Car tax
What changed, and when
Vehicle excise duty moved more between April 2025 and April 2026 than in the decade before it. This is the dated log, each entry tied to the document that made it.
Checked on 1 April 2026.DVLA, V149: rates of vehicle tax from 1 April 2026 (as of 1 April 2026)
1 April 2026
| What changed | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Standard rate, cars registered from April 2017 | £195 | £200 |
| Expensive car supplement, per year | £425 | £440 |
| Supplement threshold, zero emission cars | £40,000 | £50,000 |
| Supplement threshold, every other fuel | £40,000 | £40,000 |
The zero emission threshold change is the unusual one, because it applies retrospectively. Most zero emission cars registered from 1 April 2025 are therefore not required to pay the supplement at all, and a car that took a second licence before 1 April 2026 pays one year of it and no more.
1 April 2025
| What changed | Detail |
|---|---|
| Electric cars became liable | Zero emission cars paid no vehicle tax at all until 31 March 2025. From 1 April a newly registered one pays a £10 first year rate and then the standard rate. |
| First year rates doubled from 76 g/km up | A 150 g/km petrol car went from £270 to £540, and the top band went from £2,745 to £5,490. The two lowest bands rose too, from £10 to £110 and from £30 to £130. |
| Band A stopped being free | A car registered between March 2001 and March 2017 emitting 100 g/km or less moved from nothing to the band B rate. |
| The alternative fuel discount was repealed | The £10 discount for hybrid, bioethanol and LPG cars ended for licences taken out on or after 1 April 2025. |
How does a rate change reach my car?
At your next licence, not on the day the rate changes. A twelve month licence bought in February is priced at February's rate and runs to the following January untouched. That is why two identical cars on the same street can be paying different figures.
Common questions
- When do car tax rates change?
- On 1 April each year, at the start of the tax year. The rates are announced at the Budget before it, so the figures are usually known several months ahead of the date they take effect.
- Does a rate change affect a licence I have already bought?
- No. A licence is priced at the rate in force when it was taken out and runs for its full term. The new rate applies to your next licence, which is why the change reaches different people in different months.
- Which change affected the most drivers?
- Electric cars becoming liable on 1 April 2025. Every zero emission car on the road moved from paying nothing to paying the rate for its registration period, and that was around one and a half million vehicles on the day it happened.
Sources
- DVLA, V149: rates of vehicle tax from 1 April 2026 (as of 1 April 2026)
- GOV.UK, Budget 2025 overview of tax legislation and rates, Annex A: rates and allowances (as of 1 April 2026)
- GOV.UK, Vehicle tax rate tables (as of 1 April 2026)
- GOV.UK, Increase in the Vehicle Excise Duty Expensive Car Supplement threshold for zero emission cars (as of 1 April 2026)
- GOV.UK, Vehicle tax for electric, zero and low emission vehicles (as of 1 April 2026)
- GOV.UK, Pay your vehicle tax by Direct Debit (as of 1 April 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk, Finance Act 2025 section 66: rates of vehicle excise duty, omitting the reduced rate for alternative fuel vehicles (as of 1 April 2025)
- GOV.UK, Autumn Budget 2024 overview of tax legislation and rates, Annex A: rates and allowances (as of 1 April 2025)
- GOV.UK, Vehicle Excise Duty rates for cars, vans and motorcycles from 1 April 2025 (as of 1 April 2025)