To check your car tax cost, use the GOV.UK vehicle enquiry service at gov.uk/check-vehicle-tax and enter your registration number. It shows whether the vehicle is currently taxed, when the tax expires, and the rates for 12-month, six-month, and monthly payment. For a personalised breakdown, you’ll need the 11-digit reference number from the V5C logbook.1GOV.UK. Check if a Vehicle is Taxed The actual figure depends on when the car was first registered, its CO2 emissions, its fuel type, and in some cases the original list price.
If you’re ready to pay rather than just check, gov.uk/vehicle-tax lets you tax the vehicle using a reference from a reminder letter, the V5C, or the green new-keeper slip if you’ve just bought the car.2GOV.UK. Tax Your Vehicle Both services draw from the same DVLA data.
What Sets the Rate
Three separate tax systems apply, depending on the registration date. Cars first registered before 1 March 2001 are taxed on engine size alone. Cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 are taxed on CO2 emissions in bands A through M. Cars registered on or after 1 April 2017 pay a first-year rate based on emissions, then a flat standard rate every year after.3House of Commons Library. Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) A separate surcharge sits on top for cars with a high original list price.
Cars Registered Before March 2001
Older cars have one dividing line at 1,549cc:
- Up to 1,549cc: £230 a year, or £126.50 for six months
- Over 1,549cc: £375 a year, or £206.25 for six months
Monthly direct debit is available but costs 5% more, taking the annual totals to £241.50 and £393.75.4GOV.UK. Cars and Light Goods Vehicles Registered Before 1 March 2001
Cars Registered Between March 2001 and March 2017
These cars sit in 13 CO2 bands, and the range is wide. The cleanest cars in bands A and B pay £20 a year; the dirtiest in band M pay £790. Current annual rates for a single 12-month payment:
- 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
Band K also covers cars with emissions above 225 g/km if they were registered before 23 March 2006.5GOV.UK. Cars Registered Between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 Your V5C or the online enquiry service will confirm the band.
Cars Registered On or After April 2017
The first year works on CO2 emissions and can run from £10 for a zero-emission car up to £5,690 for the most polluting petrol models. Diesels that haven’t been tested to the RDE2 standard pay a higher first-year rate at each tier. From the second year onward, almost every petrol, diesel, and alternative fuel car pays the same flat standard rate of £200 a year.6GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax for Electric, Zero and Low Emission Vehicles
The first-year figures climb steeply. A petrol car emitting 131–150 g/km pays £560, but at 151–170 g/km the bill jumps to £1,410. Anything over 255 g/km costs £5,690 in year one alone.7GOV.UK. V149 – Rates of Vehicle Tax April 2026 After that, the £200 standard rate takes over.
Electric and Hybrid Cars
From 1 April 2025, electric cars pay VED for the first time. They were previously exempt, which caught many owners out. What you pay depends on when the car was first registered:
- Registered on or after 1 April 2025: £10 in the first year, then £200 a year
- Registered between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2025: £200 a year
- Registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017: £20 a year
The £10 annual discount that hybrid and other alternative fuel cars used to receive has also gone. They now pay the same rate as an equivalent petrol or diesel based on the registration date.6GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax for Electric, Zero and Low Emission Vehicles
The Expensive Car Supplement
Cars with a list price above £40,000 pay an extra annual surcharge on top of the standard rate. The list price is the manufacturer’s recommended retail price including factory-fitted options and delivery at first registration, not what you paid at the dealer.8GOV.UK. Increase in the Vehicle Excise Duty Expensive Car Supplement Threshold for Zero Emission Cars
The supplement runs for five years, starting from the second year of the car’s life. For the first six years after registration you pay the standard rate plus the supplement; after that, the standard rate alone.
Zero-emission cars registered on or after 1 April 2025 have a higher threshold of £50,000 before the supplement applies. Non-zero-emission cars stay on the £40,000 threshold.6GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax for Electric, Zero and Low Emission Vehicles
Payment Options
You can pay for 12 months, six months, or monthly by direct debit. A single 12-month lump sum is the cheapest way. Six-monthly and monthly direct debits carry a 5% DVLA surcharge.9GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Direct Debit Payments – Set Up a Direct Debit
That surcharge adds up. On the pre-2001 rate of £375, monthly direct debit costs an extra £18.75 over the year. On a post-2017 car paying the standard £200, it adds £10. Paying annually by direct debit carries no surcharge and renews automatically.
If the Car Isn’t Being Used
You don’t have to tax a vehicle that isn’t on a public road, but you do need to make a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN). A SORN stays in force until you tax the vehicle again or sell it, and it’s free to file online.10GOV.UK. When You Need to Make a SORN – Overview Simply letting the tax lapse isn’t enough. Without a SORN, DVLA issues an automatic £80 fine, even if the car is in your garage. Any full months of unexpired tax are refunded when you SORN the vehicle.
Penalties for an Untaxed Vehicle
Driving or keeping an untaxed car on a public road triggers automatic DVLA enforcement. The usual first step is a late licensing penalty of £80, reduced to £40 if paid within 33 days.11GOV.UK. DVLA Enforcement of Vehicle Tax, Registration and Insurance Offences From there it escalates: an out-of-court settlement of £30 plus one and a half times the outstanding tax, or a magistrates’ court penalty of £1,000 or five times the tax owed, whichever is greater. The vehicle can also be clamped or impounded, with release requiring the tax to be paid or a £160 surety deposit.12GOV.UK. Get a Clamped or Impounded Vehicle Released Unclaimed vehicles can be crushed or sold.