump sum, every six months, or monthly by Direct Debit. The annual payment carries no extra charge. Splitting it into six-monthly or monthly instalments adds a 5% surcharge to the total.6GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Direct Debit Payments On a standard £200 rate, that’s £210 over twelve months instead of £200 upfront. For an RS3 in the expensive car supplement period, it’s £672 monthly versus £640 as a single payment.
Declaring Your A3 Off the Road With a SORN
If your A3 isn’t being driven on public roads, whether because it’s stored, laid up for winter, or awaiting repairs, you can file a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) instead of taxing it. A SORN means no vehicle tax for as long as the car stays off public roads.7GOV.UK. Register Your Vehicle as Off the Road (SORN) Apply online using either the 11-digit V5C number or the 16-digit V11 reference. The SORN starts immediately if your tax has already expired, or on the first day of the next month if it hasn’t.
While the SORN is active, the car must stay on private property. You can’t drive it on any public road, not even to move it a short distance, unless you’re going directly to a pre-booked MOT test. When you want to use it again, tax it through the normal process before driving.
Penalties for Driving an Untaxed A3
DVLA enforces vehicle tax through automatic number plate recognition. If your A3 is caught untaxed on a public road, DVLA can clamp or impound it on the spot. You’ll pay a £160 surety deposit on top of taxing the car to get it released.8GOV.UK. Get a Clamped or Impounded Vehicle Released
DVLA usually issues an out-of-court settlement first. If that goes unpaid, the case moves to a magistrates’ court, where the maximum fine is £1,000 or five times the tax owed, whichever is greater. Where a SORN was in force and the car was driven anyway, the ceiling rises to £2,500 or five times the tax.9GOV.UK. DVLA Enforcement of Vehicle Tax, Registration and Insurance Offences
Refunds When You Sell or Scrap
Vehicle tax doesn’t transfer with the car. The buyer has to tax it themselves before driving away. Once you tell DVLA you’ve sold, scrapped, or SORNed the car, a refund cheque is issued automatically for any full months of tax remaining.10GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Direct Debit Payments – Cancel a Direct Debit The refund runs from the date DVLA receives the notification, so notify them the same day the change happens.