VED rates changed on 1 April 2026. Electric cars now pay road tax for the first time, the Expensive Car Supplement threshold for zero-emission cars jumped from £40,000 to £50,000, and the standard rate for most cars is now £200 a year. Here is the full 2026 to 2027 vehicle tax guide for UK cars, vans and electric vehicles.
Key Takeaways
- The standard rate of vehicle tax for cars in the UK is £200 a year from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 (GOV.UK, V149 and Vehicle Excise Duty guidance).
- Zero-emission cars registered on or after 1 April 2025 now pay a £10 first-year rate, then the £200 standard rate from year two. Electric vehicles are no longer exempt from road tax.
- The Expensive Car Supplement threshold for zero-emission cars has been raised from £40,000 to £50,000 for licences that come into effect on or after 1 April 2026. For everything else the threshold remains £40,000.
- VED first-year CO2 bands from 75 g/km to above 170 g/km are frozen for the 2026 to 2027 and 2027 to 2028 tax years (GOV.UK, Vehicle tax rate tables).
- The van benefit charge for 2026 to 2027 is £4,170 (up from £4,060 the year before). The van fuel benefit is £798.
- Miss a renewal and the DVLA's out-of-court settlement starts at £80. Keep ignoring the reminder and it is a court fine of up to £1,000 or five times the annual duty, whichever is greater.
The UK's vehicle tax changed on 1 April 2026, and the change matters even if you drive an electric car that has never previously paid a penny of duty. The headline: electric vehicles pay VED for the first time from 2025 to 2026 onward, the standard rate is £200 for most cars, and the Expensive Car Supplement threshold has moved for zero-emission cars only. If you have an EV that costs between £40,000 and £50,000 on list price, the 1 April 2026 change matters in your favour. If you have a new petrol car with high emissions, the first-year rate is still eye-watering. If you run a van, the rate structure is entirely different from cars, and the benefit-in-kind charges have crept up again.
This is the full guide to UK vehicle tax (Vehicle Excise Duty, VED) for the 2026 to 2027 tax year. It covers how the bands work for cars registered at different dates, how the two-tier first-year and standard-rate system applies, where vans fit, what electric vehicles now pay, and how the Expensive Car Supplement catches more cars than most buyers realise.
It is written for the person about to renew their tax, the fleet owner modelling next year's cost, and the new-car buyer trying to work out the real annual cost of ownership before the keys are handed over.
How UK vehicle tax actually works in 2026
UK vehicle tax has three layers stacked on top of each other: a first-year rate set by the car's CO2 emissions, a standard annual rate paid from year two onward, and an Expensive Car Supplement paid on top of the standard rate for cars above the list-price threshold. Which rates apply depends on when the car was first registered: pre-2001, 2001 to 2017, or on or after 1 April 2017. Vans, motorbikes and historic vehicles sit in separate schedules.
For a car registered on or after 1 April 2017, the structure is straightforward on paper. The first year's tax (also called "showroom tax") is a one-off rate set by the car's CO2 band, from £0 for zero-emission cars up to several thousand pounds for the highest emissions. From the second licence onward the car pays the standard rate (£200 for petrol, diesel and hybrid; £200 for electric vehicles from 1 April 2025), plus the Expensive Car Supplement if the list price when new was above the threshold.
For a car registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017, the old CO2 band system still applies, with bands A to M setting an annual rate. For cars registered before 1 March 2001, the rate depends only on engine size: a flat rate under 1,549 cc, a higher rate above.
Cars registered on or after 1 April 2017: the two-tier system
For a car registered on or after 1 April 2017, year one is set by CO2, and year two onward is a flat standard rate of £200. The first-year rate ranges from £0 for zero-emission cars to the highest band for cars above 255 g/km, which for 2026 to 2027 is in the low thousands. First-year CO2 bands from 75 g/km to above 170 g/km have been frozen for 2026 to 2027 and 2027 to 2028 (HM Treasury and DVLA, Spring confirmation).
The first-year rate is a single charge applied at the first registration only. It is not a recurring annual cost. A buyer of a new high-emission car pays the first-year charge once, then drops to the standard rate of £200 the following April (plus any Expensive Car Supplement).
The standard rate of £200 is the same whether the car is petrol, diesel, hybrid or electric, and whether the car does 100 miles a year or 30,000. It has been the same for all fuel types since 2017 for non-zero-emission cars, and since 1 April 2025 for zero-emission cars. The standard rate is paid every year for the life of the vehicle from year two.
Electric vehicles: the change that caught EV owners out
From 1 April 2025, electric cars stopped being exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty, and the rule has carried through to the 2026 to 2027 tax year. A zero-emission car registered on or after 1 April 2025 pays a £10 first-year rate, and then the standard £200 from year two. Electric cars registered between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2025 skipped the first-year rate (because they were zero-rated at the time) and moved straight onto the £200 standard rate from 1 April 2025. Electric cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 now pay the Band B rate of £20.
Zero-emission vans: the rate is aligned with petrol and diesel vans at £355 a year for TC39 light goods vehicles registered on or after 1 March 2001, and there is no equivalent of the Expensive Car Supplement on vans.
The practical effect on an EV owner: if you bought a Tesla Model Y in 2022, you paid nothing in road tax for three years, then £200 a year from 1 April 2025. If the list price new was above the old £40,000 Expensive Car Supplement threshold, you also paid the Supplement from year two to year six (more on that below).
The Expensive Car Supplement: the quiet extra £425 a year
The Expensive Car Supplement is an additional annual charge on cars with a list price new above the threshold, applied on top of the standard rate in years two to six of the car's life (five annual payments in total). For 2026 to 2027 the Supplement is £425 a year (GOV.UK, Vehicle tax rate tables).
The 1 April 2026 change: the threshold for zero-emission cars has been raised from £40,000 to £50,000 for licences that come into effect on or after 1 April 2026 (GOV.UK, Increase in the Vehicle Excise Duty Expensive Car Supplement threshold for zero-emission cars). For all other cars the threshold remains at £40,000. A Tesla Model 3 Long Range at £49,000 list price, licensed from 1 April 2026, no longer pays the Supplement; a BMW 3 Series at £49,000 list price still does.
The detail that catches people out: "list price" means the original manufacturer's list price including factory-fitted options, not the price you paid or the used-market value. A £55,000 new-price car bought at £35,000 used still pays the Supplement for the relevant years. Check the V5C registration document; the list price is recorded there.
Five years of £425 is £2,125 across the life of the vehicle. On a modestly-priced car just over the threshold it is a substantial, and often unexpected, ongoing cost.
Vans: a different system entirely
Light goods vehicles (vans up to 3,500 kg gross vehicle weight) do not follow the CO2 band structure. They pay a flat annual rate by vehicle tax class. For TC39 vans registered on or after 1 March 2001, the rate for 2026 to 2027 is £355 a year. For TC36 (Euro 4 compliant vans registered between 1 March 2003 and 31 December 2006) and TC36 Euro 5 (1 January 2009 to 31 December 2010), a lower rate applies as a historic incentive; these are a shrinking cohort now.
Zero-emission vans pay the same £355 flat rate from 1 April 2025 onward (previously £0). Electric vans lost their zero rate on the same 1 April 2025 date as electric cars.
The van owner should also budget for the van benefit charge and the van fuel benefit charge, which apply when a company van is available to an employee for private use. For 2026 to 2027, the flat-rate van benefit charge is £4,170 (up from £4,060 the previous year), and the van fuel benefit charge is £798 (GOV.UK, Van benefit charge and fuel benefit charges for cars and vans for tax year 2026 to 2027). These are taxable benefits on the driver, not VED, but every van owner running a company vehicle should know them.
Cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017
Older cars follow the band system, where CO2 emissions set an annual rate paid every year rather than a first-year-then-standard split. Bands run from A (up to 100 g/km) to M (above 255 g/km), and the annual rate for 2026 to 2027 runs from around £20 at the lower end up to several hundred pounds at the top. The full table is in GOV.UK publication V149 for 2026.
Bands A to D remain at modest rates and are the reason a 2008 Ford Focus 1.6 diesel still only pays double-figure tax. Band M (above 255 g/km) has an annual rate of several hundred pounds and is the reason an older V8 or 4x4 can cost more in tax than in insurance.
The banding rewards low emissions but not low use. An older diesel estate driven 2,000 miles a year pays the same VED as the same car driven 30,000 miles. There is no mileage discount on UK vehicle tax.
Cars registered before 1 March 2001
For cars first registered before 1 March 2001, VED is set by engine size alone. Under 1,549 cc pays one rate, over 1,549 cc pays a higher rate. CO2 emissions do not enter the calculation. Cars first registered before 1 January 1984 qualify as historic vehicles and, once registered in the historic tax class, pay £0. The historic threshold is a rolling 40-year rule; the exemption moves forward by one year every April.
The historic class still requires the MOT and insurance to be in force. Zero tax is not zero paperwork.
First-year (showroom) tax for new petrol and diesel cars
First-year tax on a new petrol or diesel car registered from 1 April 2025 onward runs from £10 for the very lowest emitters up to several thousand pounds for cars above 255 g/km. The 75 g/km to above 170 g/km bands are frozen for 2026 to 2027 and 2027 to 2028, meaning the incremental first-year rise that operators saw in previous years has paused at this level.
The first-year rate is paid once, at first registration, and is almost always included in the on-the-road price shown by a dealer. It is not a running annual cost. From year two onward the car pays the standard £200.
Diesel cars that do not meet the RDE2 emission standard pay the first-year rate at one band higher than their CO2 band would suggest. Any buyer of a new diesel should check the RDE2 compliance on the build sheet before committing; the band-up penalty can be hundreds of pounds on year one.
How to check, tax or renew your vehicle online
You can check your vehicle's tax status free at GOV.UK's Check MOT and Road Tax service. Tax online at GOV.UK Tax your vehicle; you need the reference number from your V11 reminder letter, your V5C logbook, or the green "new keeper" slip if you have just bought the vehicle. Insurance, MOT and any outstanding fines must be in order before the DVLA will let you tax the vehicle.
Miss a renewal and the DVLA's out-of-court settlement starts at £80 (£40 if paid within 33 days). Keep ignoring it and the case can go to court; the maximum fine is £1,000 or five times the chargeable duty, whichever is greater (GOV.UK, Vehicle tax and Statutory Off Road Notification, SORN). If the vehicle is off the road, a SORN declares it off the road legally and stops the clock on VED.
Common mistakes and edge cases
Forgetting the Expensive Car Supplement. Buyers of £40,000-plus cars focus on the list price and the first-year tax; they miss that the £425 a year runs for five more years after that. Five years of £425 is £2,125, which changes the total-cost-of-ownership calculation on any car near the threshold.
Assuming electric is still free. EV owners who bought before 2025 often assume their car is still zero-rated. From 1 April 2025 onward, it is not. Set a reminder for the renewal date; the first late-tax fine for a formerly-exempt EV is an avoidable £80.
Tax-class confusion on older vans. A van reclassified from goods to private light goods by a DVLA inspection (for example, a van converted to a camper) changes tax class and rate. The V5C must be updated before taxing; the rate on the V11 reminder will otherwise be wrong.
Buying a used car right before April. If you tax a car in March, the VED rate for the remainder of the month is at the current year's rate; tax a car in April and the new year's rate applies. On cars where the rate changes, that is a difference of £20 to £425 a year. The optimal move is almost always to tax as late as the law allows, not as early as you happen to think of it.
Double-counting the standard rate and the Supplement. They stack. A £45,000 petrol car pays £200 standard rate plus £425 Supplement in year two, for a total of £625 that year, and the same again every year through year six.
The bottom line
UK vehicle tax in 2026 is a £200-a-year flat rate for most cars once past year one, with a £425-a-year Expensive Car Supplement on cars above the list-price threshold in years two to six. Vans pay £355, electric vehicles are now in the tax system alongside everyone else, and the first-year CO2 bands are frozen through 2028. Check the renewal date, set a reminder that actually reaches you before the V11 lands, and budget for the Supplement if the list price puts you near the threshold. The fine for missing a renewal is always more than the tax.
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Sources: GOV.UK, Vehicle tax rates (V149 and V149/1) · GOV.UK, Vehicle tax rate tables: cars registered on or after 1 April 2017 · GOV.UK, Vehicle tax for electric, zero and low emission vehicles · GOV.UK, Increase in the Vehicle Excise Duty Expensive Car Supplement threshold for zero emission cars · GOV.UK, Van benefit charge and fuel benefit charges for cars and vans for tax year 2026 to 2027