Car Tax (VED) Calculator

Which vehicle tax rules apply to your car

Your car’s first registration date decides which Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) system applies. Cars first registered from 1 April 2017 pay a CO2-based first-year rate and then a flat standard rate. Cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 stay on the older system of bands A to M, where the annual rate depends on CO2 for the life of the car.

Cars registered before March 2001 are taxed by engine size instead. The registration date and CO2 figure are on the V5C log book, and DVLA’s vehicle enquiry service shows the exact current rate for any registration.

What a new car really costs in VED over six years

The first-year rate is usually included in the on-the-road price, so the bill you notice arrives a year later. A petrol car emitting 120 g/km pays £455 in year one and then £200 a year, £1,455 over six years.

Cross the £40,000 list-price line and the picture changes. A £45,000 petrol car pays the standard rate plus the £440 Expensive Car Supplement, £640 a year from year two to year six. At 140 g/km that adds up to £3,760 over six years. The supplement uses the list price before discounts, including options, so a well-specified mid-range car can cross the threshold.

Electric cars pay £10 in the first year and then £200. Their supplement threshold is £50,000 for cars registered from 1 April 2025, so a £55,000 electric car pays £640 a year from year two.

Paying, refunds and taking a car off the road

• Vehicle tax does not transfer when you buy a used car. You must tax it before driving it, or make a SORN.
• When you sell, scrap or export a car, DVLA cancels the tax and refunds any full months left. Refunds of the first payment are based on the lower of the first-year and standard rates.
• Paying by Direct Debit monthly or every six months adds a 5% surcharge. Paying annually has no surcharge.
• A SORN declares the car off the road. You cannot keep or drive it on a public road, and any unused tax is refunded.

Exemptions and reductions

Cars built before 1 January 1986 are exempt as historic vehicles from 1 April 2026, but you must apply to move the car into the historic tax class. If the build date is unknown, cars registered before 8 January 1986 qualify.

Disabled people getting the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance, the enhanced rate mobility component of Personal Independence Payment or Adult Disability Payment, Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance, the higher rate mobility component of Child Disability Payment, War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement or Armed Forces Independence Payment can claim exemption for one vehicle. A 50% reduction is available to some other recipients.

Hybrids are not exempt: only cars powered solely by electricity or hydrogen count as zero emission. Since 1 April 2025 electric cars, vans and motorcycles pay VED like other vehicles.

Rates for cars registered March 2001 to March 2017

Older cars pay an annual rate set by their CO2 band, and the rate does not change as the car ages. There is no expensive car supplement under this system.

Diesel cars and the RDE2 standard

Diesel cars that do not meet the RDE2 standard pay the first-year rate of the next CO2 band up (e.g. 111–130 g/km pays £560 instead of £455); the top band stays at £5,690.

Check the V5C or ask the dealer whether a new diesel meets RDE2 before you buy, because the difference can be several hundred pounds in the first year.