HGV road tax, formally Vehicle Excise Duty, is an annual charge on every heavy goods vehicle driven or kept on UK public roads. From April 2026, rates run from £177 a year for the lightest rigid lorries to £913 for the heaviest, and any HGV at or above 12,000 kg also pays a separate HGV Road User Levy. What you actually owe depends on the vehicle’s revenue weight, its axle count, and whether it tows a heavy trailer.
What Sets Your Rate
The Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 sorts HGVs into tax bands using two figures on the V5C logbook: revenue weight and number of axles.1Legislation.gov.uk. Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 Schedule 1 Revenue weight is the maximum authorised mass, the vehicle plus its full load. A two-axle rigid at 14,000 kg pays a different rate from a three-axle rigid at the same weight, because more axles spread the load.
Pulling a trailer over 4,000 kg moves the vehicle into a separate, more expensive tax class (Tax Class 02). The combined weight and whether the trailer has road-friendly suspension then set the rate. A two-axle rigid pulling a heavy trailer without road-friendly suspension can cost several hundred pounds more per year than the same vehicle running solo.
One point worth clearing up early: the Euro emissions class of the engine does not affect HGV VED. Emissions only change what you pay for the Road User Levy and for Clean Air Zone charges.
HGV VED Rates From April 2026
These rates took effect on 1 April 2026. Lorries under 12,000 kg sit in two flat bands:2GOV.UK. Rates of Vehicle Tax April 2026
- Band A0, 3,500–7,500 kg: £177 for 12 months, £97.35 for 6 months
- Band B0, 7,500–11,999 kg: £215 for 12 months, £118.25 for 6 months
For rigid HGVs at 12,000 kg and above, rates vary by weight and axle count. Representative examples:
- Two-axle, 11,999–15,000 kg (Band B2): £113 per year
- Three-axle, 21,000–23,000 kg (Band C1): £226 per year
- Two-axle, 25,000–27,000 kg (Band D1): £322 per year
- Four or more axles, 27,000–44,000 kg (Band E1): £601 per year
- Band G, the heaviest category: £913 per year
The full table contains 16 bands for vehicles over 12,000 kg plus separate tables for rigids with trailers. As one example, a two-axle rigid towing a trailer over 12,000 kg with road-friendly suspension at a combined weight up to 40,000 kg pays £477 a year; the same setup without road-friendly suspension at a combined weight up to 36,000 kg jumps to £654. Because the trailer tables are dense, check the DVLA’s V149/1 document against your exact weight and axle configuration before you tax the vehicle.
The HGV Road User Levy
Any HGV weighing 12,000 kg or more pays the HGV Road User Levy on top of VED.3GOV.UK. HGV Road User Levy The government suspended the levy during the pandemic and reinstated it on 1 August 2023. It applies to both UK-registered and foreign-registered lorries.
Rates depend on weight band and Euro emissions class, and Euro 6 vehicles pay less than older ones:4GOV.UK. How to Use the HGV Levy Service
- Band A, 12,000–31,000 kg: £161/year or £3.22/day for Euro 6; £209/year or £4.18/day for Euro 5 and older
- Band B, 31,001–38,000 kg: £387/year or £7.74/day for Euro 6; £503/year or £10.06/day for Euro 5 and older
- Band C, 38,001 kg and above: £619/year or £9.67/day for Euro 6; £804/year or £10.74/day for Euro 5 and older
How to Tax an HGV
You cannot tax an HGV online. Fill in form V85 from the DVLA and take it to a Post Office that handles vehicle tax.5GOV.UK. Apply to Tax a Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) You can pay for 12 months or 6 months. The 6-month option costs slightly more than half the annual rate because a surcharge applies to shorter payment periods.
Once payment clears, the DVLA database updates immediately. There is no physical tax disc; police and ANPR cameras check status digitally, so enforcement can start the same day your tax expires. Don’t leave renewal to the last minute.
Direct Debit
If you pay by Direct Debit, DVLA cancels it automatically when you tell them the vehicle has been sold, declared off the road (SORN), scrapped, stolen, exported, or reclassified as exempt.6GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Direct Debit Payments – Cancel a Direct Debit If the Direct Debit is cancelled at your bank for any other reason, re-tax the vehicle straight away using a new Direct Debit or another payment method. Cancellations close to a payment date don’t always stop that month’s collection; any payment taken after your notification is refunded automatically within 10 working days.
Exemptions That Reduce the Bill to Zero
Historic Vehicles
From 1 April 2026, any vehicle built before 1 January 1986 qualifies for the historic vehicle tax exemption under the rolling 40-year rule.7GOV.UK. Historic (Classic) Vehicles – MOT and Vehicle Tax If you don’t know the exact build date but the vehicle was first registered before 8 January 1986, it also qualifies. You still have to apply to move it into the historic tax class; DVLA does not switch it over automatically.
Disabled Use
A vehicle used solely for a disabled person’s personal needs can go into the disabled tax class at zero cost. Eligibility requires the keeper or their nominated driver to receive a qualifying mobility benefit, such as the higher-rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance or the enhanced-rate mobility component of Personal Independence Payment. Only one vehicle can hold the disabled exemption at any time, and a Certificate of Entitlement is needed for the first application.
Refunds on Unused Tax
You can claim a refund when the vehicle is sold, scrapped, exported, stolen, or taken off the road with a SORN.8GOV.UK. Cancel Your Vehicle Tax and Get a Refund The refund covers any full calendar months remaining from the date DVLA receives your notification. Partial months are not refunded, so notifying near the start of a month gets you the most back.
DVLA posts the refund cheque to the name and address on your V5C. If it hasn’t arrived after 8 weeks, contact DVLA. Refunds don’t cover the 5% surcharge on Direct Debit payments or the 10% surcharge on 6-month payments, so those extras are not recoverable.
Penalties for Driving Untaxed
If a vehicle is flagged as untaxed with no SORN in place, DVLA’s system issues a Late Licensing Penalty of £80 automatically. Paying within 33 days drops that to £40.9GOV.UK. DVLA Enforcement of Vehicle Tax, Registration and Insurance Offences
If the vehicle is caught on the road untaxed, the penalty rises. DVLA issues an Out of Court Settlement of £30 plus one and a half times the outstanding tax. Ignore that and the case goes to a magistrates’ court, where the fine is £1,000 or five times the tax owed, whichever is greater. For a heavy lorry, five times the annual rate can far exceed the £1,000 floor.
Enforcement teams also run roadside operations using ANPR cameras and wheelclamping. An untaxed vehicle spotted on the road can be clamped on the spot or towed, leaving the driver stranded and the operator paying release fees on top of the fine.
Appealing a DVLA Penalty
The grounds for appeal are narrow. Valid reasons include documentary proof that the vehicle was already taxed, that it was insured, or that you had already notified DVLA you were no longer the keeper, each dated before the offence.10GOV.UK. Appeal a DVLA Fine
Reasons that will not work: forgetting to renew, being away when the tax expired, not receiving a reminder, changing address without telling DVLA, or a bank error that caused a missed Direct Debit. The penalty letter sets out how to appeal and the deadline. If you have valid grounds, reply promptly with supporting documents, such as a dated acknowledgement letter from DVLA predating the offence.
Clean Air Zones Are Separate
Several UK cities operate Clean Air Zones that charge non-compliant HGVs a daily fee. These charges are not part of VED or the Road User Levy and are billed separately by the operating city. HGVs meeting Euro VI standards for nitrogen oxides and particulate matter are exempt from the charge in most zones; older vehicles pay for every day inside the boundary. Birmingham charges £50 a day for non-compliant HGVs, Bristol £100 a day, and London’s Low Emission Zone runs from £100 a day for vehicles that meet Euro IV particulate standards but not Euro VI up to £300 a day for those below Euro IV. Battery electric HGVs are compliant everywhere. If your vehicles run regular urban routes, budgeting for these charges separately from road tax is essential.