To find out your car’s tax class in the UK, look at your V5C registration certificate or type the registration number into the DVLA’s free vehicle enquiry service at GOV.UK. Both show the class in plain English, such as “Petrol Car,” “Diesel Car,” “Alternative Fuel Car,” “Private Light Goods (PLG),” or “Historic Vehicle.” The class is assigned by DVLA based on your car’s fuel type, weight, and date of first registration, and it drives how much Vehicle Excise Duty you owe.
Check the V5C Logbook
Your V5C lists the tax class next to other technical details like engine size, fuel type, and CO2 emissions.1GOV.UK. Tax Your Vehicle Without a Vehicle Tax Reminder It’s the fastest way if the document is to hand and in your name.
If you’ve just bought the car and your replacement V5C hasn’t arrived, don’t worry. You can check the same information online using only the number plate.
Use the DVLA Online Vehicle Enquiry Service
DVLA runs a free lookup at GOV.UK. Enter the registration number and you’ll see the vehicle’s current tax rate, tax expiry date, SORN status, MOT expiry, engine size, fuel type, and CO2 emissions.2GOV.UK. Get Vehicle Information From DVLA No account and no payment.
To see the exact tax rate that applies to your specific vehicle, you’ll also need the 11-digit reference number from the V5C.3GOV.UK. Check if a Vehicle Is Taxed If you’ve recently taxed the car or filed a SORN, records can take up to two working days to update.
What the Main Tax Classes Mean
Most cars sit in one of a handful of classes, based on fuel type, weight, and first registration date.4GOV.UK. Notes About Tax Classes
- Private Light Goods (PLG) covers most private cars and goods vehicles up to 3,500 kg that don’t fall into one of the emissions-based classes.
- Petrol Car applies to passenger cars running on petrol, first registered on or after 1 March 2001, with rates tied to CO2 emissions.
- Diesel Car uses the same registration threshold and CO2-based rates, but charges more in the first year when the car hasn’t been tested to the RDE2 emissions standard.
- Alternative Fuel Car covers gas, hybrid electric, and other non-standard fuel types registered on or after 1 March 2001.
- Exempt classes include historic vehicles, vehicles used by disabled people, and certain crown and NHS vehicles. These owe no VED.
You don’t have to work out your own class. DVLA assigns it and records it on the V5C and in the enquiry results. Knowing which one your car sits in just helps you sanity-check the rate you’re being charged.
How the Class Feeds Into What You Pay
Three rating systems run in parallel, and the one that applies to you depends on when the car was first registered.
Cars Registered Before 1 March 2001
Taxed on engine size alone. Engines of 1,549 cc or smaller pay £230 a year; anything larger pays £375.5GOV.UK. Cars and Light Goods Vehicles Registered Before 1 March 2001 CO2 emissions aren’t part of the calculation.
Cars Registered Between March 2001 and March 2017
This group uses CO2 emissions bands with varying annual rates. Your exact figure decides the band, and the DVLA enquiry service shows the rate for your vehicle.
Cars Registered On or After 1 April 2017
A CO2-based first-year rate applies when the car is first taxed, then it drops to a flat £200 standard rate from year two onward.6GOV.UK. V149 Rates of Vehicle Tax April 2026 First-year rates for cars registered from April 2026 run from £10 for zero-emission vehicles up to £5,690 for the highest emitters. Non-RDE2 diesels pay more in year one than petrols with identical CO2 figures.
Electric and Hybrid Cars
Zero-emission cars were fully exempt from VED until April 2025, and that exemption has ended.7GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax for Electric, Zero and Low Emission Vehicles
- Registered on or after 1 April 2025: £10 first year, then the £200 standard rate.
- Registered between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2025: £200 standard rate.
- Registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017: £20 a year.
The £10 discount that hybrids and alternative fuel cars used to receive has also gone. Hybrids registered on or after 1 April 2017 now pay the same £200 standard rate as petrol and diesel cars.7GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax for Electric, Zero and Low Emission Vehicles
Historic Vehicle Class
Cars first registered more than 40 years ago qualify as historic and pay no VED. The cutoff rolls forward each April, so from 1 April 2026 any vehicle first registered before 1 January 1986 is eligible.4GOV.UK. Notes About Tax Classes You still have to apply for tax, but the amount is £0. Once DVLA has updated the record, the V5C and enquiry service will show the class as “Historic Vehicle.”
Expensive Car Supplement
The class isn’t the whole story. If your car had a list price above £40,000 when new, you pay an extra £440 a year on top of the standard rate for five years, starting from year two. That takes the annual bill to £640 during those five years.6GOV.UK. V149 Rates of Vehicle Tax April 2026 For zero-emission cars registered on or after 1 April 2025 the threshold is higher, at £50,000.7GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax for Electric, Zero and Low Emission Vehicles
The supplement follows the vehicle, not the original owner. Used buyers can inherit years of surcharges on a car that has long since depreciated below £40,000, so check the original list price before you commit.
Checking a Car Before You Buy
Vehicle tax doesn’t transfer when a car changes hands. The seller’s tax is cancelled, any remaining months are refunded to them, and you have to tax the car yourself before driving it away.8GOV.UK. Tax Your Vehicle You can do this online using the green new keeper slip from the V5C, even before the full V5C arrives in your name.
Before buying, put the registration through the DVLA enquiry service and confirm the tax class, current rate, and MOT status.2GOV.UK. Get Vehicle Information From DVLA It takes half a minute and can flag an inherited expensive car supplement or a CO2 figure that puts the car in a costlier band than you expected.