What Is Road Tax: VED Bands, Exemptions, and SORN Rules

Road tax in the UK, officially called Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), is the annual tax every vehicle keeper must pay to legally keep or drive a vehicle on a public road. For most cars registered after April 2017, the standard rate is £195 a year as of April 2025, rising to £200 from April 2026. What you actually pay depends on when your car was first registered, its CO₂ emissions, and its fuel type, and failing to pay triggers automatic penalties from the DVLA.

Who Has to Pay

Every vehicle kept on a public road must be taxed under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994, even if it never moves.1Legislation.gov.uk. Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 – Contents The obligation falls on the registered keeper, meaning the person named on the V5C log book, and it covers cars, motorcycles, vans, lorries, and tricycles.

There are only two legal alternatives to paying. Either your vehicle qualifies for a zero-rate exemption (in which case you still have to go through the taxing process every year and pay nothing), or you take it off the road entirely and file a Statutory Off Road Notification. There is no grace period. The moment your tax expires without a SORN in place, you are breaking the law.

How Much You’ll Pay

VED splits into three broad systems based on when your car was first registered.

Cars Registered On or After 1 April 2017

These pay a first-year rate tied to CO₂ emissions, then drop to a flat standard rate from year two. The first-year rate ranges from £10 for zero-emission cars to £5,490 for the worst polluters (over 255 g/km CO₂). Diesel cars that don’t meet the RDE2 emissions standard pay slightly more in year one. From the second year, everyone on this system pays the same £195 standard rate, rising to £200 from April 2026.2GOV.UK. V149 Rates of Vehicle Tax April 2025

Cars Registered Between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017

These sit in lettered bands A to M based on CO₂ output, and they stay in their band for life. Band A (up to 100 g/km) costs £20 a year. Band M (over 255 g/km) costs £760. There is no separate first-year rate; you pay the same amount every year.2GOV.UK. V149 Rates of Vehicle Tax April 2025

Cars Registered Before 1 March 2001

Older cars predate CO₂-based taxation, so they’re taxed by engine size. Engines up to 1,549cc cost £220 a year; anything larger costs £360.2GOV.UK. V149 Rates of Vehicle Tax April 2025

Motorcycles

Motorcycle rates go by engine capacity: £26 up to 150cc, £57 for 151–400cc, £87 for 401–600cc, and £121 for anything over 600cc. Tricycles over 450kg are taxed at the private light goods vehicle rate instead.2GOV.UK. V149 Rates of Vehicle Tax April 2025

The Expensive Car Supplement

If your car had a list price above £40,000 when first registered, you pay an extra £425 a year on top of the standard rate for five years, starting from the second tax payment. That takes the total annual bill to £620 rather than £195.2GOV.UK. V149 Rates of Vehicle Tax April 2025

The supplement catches buyers out because it’s based on the original list price, not the price you paid. A discounted car that listed at £42,000 still triggers the surcharge. From April 2026, the threshold rises to £50,000 for zero-emission vehicles, applying retroactively to EVs registered from 1 April 2025. Petrol and diesel cars keep the £40,000 threshold.3GOV.UK. Vehicle Excise Duty for Expensive Car Supplement Threshold Increase for Zero Emission Vehicles

Electric Cars Now Pay Road Tax

Electric vehicles lost their VED exemption on 1 April 2025. A new EV registered from that date pays a first-year rate of £10, then the standard £195 from year two.4GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax for Electric, Zero and Low Emission Vehicles From April 2026, the standard rate becomes £200, and newly registered EVs will pay £200 from year one rather than the transitional £10 rate. Existing EVs registered before April 2025 also came into the tax system on that date.

Vehicles That Are Exempt

Some vehicles qualify for a zero rate. You still have to complete the tax process each year, but you pay nothing. Skipping the annual declaration on an exempt vehicle can still generate a penalty because the DVLA’s systems don’t distinguish between exempt-but-not-declared and simply unpaid.5GOV.UK. Tax Your Vehicle

A vehicle built before 1 January 1985 qualifies for the historic vehicle exemption as of April 2025. If the exact build date isn’t known but the vehicle was first registered before 8 January 1985, it still qualifies. The date rolls forward each year.6GOV.UK. Historic Vehicle Tax Exemption

You can also claim a full exemption if you receive the higher or enhanced rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Adult Disability Payment, or Armed Forces Independence Payment. The exemption applies to one vehicle per person, registered in the disabled person’s name or their nominated driver’s name.7GOV.UK. How to Apply for Free Disabled Tax

How to Tax Your Vehicle

You can tax your vehicle online at GOV.UK, by phone on 0300 123 4321, or in person at a Post Office that handles vehicle tax.5GOV.UK. Tax Your Vehicle Online is fastest and available around the clock. You’ll need your V5C log book in your name, and the vehicle usually needs a valid MOT before the tax start date.

You can pay annually, every six months, or monthly by direct debit. Splitting the cost adds a 5% surcharge to monthly and six-monthly payments, which comes to roughly £10 a year on a standard £195 rate. Direct debits can’t be set up over the phone; that has to be done online or at the Post Office.

SORN: Taking a Vehicle Off the Road

If you want to stop paying without selling the vehicle, you can file a Statutory Off Road Notification. The vehicle must genuinely be off the public road, meaning in a garage, on a driveway, or on private land. You can’t SORN a car that’s still parked on the street.8GOV.UK. When You Need to Make a SORN

A SORN lasts until you tax the vehicle again, with no annual renewal. It doesn’t transfer between keepers, so if you buy an untaxed vehicle you need to make a fresh SORN yourself. The only time you can drive a SORN’d vehicle on a public road is to a pre-booked MOT appointment. Any other use risks prosecution and a fine of up to £2,500.

Refunds When You Sell, Scrap, or Export

VED doesn’t transfer with the vehicle. When you sell, the buyer taxes it fresh and you get an automatic refund for any full calendar months of tax remaining. The refund is calculated from the date the DVLA receives your notification, so don’t sit on the paperwork.9GOV.UK. Cancel Your Vehicle Tax and Get a Refund

The same process applies if you scrap the vehicle, have it written off, export it, or declare a SORN. Credit card fees and the 5% direct debit surcharge are not refunded. Refunds on first-year payments are capped at the standard rate, so if you paid a high first-year rate on a heavily polluting car and sell three months later, the refund is worked out from the standard rate rather than the premium you originally paid.

What Happens If You Don’t Pay

The DVLA uses Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras across the UK to check vehicles against its database in real time. An untaxed registration without a SORN gets flagged immediately.10GOV.UK. How DVLA Uses Automatic Number Plate Recognition Enforcement escalates in stages:

What’s Changing From April 2026

Rates are adjusted annually, usually in line with inflation. The confirmed changes from 1 April 2026 are:

Petrol and diesel first-year rates typically rise by small amounts each April, though the specific April 2026 figures by band had not been published at time of writing.