How much your car tax costs in the UK depends on when the vehicle was first registered, its CO₂ emissions, its fuel type, and its original list price. Most cars first registered on or after 1 April 2017 pay a flat standard rate of £200 a year from the second year onward, with a higher first-year rate tied to emissions and a £440 annual surcharge for five years on cars with a list price above £40,000.1Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. V149 Rates of Vehicle Tax for Cars, Motorcycles, Light Goods Vehicles and Private Light Goods Vehicles April 2026 The fastest way to see the exact figure for your car is to run its registration through the free GOV.UK vehicle enquiry service.
Check Your Exact Rate in Seconds
Enter your number plate at vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk and you will see whether the car is currently taxed, when the tax expires, and the rate that applies.2GOV.UK. Check if a Vehicle Is Taxed The check is free, needs no login, and returns results instantly. If you have just taxed the car or made a SORN declaration, allow up to two working days for the records to catch up.
Standard Rate for Cars Registered After April 2017
Cars first registered on or after 1 April 2017 pay a first-year rate based on CO₂ output, then a flat annual amount every year after. From April 2026, that standard rate is £200 whether the car runs on petrol, diesel, an alternative fuel, or electricity.3GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Rates: Cars Registered on or After 1 April 2017 Once you are past the first year, emissions stop mattering to your annual bill.
First-Year Rate and the Diesel Supplement
The first time a new car is taxed, the rate is tied directly to CO₂ output in grams per kilometre. A zero-emission vehicle pays £10. The highest-emitting cars, over 255 g/km, pay £5,690. For a typical family car producing between 101 and 150 g/km, the first-year figure sits between £405 and £560.1Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. V149 Rates of Vehicle Tax for Cars, Motorcycles, Light Goods Vehicles and Private Light Goods Vehicles April 2026
Diesel cars that have not been tested to the stricter RDE2 emissions standard pay more than petrol equivalents in every CO₂ band. The gap can be steep. A diesel emitting 131–150 g/km that only meets the older RDE standard pays £1,410 in the first year, against £560 for a petrol car or an RDE2-compliant diesel in the same band.1Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. V149 Rates of Vehicle Tax for Cars, Motorcycles, Light Goods Vehicles and Private Light Goods Vehicles April 2026 The supplement is a first-year charge only. From year two, every car pays the same £200 standard rate.
The £40,000 List Price Supplement
Cars with a list price above £40,000 when first registered pay an extra £440 a year on top of the standard rate, taking the total to £640. The surcharge runs for five years and starts from the second year of registration.1Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. V149 Rates of Vehicle Tax for Cars, Motorcycles, Light Goods Vehicles and Private Light Goods Vehicles April 2026 The threshold is the manufacturer’s original list price, not what you actually paid. Picking up a £45,000 car second-hand for £28,000 will not get you out of the supplement while the five-year window is still open.
For electric and zero-emission vehicles first registered on or after 1 April 2025, the threshold is £50,000 rather than £40,000.4GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax for Electric, Zero and Low Emission Vehicles That matters if you are comparing two cars near the boundary: a £42,000 petrol model triggers the supplement, but a £42,000 electric model does not.
Rates for Cars Registered Before April 2017
Two older rate structures still apply.
Cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 are taxed using the CO₂ emission bands that were in force when the vehicle was registered. The bands produce a wider spread than the current flat rate: the lowest-emission cars pay nothing, while higher-emission cars pay considerably more than £200 a year.
Cars registered before 1 March 2001 are taxed on engine size only. Engines of 1,549cc or less pay £230 a year. Larger engines pay £375.5GOV.UK. Cars and Light Goods Vehicles Registered Before 1 March 2001 CO₂ output is irrelevant here. All that matters is what sits under the bonnet, and that 1,549cc split catches a lot of owners off guard when they inherit or buy an older car.
Electric and Zero-Emission Cars
Zero-emission cars were exempt from vehicle tax until March 2025. Since 1 April 2025, new electric cars pay £10 in the first year and then the full £200 standard rate from year two.4GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax for Electric, Zero and Low Emission Vehicles Electric cars already registered before April 2025 moved onto the standard rate at their next renewal.6UK Parliament. Vehicle Excise Duty and Zero Emission Vehicles The expensive car supplement still applies, but at the £50,000 threshold rather than £40,000. If you bought an EV before April 2025 assuming you would never pay road tax, budget for the standard rate from your next renewal on.
Payment Options and Surcharges
You can pay for 12 months, 6 months, or monthly. A single annual payment is the cheapest. Choose monthly or six-monthly Direct Debit and DVLA adds a 5% surcharge to the total.7GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Direct Debit Payments On the £200 standard rate, that works out to £210 across 12 monthly payments, or £105 per six-month instalment for £210 a year.3GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Rates: Cars Registered on or After 1 April 2017 Direct Debit renews automatically, so you do not have to remember the expiry date each year. You can change the payment frequency at any time through the same GOV.UK service.8GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Direct Debit Payments: Change How Often You Pay
What It Costs If You Don’t Pay
DVLA moves quickly. If your tax expires and you have neither renewed nor declared a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN), you will receive a late licensing penalty of £80, halved to £40 if paid within 33 days.9GOV.UK. DVLA Enforcement of Vehicle Tax, Registration and Insurance Offences
Getting caught driving an untaxed car on a public road is more expensive. DVLA can issue an out-of-court settlement of £30 plus one and a half times the outstanding tax. Refuse and the case goes to a magistrates’ court, where the maximum fine is £1,000 or five times the tax owed, whichever is greater.9GOV.UK. DVLA Enforcement of Vehicle Tax, Registration and Insurance Offences Driving a vehicle with a SORN in force carries court fines of up to £2,500 or five times the tax owed. DVLA can also clamp and impound untaxed vehicles found on public roads.
If a car is off the road and not being driven, a SORN is free and lasts until you tax the vehicle again or sell it.10GOV.UK. Register Your Vehicle as Off the Road (SORN) The rule to remember is simple: your vehicle must either be taxed or have a SORN in force at all times, even when it is parked in your own garage.