The cost to tax a Smart car in the UK runs from as little as £20 a year for older low-emission models to £200 a year for anything registered after April 2017. What you actually pay comes down to three things: when the car was first registered, its CO2 emissions, and its fuel type. Electric Smart models that were free to tax until recently now sit at the same £200 standard rate as petrol versions, and high-value models can carry an extra £440 surcharge on top.
Smart Cars Registered Before April 2017
If your Smart was first registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017, it falls under the older banded system. Thirteen bands, A through M, are set by CO2 output in grams per kilometre.1GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Rates: Cars Registered Between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 Many early Smart Fortwo models emit under 100 g/km and land in Band A at £20 a year, which is about as cheap as UK road tax gets.
Higher-emission variants pay more. Band C (111–120 g/km) is £35. Band G (151–165 g/km) is £250. The top Band M rates exist but no Smart realistically reaches them. Your V5C registration certificate lists the exact CO2 figure that fixes your band.
Smart Cars Registered On or After 1 April 2017
For anything registered from April 2017 onwards, the system splits in two. There is a first-year rate tied to CO2 emissions at registration, and then a flat standard rate every year after that.
From April 2026, the first-year rate on a new petrol Smart starts at £365 for cars emitting 91–100 g/km and climbs to £455 in the 111–130 g/km range. A zero-emission Smart pays just £10 in its first year.2GOV.UK. Rates of Vehicle Tax for Cars, Motorcycles, Light Goods Vehicles and Private Light Goods Vehicles April 2026
From year two, every Smart in this bracket pays the same £200 flat rate, regardless of how efficient the engine is. If you already own a post-2017 Smart, the £200 is the figure that matters. It also means a modern Smart petrol costs meaningfully more to tax than the £20 an older Band A model attracts.
Electric Smart Models After the April 2025 Change
Electric Smart cars used to cost nothing to tax. That changed on 1 April 2025, when zero-emission vehicles were brought into VED for the first time. From that date, an electric Smart pays the same £200 annual standard rate as a petrol equivalent.2GOV.UK. Rates of Vehicle Tax for Cars, Motorcycles, Light Goods Vehicles and Private Light Goods Vehicles April 2026
Electric models still get a small break at first registration (the £10 first-year rate), but from year two the bill matches a petrol Smart pound for pound. They do get one further advantage on the expensive car supplement, covered next.
When the £440 Expensive Car Supplement Applies
An extra £440 a year is added for cars with a list price above a set threshold when new. For petrol and diesel, that threshold is £40,000. For electric cars, it is £50,000.3GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Rates: Cars Registered on or After 1 April 2017 The supplement runs for five years starting from the second time the vehicle is taxed, so the combined annual cost during that window is £640.2GOV.UK. Rates of Vehicle Tax for Cars, Motorcycles, Light Goods Vehicles and Private Light Goods Vehicles April 2026
Most Smart cars have sat well below £40,000, so this rarely came up. The newer Smart #1 range shifts that. The Smart #1 Brabus, listed around £45,000, is electric, so the £50,000 threshold applies and it narrowly avoids the surcharge. A higher-spec electric Smart that crossed £50,000 would attract the full £640 a year for five years. The supplement follows the car, not the owner, so buying used within that five-year window means inheriting the remaining years.4GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax for Electric, Zero and Low Emission Vehicles
How to Check the Exact Rate for Your Car
The fastest way to see what your specific Smart costs is the government’s free vehicle enquiry service. Enter the registration number and it returns the current tax status, the rate due, and the expiry date.5GOV.UK. Check if a Vehicle Is Taxed Your V5C shows the CO2 figure and the eleven-digit reference used to tax online.6GOV.UK. Tax Your Vehicle Without a Vehicle Tax Reminder
Ways to Pay and the Direct Debit Surcharge
You can pay online, by phone, or at a Post Office, either as a single annual payment, every six months, or monthly by Direct Debit. Six-monthly and monthly instalments add a 5% surcharge to the annual rate.7GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Direct Debit Payments On the £200 standard rate, monthly payments come to £210 a year. Paying the whole year in one Direct Debit avoids the surcharge. At the Post Office you will need your V5C or a V11 reminder. A replacement V5C costs £25 if yours is lost or damaged.
What Happens If You Don’t Tax Your Smart
Every vehicle must either be taxed or declared off-road with a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN). Leave a Smart untaxed without a SORN and the DVLA issues an automatic £80 fine.8GOV.UK. When You Need to Make a SORN: Overview
Driving untaxed is worse. The out-of-court settlement is £30 plus one and a half times the outstanding tax. In court, the maximum penalty is £1,000 or five times the tax owed, whichever is greater. The DVLA can also clamp or impound the car.9GOV.UK. DVLA Enforcement of Vehicle Tax, Registration and Insurance Offences
If the Smart won’t be used on public roads, a SORN removes the obligation to tax or insure it. You can file one online, by phone, or by post, and it stays in place until you tax the vehicle or transfer ownership.8GOV.UK. When You Need to Make a SORN: Overview