Car tax
Car tax before March 2001
Checked on 1 April 2026.DVLA, V149: rates of vehicle tax from 1 April 2026 (as of 1 April 2026)
How is car tax calculated on a car registered before 2001?
By engine capacity alone. There are two bands in the private and light goods class, split at 1549cc. Fuel type, CO2 and list price make no difference, because none of them was part of the system when these cars were registered.
That makes the sum trivial and the outcome occasionally strange. A 1.4 litre car that does 30 miles to the gallon pays the lower rate, and a modern feeling 1.6 registered in February 2001 pays the higher one, purely because of where the boundary falls.
The two bands, 2026/27
| Engine capacity | Twelve months | Typical cars |
|---|---|---|
| Not over 1549cc | £230 | Fiesta, Polo, Micra, Corsa and most 1.0 to 1.5 litre hatchbacks. |
| Over 1549cc | £375 | Mondeo, Vectra, most 1.6 litre and larger saloons and estates. |
Who pays the engine size rates?
Cars, and other vehicles in the private and light goods class, whose first registration date is before 1 March 2001. That date is on the V5C. A car registered on 28 February 2001 stays in this system for the rest of its life. A car registered three days later is in the lettered CO2 bands instead. Nothing about a later owner, a later fuel conversion, or a later emissions test moves it across.
There is no first year rate and no expensive car supplement here. List price is irrelevant. A 1999 car that cost a fortune new pays the same as a 1999 car of the same engine size that did not. Company cars pay this vehicle tax as well: benefit in kind is a separate charge on the driver and does not replace the licence.
What does a 1999 car at 1,549 cc pay?
The lower band, because 1,549 cc is not over 1549cc. The published label is inclusive: not over 1549cc pays the smaller figure, and anything above that pays the larger one. Badges lie. Plenty of cars sold as a 1.5 are a few cubic centimetres under the line, and plenty sold as a 1.6 are a few over it.
Example
A 1999 car at 1,549 cc
- First registered
- 1999
- Engine size
- 1,549 cc
- Fuel
- Does not matter
- Tax year
- 2026/27
- 1999 is before 1 March 2001, so the private and light goods engine bands apply.
- 1,549 cc is not over 1549cc, so it sits in the lower band.
- The lower band is £230 for twelve months in 2026/27.
Tax it at £230 for twelve months, or make a SORN if it is staying off the road.
How do I tax a pre 2001 car?
The same routes as any other UK car. Online is the usual one: the GOV.UK vehicle tax service accepts a V11 reminder, the 11 digit document reference from a V5C in your name, or the 12 digit reference on the green new keeper slip if you have just bought it. The previous keeper's tax ends when the sale is recorded, so tax it before you drive it home.
Phone the 24 hour DVLA vehicle service on 0300 123 4321 if you would rather not use the website. Direct Debit is not available by phone. A participating Post Office can take a V5C, a new keeper slip, or a V62 from the current keeper, and it may ask for MOT evidence. Northern Ireland Post Office applications also need the published insurance and test evidence, so take those documents rather than arriving with a card alone.
- Confirm the first registration date on the V5C is before 1 March 2001, and read the engine size from section P.1.
- Have a V11 reminder, the 11 digit V5C reference, or the 12 digit new keeper slip reference ready.
- Tax online at the GOV.UK vehicle tax service, by phone on 0300 123 4321, or at a participating Post Office.
- Choose twelve months up front if you want the cheapest licence. Monthly or six monthly Direct Debit adds a 5 per cent surcharge.
- If the car will stay off a public road, make a SORN instead of taxing it.
What does Direct Debit cost on these bands?
Twelve months up front is the cheapest way to tax the car. A six month licence is calculated at 55 per cent of the annual rate, so buying two across a year costs 10 per cent more than one twelve month licence. Paying by Direct Debit monthly or every six months adds a 5 per cent surcharge. A single annual payment by Direct Debit carries no surcharge.
| Band | Twelve months | Calculated six month | Calculated monthly Direct Debit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not over 1549cc | £230 | £126.50 | £20.13 |
| Over 1549cc | £375 | £206.25 | £32.81 |
Do I get a refund if I sell it or take it off the road?
Yes, for any full months left on the licence. After DVLA has a SORN or a sale notification, it cancels the tax and cancels a Direct Debit if you had one. A refund cheque is sent to the name and address on the V5C. You will not get back any card fee, the 5 per cent surcharge on monthly or six monthly Direct Debit, or the extra built into a six month licence. Contact DVLA if the cheque has not arrived after 8 weeks.
A SORN is free to make and lasts until you tax the car again, sell it, scrap it or export it. The car has to be kept off a public road. The only journey GOV.UK publishes for a SORN vehicle is to or from a pre booked MOT or other testing appointment.
The 40 year exemption
- A vehicle built more than 40 years ago can be taxed in the historic vehicle class at a nil rate.
- It rolls forward every year, so the qualifying date moves with the calendar rather than being fixed.
- It is claimed, not granted. You still have to tax the vehicle annually, and the licence is issued at nil.
- The date that counts is when the vehicle was built, and DVLA falls back to the registration date where the build date is not known.
Until the historic class is on the record, the engine size rate still applies, even on a car that is already old enough. A disabled tax class vehicle is the same in one respect: exemption removes the payment, not the licensing step, so you still complete the tax process at a nil amount. GOV.UK lists both on the vehicles exempt from vehicle tax page.
What happens if I do not tax it?
If a vehicle is untaxed and has no SORN, DVLA's register scan issues a late licensing penalty automatically. The DVLA enforcement policy sets that at £80, reduced to £40 if paid within 33 days. The car does not have to have been seen on a road. If it is then used or kept on a public road without tax, DVLA may offer an out of court settlement of £30 plus one and a half times the outstanding tax. Fail to pay that and the case can go to a magistrates' court, where the penalty is £1,000 or five times the tax chargeable, whichever is greater.
Common questions
- Where do I find my car's engine size?
- Section P.1 of the V5C, in cubic centimetres. The free DVLA vehicle enquiry service shows it as well. A car described as a 1.6 is usually somewhere between 1560cc and 1600cc, so the badge is not close enough to settle which band it is in. The line that matters is 1549cc, not 1500cc or 1600cc. If the log book and the enquiry service disagree, treat the V5C as the document DVLA will use when you tax the car, and get the figure corrected before you pay if you think it is wrong.
- Why is the cut off 1549cc and not 1500cc?
- It is the line drawn when the private and light goods class was set, and it has never moved. It catches a lot of nominal 1.6 litre engines and lets a lot of nominal 1.5 litre engines through, so plenty of cars sit closer to the boundary than their badge suggests. A 1999 car at 1,549 cc is still in the lower band. One cubic centimetre more, 1,550 cc, is in the higher band for the rest of the car's life. Fuel type, CO2 and list price do not move it.
- Are old cars exempt from car tax?
- A vehicle built more than 40 years ago can be taxed in the historic vehicle class, which is a nil rate. You still have to tax it every year, and the exemption is claimed rather than granted automatically. It runs on a rolling 40 year basis, so the qualifying date moves with the calendar. Use for hire or reward, or for a trade or business, can keep a vehicle out of the class even when it is old enough. Until the class is granted, the engine size rate still applies.
- Does CO2 affect a pre 2001 car at all?
- No. CO2 based rating started on 1 March 2001, and a car registered before that date is charged on engine capacity for the rest of its life. That is why a very clean small engine and a thirsty one of the same size pay exactly the same. There is no first year rate and no expensive car supplement in this class. A later conversion to LPG, or a low recorded CO2 figure on a later test, does not move the car into the lettered bands.
- How do I tax a car registered before March 2001?
- Use the GOV.UK vehicle tax service with a V11 reminder, the 11 digit reference on a V5C in your name, or the 12 digit reference on a green new keeper slip. You can also tax by phone on 0300 123 4321, though Direct Debit is not available on that line, or at a participating Post Office. Northern Ireland Post Office applications also need the published insurance and test evidence. A disabled tax class vehicle still has to complete the tax process even when the amount due is nil.
- Is paying monthly more expensive on these cars?
- Yes, if you use monthly or six monthly Direct Debit. Those options add a 5 per cent surcharge. A single annual Direct Debit payment carries no surcharge, so it costs the same as paying twelve months by card. A six month licence is calculated at 55 per cent of the annual rate, so two of them across a year cost 10 per cent more than one twelve month licence. On the lower band that annual figure is £230 in 2026/27.
- Do I get a refund if I sell the car or make a SORN?
- Yes, for any full months left on the current licence. DVLA cancels the tax, cancels a Direct Debit if you had one, and sends a refund cheque to the name and address on the V5C. You do not get the 5 per cent Direct Debit surcharge back, or the extra you paid for a six month licence, or any card fee. Contact DVLA if the cheque has not arrived after 8 weeks. Tax does not transfer with the car: the buyer has to tax it in their own name before driving it.
- Does a company car registered before 2001 still pay this tax?
- Yes. Vehicle excise duty is charged on the vehicle, not on how it is used as a perk. A company car still needs a current licence at the engine size rate, paid by the registered keeper, usually the employer. Benefit in kind is a separate income tax charge on the employee and does not replace vehicle tax. If the car is kept off the public road, the keeper can make a SORN instead of taxing it, on the same rules as a private car.
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, Tax your vehicle (as of 10 September 2026)
- GOV.UK, Cancel your vehicle tax and get a refund (as of 10 September 2026)
- GOV.UK, Register your vehicle as off the road (SORN) (as of 10 September 2026)
- GOV.UK, Vehicles exempt from vehicle tax (as of 10 September 2026)
- DVLA, DVLA enforcement of vehicle tax, registration and insurance offences (as of 15 July 2026)