Your car tax class is a code recorded on your V5C registration certificate that decides how much Vehicle Excise Duty you pay. It’s set by when the vehicle was first registered, what fuel it uses, and its CO2 emissions. Rates changed on 1 April 2025 when electric vehicles lost their zero-rate exemption, and the figures shift again from April 2026.
How to Find Your Tax Class
Look at your V5C, sometimes called the logbook. The tax class sits alongside fuel type, engine capacity, and the CO2 figure. If the V5C isn’t to hand, the GOV.UK vehicle enquiry service returns your tax status and rate from the registration number alone.1GOV.UK. Get Vehicle Information From DVLA
The code matters because it controls the rate. TC11 is petrol cars registered after March 2001. TC48 is diesel cars from the same period. TC01 covers electric vehicles, and TC49 is the historic class. If the code doesn’t match the car’s actual characteristics you’ll either overpay or risk enforcement for underpaying, so it’s worth checking rather than assuming.
Cars Registered Before 1 March 2001
The oldest structure still in use looks only at engine size. One threshold: 1,549cc.2GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Rates: Cars and Light Goods Vehicles Registered Before 1 March 2001
- 1,549cc or under: £230 per year
- Over 1,549cc: £375 per year
Fuel type is irrelevant here, and there’s no first-year rate. Very few cars in this class are still on the road, but if yours is, engine capacity on the V5C decides everything.
Cars Registered March 2001 to March 2017
These cars sit in CO2 bands labelled A through M. Band A (up to 100 g/km) is £20 per year; Band M (over 255 g/km) reaches £790 from April 2026.3GOV.UK. V149 Rates of Vehicle Tax April 2026 The full April 2026 table:
- Band A (up to 100 g/km): £20
- 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 H (166–175 g/km): £325
- Band I (176–185 g/km): £360
- Band J (186–200 g/km): £410
- Band K (201–225 g/km): £445
- Band L (226–255 g/km): £760
- Band M (over 255 g/km): £790
There’s no separate first-year rate for these cars and no expensive car supplement. The CO2 figure recorded at type approval stays with the vehicle for life, so the band doesn’t shift unless DVLA corrects a mistake.3GOV.UK. V149 Rates of Vehicle Tax April 2026
Cars Registered on or After 1 April 2017
The current system splits VED in two: a first-year rate tied to CO2, and a flat standard rate every year after that.
First-Year Rate
The first-year figure depends on CO2 output and, for diesels, whether the engine meets the RDE2 emissions standard. Diesels that fail RDE2 pay more than petrol cars, alternative-fuel cars, or RDE2-compliant diesels at the same CO2 level. From April 2026 the range runs from £10 for a zero-emission car up to £5,690 for the highest polluters.3GOV.UK. V149 Rates of Vehicle Tax April 2026 A sample of the April 2026 rates:
- 0 g/km: £10
- 1–50 g/km: £115 petrol/RDE2 diesel; £135 non-RDE2 diesel
- 101–110 g/km: £405 petrol/RDE2; £455 non-RDE2 diesel
- 131–150 g/km: £560 petrol/RDE2; £1,410 non-RDE2 diesel
- Over 255 g/km: £5,690 regardless of fuel type
The gap between compliant and non-compliant diesels widens sharply in the middle bands. A non-RDE2 diesel at 131–150 g/km pays £1,410 in year one while a petrol at the same CO2 level pays £560. Worth checking before buying a used diesel that was registered as new after April 2017.
Standard Rate From Year Two
After the first year, every petrol, diesel, and alternative-fuel car in this group pays the same flat rate: £200 from April 2026. CO2 no longer feeds into the rate once you’re past year one.3GOV.UK. V149 Rates of Vehicle Tax April 2026
The Expensive Car Supplement
Cars with a list price over £40,000 when first registered pay an extra £440 a year on top of the standard £200, for five years starting from the second year. That’s £640 total per year during the supplement window.3GOV.UK. V149 Rates of Vehicle Tax April 2026 For zero-emission vehicles first registered on or after 1 April 2025 the threshold is £50,000.4GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax for Electric, Zero and Low Emission Vehicles
The list price is the published price before dealer discounts, fixed at first registration. It doesn’t drop as the car depreciates. Buy a three-year-old car secondhand for £25,000 that originally listed at £45,000, and you still pay the supplement for whatever’s left of the five-year window. Plenty of used buyers get caught by this.
Electric and Zero-Emission Cars
Electric cars were exempt from VED until 31 March 2025. That exemption has ended. From 1 April 2025, zero-emission vehicles pay VED, though the first-year rate is lower than for petrol and diesel.5House of Commons Library. Vehicle Excise Duty and Zero Emission Vehicles What you pay depends on when the EV was first registered:
- New EVs registered from April 2025: £10 first-year rate, then £200 standard rate from year two.
- EVs registered April 2017 to March 2025: £200 standard rate at renewal from 2025/26.
- EVs registered March 2001 to March 2017: £20 per year.
Zero-emission cars registered from April 2025 with a list price over £50,000 also pay the £440 expensive car supplement for five years from year two.4GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax for Electric, Zero and Low Emission Vehicles Even at the £10 or £20 rate, an EV still needs to be taxed each year. An untaxed EV on a public road faces the same enforcement as any other untaxed vehicle.
Historic Vehicles
At 40 years old a vehicle qualifies for the historic tax class, which is zero-rated. The cutoff rolls forward each April: from 1 April 2025, vehicles built before 1 January 1985 are exempt; from 1 April 2026, the line moves to vehicles first registered before 1 January 1986.6GOV.UK. Historic (Classic) Vehicles: MOT and Vehicle Tax
The exemption isn’t automatic. You have to apply to move the vehicle into the historic class, and you still need to tax it each year at the zero rate so DVLA records show it as road-legal.6GOV.UK. Historic (Classic) Vehicles: MOT and Vehicle Tax If the car never leaves a garage, a SORN is the alternative, but you can’t just let the tax lapse.
Disabled Tax Class
If you receive the higher or enhanced rate mobility component of certain benefits, you can apply for the disabled tax class, which is also zero-rated. The qualifying benefits are Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Child Disability Payment, Adult Disability Payment, Armed Forces Independence Payment, and War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement.7GOV.UK. How to Apply for Free Disabled Tax (INS216)
The registered keeper can be the disabled person or someone who uses the vehicle solely to help them. “Solely” is taken literally: if you also use the car for your own commute, the exemption doesn’t apply. The vehicle has to be used by or exclusively on behalf of the person receiving the qualifying benefit.7GOV.UK. How to Apply for Free Disabled Tax (INS216)
Changing Your Tax Class
How you switch tax class depends on timing. If your tax is about to expire and you’ve had a reminder, you can change the class and retax together, either at a Post Office that handles vehicle tax or by post to DVLA. If the tax isn’t due to expire, or you’re changing exemption status, send the V5C to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1DZ with a covering letter explaining the change.8GOV.UK. Change Your Vehicles Tax Class Typical reasons include a vehicle reaching the 40-year historic threshold, a conversion to electric power, or gaining or losing eligibility for the disabled exemption.
If the new class is cheaper or exempt, DVLA issues an automatic refund for any full months left on the current tax period.9GOV.UK. Cancel Your Vehicle Tax and Get a Refund If it’s more expensive, you pay the difference before the change takes effect.