Road tax on an Audi Q5 depends on three things: when it was first registered, its official CO2 emissions, and its original list price. The Audi Q5 tax band structure means most new Q5s pay £200 a year in standard Vehicle Excise Duty from year two, but a first-year charge tied to CO2 can reach several thousand pounds, and nearly every Q5 also attracts the £440 expensive car supplement for five years because list prices sit well above the £40,000 threshold.1GOV.UK. Vehicle Excise Duty The rules split at 1 April 2017, so the first thing to check is your registration date.
Finding the Figures That Set Your Rate
The number that decides everything is your car’s CO2 emissions in grams per kilometre, printed on the V5C logbook.2Vehicle Certification Agency. General Points Fuel type matters too, because petrol, diesel, and alternative fuel vehicles sit on slightly different first-year tables.
For the expensive car supplement, DVLA uses the manufacturer’s list price on the day before first registration, including VAT, delivery, and factory-fitted options. The price you actually paid at the dealer does not come into it, and neither does the used value if you buy later.
First-Year Tax for a Q5 Registered from April 2017
A Q5 first registered on or after 1 April 2017 pays a one-off first-year rate driven entirely by CO2. From April 2026, the relevant brackets for petrol Q5s and RDE2-compliant diesels are:3GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Rates – Cars Registered on or After 1 April 2017
- 1–50 g/km (TFSI e plug-in hybrid): £115
- 51–75 g/km: £135
- 131–150 g/km: £560
- 151–170 g/km: £1,410
- 171–190 g/km: £2,270
- 191–225 g/km: £3,420
Current 2.0-litre petrol Q5s emit roughly 159–191 g/km, and 2.0-litre diesels sit between 158 and 172 g/km, so most combustion-engine Q5s land in the £1,410 to £3,420 first-year band. The SQ5, at around 185–190 g/km, is at the higher end.
Diesel and the RDE2 Standard
A diesel Q5 that does not meet the Real Driving Emissions 2 standard pays the higher first-year rate that would normally apply one band up. A non-RDE2 diesel emitting 151–170 g/km, for example, pays £2,270 instead of £1,410.3GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Rates – Cars Registered on or After 1 April 2017 Most Q5 diesels from around 2020 onward meet RDE2. For 2017–2019 cars, check with Audi or the dealer before assuming the lower rate.
Standard Rate From Year Two
After the first year, every petrol, diesel, and alternative fuel Q5 registered from April 2017 moves to a flat £200 standard rate.4Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). Rates of Vehicle Tax for Cars, Motorcycles, Light Goods Vehicles and Private Light Goods Vehicles April 2026 CO2 stops mattering at this point. Whether the car emits 40 g/km or 200 g/km, the standard rate is the same, and the transition happens automatically at renewal.
The Expensive Car Supplement
This is where the Q5 gets costly. Any Q5 with an original list price over £40,000 pays an extra £440 a year on top of the standard rate, taking the annual bill to £640.3GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Rates – Cars Registered on or After 1 April 2017 Current Q5 list prices start above £52,000, so every new Q5 sold in the UK is caught.
The supplement runs for five years, starting from the second time the vehicle is taxed, so it applies in years two through six of the car’s life. After that, you drop back to the £200 standard rate. Because the charge is calculated from the original list price, buying a three-year-old Q5 for £30,000 on the used market still means paying the supplement for the remainder of the five-year window.5GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax for Electric and Low Emissions Vehicles – Section: Additional Rate (Expensive Car Supplement)
From April 2025 the threshold was raised to £50,000, but only for fully zero-emission vehicles.6House of Commons Library. Vehicle Excise Duty and Zero Emission Vehicles The Q5 TFSI e is a plug-in hybrid rather than zero-emission, so the £40,000 threshold still applies to it.
Where the TFSI e Plug-in Hybrid Sits
The TFSI e models are far cheaper to tax in year one. WLTP CO2 figures of roughly 35–58 g/km put them in the lowest brackets, so a TFSI e under 50 g/km pays £115 in its first year against £1,410 or more for a standard petrol Q5.3GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Rates – Cars Registered on or After 1 April 2017
From year two the gap closes. The TFSI e pays the same £200 standard rate as every other Q5, and every TFSI e trim exceeds £40,000, so the expensive car supplement still applies. That means £640 a year in years two through six, identical to a petrol or diesel Q5. The plug-in hybrid’s tax advantage is essentially a one-year event.
Q5 Models Registered Before April 2017
First-generation Q5s registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 use the older graduated system, with thirteen CO2 bands labelled A to M. The annual rate is tied to the band for the life of the car.7GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Rates – Cars Registered Between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 Most diesel Q5s from this period emit 150–175 g/km, putting them in band G or H, while 3.0-litre petrol and diesel Q5s can reach band J or K.
From April 2026 the annual charges for the bands most Q5 owners fall into are:4Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). Rates of Vehicle Tax for Cars, Motorcycles, Light Goods Vehicles and Private Light Goods Vehicles April 2026
- Band G (151–165 g/km): £275
- Band H (166–175 g/km): £325
- Band J (186–200 g/km): £395
- Band K (201–225 g/km): £445
The expensive car supplement does not apply to pre-2017 cars, regardless of their original list price. The graduated CO2 rate is the only VED charge.
Paying, Renewing, and SORN
You can tax a Q5 online at GOV.UK, by phone, or at a Post Office, using a reference from a DVLA reminder, the V5C, or the green new-keeper slip.8GOV.UK. Tax Your Vehicle You still have to tax it even where a zero rate applies.
DVLA offers annual, six-monthly, or monthly Direct Debit payments. Paying monthly or six-monthly adds a 5% surcharge to the total.9GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Direct Debit Payments For a Q5 at £640 a year that surcharge works out to £32; a single annual payment avoids it.
Tax does not transfer when the car is sold. The buyer taxes it in their own name, and DVLA refunds the seller for full remaining months once the change of keeper is registered. If you want to stop paying tax and keep the car off the road, a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) is free, has no expiry, and stays in force until you tax, sell, or scrap the vehicle.10GOV.UK. When You Need to Make a SORN Driving a SORN’d car on a public road, except to a pre-booked MOT, can bring a court fine of up to £2,500.
Penalties for Driving an Untaxed Q5
Driving or keeping an untaxed Q5 on a public road is a criminal offence. DVLA can offer an out-of-court settlement, and if that is not paid the case goes to a magistrates’ court, where the maximum penalty is £1,000 or five times the annual tax due, whichever is greater.11GOV.UK. DVLA Enforcement of Vehicle Tax, Registration and Insurance Offences DVLA can also clamp or impound the vehicle, with release fees and daily storage charges on top of the tax owed.