Vehicle Excise Duty (VED): the 2025/26 rates
Quick answer: Vehicle Excise Duty — commonly called car tax or road tax — changed significantly on 1 April 2025.
Vehicle Excise Duty — commonly called car tax or road tax — changed significantly on 1 April 2025. Electric vehicles lost their exemption, the £40,000 expensive-car supplement now applies to EVs as well, and most petrol and diesel rates went up with inflation.
Last reviewed:
Primary source: https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax-rate-tables
How VED is structured
For cars first registered on or after 1 April 2017, VED has two stages. The first year ('showroom tax') is a CO2-based rate paid by the dealer and rolled into the on-the-road price. From year two onwards you pay the flat standard rate (£195 for 2025/26 for petrol, diesel and from 1 April 2025 EVs).
Hybrids and alternative-fuel vehicles previously had a £10 discount that ended on 1 April 2025 — they now pay the same standard rate as petrol/diesel.
Cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 use the old CO2 bands. Cars registered before March 2001 are taxed by engine size only.
The end of the EV exemption
Battery electric vehicles paid £0 VED until 31 March 2025. From 1 April 2025: new EVs pay £10 in their first year, then the standard £195 from year two. EVs first registered between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2025 pay the standard £195 from their next renewal on or after 1 April 2025.
EVs first registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 pay the lowest band of the old system (£20 for 2025/26).
The £40,000 expensive car supplement
If a car's list price (including options) was over £40,000 when new, an extra £425 a year is added on top of the standard rate in years 2–6. So a £45,000 car registered in April 2025 will cost £195 + £425 = £620 a year from year two until the end of year six, then drop back to £195.
From 1 April 2025 this supplement now applies to EVs as well as petrol, diesel and hybrid cars.
Common questions
- Do I still need to 'tax' my car if it is parked off-road?
- No — you can declare it off-road with a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) via the DVLA. It must be kept on private land (not a road or public space).
- What happens if I forget to renew?
- DVLA uses Automatic Number Plate Recognition. An unpaid vehicle on the road can be clamped or impounded, and you can be fined up to £1,000.
- Are classic cars exempt?
- Cars built more than 40 years ago can apply for the 'historic vehicle' tax class, which is exempt from VED (you still need to renew the tax disc each year, even though it is £0).