Vehicle Excise Duty — VED, more commonly just called car tax or road tax — is the annual charge every driver in Great Britain and Northern Ireland pays the DVLA to keep a vehicle legally on the road. It is also one of the most confusingly structured taxes in the UK, because the rate you pay depends on three things at once: when the car was first registered, what it emits, and (for newer cars) what it cost when new.
2025 and 2026 have brought big changes. Pure electric cars lost their VED exemption on 1 April 2025. The £40,000-list-price expensive-car supplement now bites on EVs too. The first-year showroom tax on new petrol and diesel cars has been pushed up. And a sizeable chunk of the UK fleet — anything first registered before 1 March 2001 — still sits on the old engine-size system.
This article is the 2026 reference. We walk through all three VED cohorts, set out the full rate tables, explain the £410 expensive-car supplement, cover the DVLA Direct Debit options, run through SORN, and finish with ten worked examples for real-world UK cars.
The three VED cohorts at a glance
Every car taxed in the UK sits in exactly one of three groups, determined by its first-registration date.
| Cohort | First registered | How VED is calculated |
|---|---|---|
| A | On or after 1 April 2017 | First-year CO2 rate, then a flat £190 standard rate from year 2. Plus the £410 expensive-car supplement in years 2–6 if the list price was over £40,000. |
| B | 1 March 2001 to 31 March 2017 | Thirteen CO2-based bands A through M, from £0 up to roughly £735 per year. |
| C | Before 1 March 2001 | Two engine-size bands: £200/year if under 1549cc, £325/year if 1549cc or above. |
Plus one important free-pass cohort: any vehicle that is at least 40 years old and not used commercially qualifies as a historic vehicle, with a £0 VED rate and no MOT requirement — although you still have to tax it formally each year. The 40-year cut-off rolls forward on 1 April each year, so a car built in 1985 became historic on 1 April 2026.
Cohort A — Cars registered from 1 April 2017
This is now the largest single cohort on the UK road, and it works in two parts.
The first-year showroom tax
The very first year you tax a new car, you pay a CO2-banded rate sometimes called showroom tax or first-year rate. For 2026, the bands look like this (petrol and diesel meeting RDE2; non-RDE2 diesels pay one band higher in the first year):
| CO2 (g/km) | First-year rate (petrol / RDE2 diesel) |
|---|---|
| 0 | £10 |
| 1 – 50 | £110 |
| 51 – 75 | £130 |
| 76 – 90 | £270 |
| 91 – 100 | £350 |
| 101 – 110 | £390 |
| 111 – 130 | £440 |
| 131 – 150 | £540 |
| 151 – 170 | £1,360 |
| 171 – 190 | £2,190 |
| 191 – 225 | £3,300 |
| 226 – 255 | £4,680 |
| Over 255 | £5,490 |
Once that first year is done, you move onto the standard rate.
The flat £190 standard rate
From year two onwards, almost every Cohort A car pays the same £190 per year — whether it is a 50mpg Yaris, a 25mpg Range Rover or, since 1 April 2025, a Tesla. The Treasury chose simplicity here. The CO2 banding only bites once, in that first year.
Alternative-fuel cars (most full hybrids and some PHEVs) get a £10 discount, so they pay £180 standard rate.
The £410 expensive-car supplement
If your car's list price when new was above £40,000, the DVLA charges an extra £410 per year on top of the standard rate in years 2 through 6. That is a total premium of £2,050 over five years, on top of the £190 standard. For an expensive new car, your year-2 VED bill is therefore £190 + £410 = £600.
Two things to know about the supplement:
- It is based on the list price including options, VAT and delivery — not what you actually paid. A car that lists at £40,500 but was discounted to £37,000 still incurs the supplement.
- Since 1 April 2025 it applies to battery-electric cars too. A new £45,000 EV registered after that date now pays £10 in year 1, then £600 a year from years 2–6, then £190 from year 7 onwards.
Cohort B — Cars registered 1 March 2001 to 31 March 2017
This is the original CO2-banded system. There is one flat annual rate for the life of the car, varying by emissions band. The 2026 rates:
| Band | CO2 (g/km) | Annual VED |
|---|---|---|
| A | Up to 100 | £0 |
| B | 101 – 110 | £20 |
| C | 111 – 120 | £35 |
| D | 121 – 130 | £165 |
| E | 131 – 140 | £195 |
| F | 141 – 150 | £215 |
| G | 151 – 165 | £265 |
| H | 166 – 175 | £315 |
| I | 176 – 185 | £345 |
| J | 186 – 200 | £395 |
| K | 201 – 225 | £430 |
| L | 226 – 255 | £735 |
| M | Over 255 | £760 |
Cohort B is where the bargains live. A 2014 Ford Fiesta 1.0 EcoBoost in Band A still pays nothing in VED — and there are tens of thousands of them on the used market.
Cohort C — Cars registered before 1 March 2001
The pre-2001 system is the simplest. There is no CO2 measurement. The rate depends entirely on engine capacity.
| Engine size | Annual VED |
|---|---|
| Under 1549cc | £200 |
| 1549cc or over | £325 |
Cohort C is shrinking every year as cars age out of the road network, and from 2026 the oldest of these cars are also rolling into the 40-year historic exemption.
Electric cars and VED — the post-April-2025 reality
Until 31 March 2025 a battery-electric car paid no VED at all. From 1 April 2025 onwards, EVs have been treated essentially the same as petrol or diesel:
- New EVs registered on or after 1 April 2025: £10 in year 1, then £190 from year 2 onwards. If the list price was above £40,000, add the £410 supplement in years 2–6.
- EVs first registered between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2025: now pay the full £190 standard rate from 2025–26 onwards. The expensive-car supplement does not apply retrospectively to this group — only to EVs registered after 1 April 2025.
- EVs first registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017: move into the lowest applicable Cohort B band — currently Band B at £20/year.
This shift means a £45,000 Tesla Model 3 bought new in May 2025 pays its £10 first year, then £600 every year from years 2–6, and then £190 from year 7. A 2022 Model 3 bought used pays just the £190 standard.
Vans, motorhomes and motorcycles
Light goods vehicles (most vans up to 3,500kg) registered after 1 March 2001 pay a flat rate. For 2026 that is £345 per year for a standard van. Older vans pre-2001 fall under the same engine-size rules as cars.
Motorhomes registered new since April 2017 are treated as cars for VED purposes. Older motorhomes pay a private/light goods rate.
Motorcycles are taxed on engine size:
| Engine size | Annual VED |
|---|---|
| Up to 150cc | £25 |
| 151 – 400cc | £55 |
| 401 – 600cc | £84 |
| Over 600cc | £117 |
How to pay — Direct Debit, six-monthly and annual
The DVLA gives you three ways to pay:
- Annually in one go. Cheapest. The rates above are annual rates.
- Six-monthly. 5% surcharge — so a £190 car costs £99.75 every six months (£199.50 per year).
- Monthly Direct Debit. Also a 5% surcharge — £190 becomes £16.62 a month over twelve months (£199.45 per year).
Direct Debit is set up on gov.uk/vehicle-tax and renews automatically as long as your MOT and insurance remain valid. If either lapses, the DD is cancelled and you lose the right to drive the vehicle.
SORN — when you do not need to pay VED
If you are taking a car off the road — restoring it, storing it over winter, or leaving the country — you can declare it SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) at gov.uk/make-a-sorn. Once SORN'd, the vehicle pays no VED, but it cannot be driven, parked on a public road or even left on the kerb outside your house. Any unused months of VED are automatically refunded by cheque.
Ten worked examples across the cohorts
| Car | First reg | Cohort / band | 2026 annual VED |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 Ford Fiesta 1.0 EcoBoost (Band A) | 2014 | B / Band A (99 g/km) | £0 |
| 2012 Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI (Band C) | 2012 | B / Band C | £35 |
| 2008 BMW 320d (Band D) | 2008 | B / Band D | £165 |
| 2018 Vauxhall Corsa 1.4 (post-April-2017) | 2018 | A / standard rate | £190 |
| 2022 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid | 2022 | A / alternative-fuel standard rate | £180 |
| 2023 Range Rover Sport (list £85,000) | 2023 | A / standard + expensive-car supplement, years 2–6 | £600 |
| 2025 Tesla Model 3 Long Range (list £45,000) | May 2025 | A / £10 year 1, then standard + supplement years 2–6 | £600 (in years 2–6) |
| 2022 Nissan Leaf (registered before April 2025) | 2022 | A / standard rate from 2025–26 onwards | £190 |
| 2010 Toyota Aygo 1.0 (Band A) | 2010 | B / Band A | £0 |
| 1998 Mazda MX-5 1.8 | 1998 | C / 1800cc | £325 |
And the bonus eleventh row everyone wants to know about: any car first registered in 1985 or earlier is now a historic vehicle — VED is £0, MOT is not required, and the car is exempt from most low-emission-zone charges including London ULEZ.
Checking what your specific car owes
The single fastest check is gov.uk/check-vehicle-tax. Punch in the registration and you see when tax is due and the exact band. For a forecast — say, working out what a car you are thinking of buying will cost you each year — use gov.uk/calculate-vehicle-tax-rates alongside the CO2 figure from the V5C.
What happens if you do not tax it
The DVLA runs Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras and cross-references their database in real time. Driving or parking on a public road without valid VED is an offence with an automatic £80 fine (reduced to £40 if paid within 28 days). Persistent untaxed vehicles get clamped or impounded, and the DVLA's monthly clamping operations remove thousands of cars from streets across the UK. The insurance you have is also potentially void on an untaxed vehicle, since the policy assumes a roadworthy and legally road-going car.
Search by VED band on Autoza
Every car listing on Autoza includes the CO2 figure and the 2026 VED rate. Filter by VED band on the cars search if low road tax matters to you — there are still hundreds of zero-VED Band A Fiestas, Polos, Aygos and i10s available second-hand in the UK in 2026. Use the free valuation tool to check what your existing car is worth.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the standard rate of VED in 2026?
For petrol and diesel cars first registered after 1 April 2017, the standard rate is £190 per year from year two onwards. Alternative-fuel vehicles (most hybrids) pay £180. Both rates are payable for the life of the car except where the expensive-car supplement applies.
Do electric cars still pay no VED?
Not since 1 April 2025. New EVs now pay £10 in year 1, then the £190 standard rate plus the £410 expensive-car supplement in years 2–6 if their list price exceeded £40,000. Used EVs first registered between 2017 and March 2025 also pay the £190 standard rate from 2025–26 onwards.
Is the expensive-car supplement based on what I paid?
No — it is based on the manufacturer's list price including VAT, options and delivery. A car listed at £40,500 but discounted to £37,000 by the dealer still incurs the supplement.
Do I need to MOT a historic vehicle?
No. From 20 May 2018 onwards, any vehicle over 40 years old that has not been substantially modified is exempt from both VED and MOT. You still have to tax it formally (showing the historic class), and you must keep it roadworthy under the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations.
Can I get a refund if I sell my car?
Yes. When you tell the DVLA you have sold, scrapped or SORN'd the vehicle, any whole months of unused VED are refunded automatically to whoever paid. The cheque arrives within 4–6 weeks. The buyer cannot use the seller's tax — every change of keeper requires the new keeper to tax it themselves before driving.
What is the cheapest car to tax in the UK in 2026?
Any pre-1985 historic vehicle and any 2001–2017 Band A car (under 100 g/km CO2) pays £0. Beyond that, the next cheapest band is Cohort B Band B at £20 — covering many small-engined cars from 2001 to 2017.
