Car tax
£200 standard car tax rate
The UK standard car tax rate is £200 a year in 2026/27, according to DVLA. It applies from the second licence to cars first registered from April 2017, regardless of fuel, engine size or CO2, with the expensive car supplement added where applicable.
£200
£110.00
£17.50
Checked on 1 April 2026.DVLA, V149: rates of vehicle tax from 1 April 2026 (as of 1 April 2026)
What is the car tax standard rate?
It is the flat twelve month rate every car first registered on or after 1 April 2017 pays from its second licence onwards. For 2026/27 it is £200, and it is the same figure for petrol, diesel, hybrid and electric cars alike.
The design is deliberate. The CO2 figure does its work once, in the first year rate, where it can influence what a buyer chooses. After that the state charges everybody the same to keep a car on the road, and the only thing that can be added on top is the expensive car supplement.
The standard rate by fuel
| Fuel | Twelve months | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol and diesel | £200 | Every engine size, every CO2 figure. |
| Alternative fuel | £200 | Hybrid, bioethanol and LPG. The £10 discount ended on 1 April 2025. |
| Electric | £200 | Zero emission cars became liable on 1 April 2025. |
Annual, six month and Direct Debit payments
- Twelve months up front: £200, and the cheapest option.
- Six months: £110.00, priced at 55 per cent of the annual rate, so two of them cost 10 per cent more than one year.
- Direct Debit monthly: £17.50, which includes the 5 per cent surcharge on monthly and six monthly Direct Debit.
- Direct Debit annually: no surcharge, so it costs the same as paying once by card and spares you remembering it.
Standard rates for 2025/26 and 2026/27
| Tax year | In force from | Standard rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2026/27 | 1 April 2026 | £200 |
| 2025/26 | 1 April 2025 | £195 |
Who pays the standard rate?
Cars first registered on or after 1 April 2017, from their second licence onwards. The first registration date is on the V5C. A car registered on 31 March 2017 stays in the lettered CO2 bands for life. A car registered the next day is in this system. Fuel, engine size and CO2 do not change the standard rate once that second licence starts.
A 2015 diesel at 125 g/km is not in this system. It sits in band D and pays £170 every year. A 1999 car at 1,549 cc is not in this system either. It sits in the lower private and light goods band at £230. Those cars never move onto £200 just because the standard rate exists.
What does a 2018 car listed at £48,000 pay from year two?
The standard rate, plus the expensive car supplement if it is petrol, diesel or hybrid, because £48,000 is over the £40,000 list price threshold and under the £50,000 threshold that applies to zero emission cars from 1 April 2026. The price that counts is the published list price, including factory options, not what someone paid.
Example
A 2018 petrol car with a list price of £48,000
- First registered
- 2018
- Fuel
- Petrol
- Original list price
- £48,000
- Tax year
- 2026/27
- 2018 is on or after 1 April 2017, so the first year rate has already been paid.
- From the second licence the car pays the standard rate of £200.
- £48,000 is over £40,000, so the expensive car supplement of £440 applies for 5 years from the second licence.
- That is years two to six, at £640 a year, then £200 from year seven.
Years two to six cost £640 a year. From year seven the same car costs £200.
How do I tax a car at the standard rate?
Use the GOV.UK vehicle tax service with a V11 reminder, the 11 digit reference from a V5C in your name, or the 12 digit reference on a green new keeper slip. Phone 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.
- Confirm the first registration date on the V5C is on or after 1 April 2017, and that this is not the first licence.
- 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 at £200 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.
Do I get a refund if I sell it or take it off the road?
Yes, for any full months left on the licence. DVLA 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 and lasts until you tax the car again. The only published journey for a SORN vehicle is to or from a pre booked test.
Do exemptions and company cars still need a licence?
A disabled tax class vehicle still has to complete the tax process even when the amount due is nil. Exemption removes the payment, not the licensing step. Company cars first registered from April 2017 still pay vehicle excise duty at the standard rate, plus the supplement where it applies. Benefit in kind is a separate income tax charge on the employee and does not replace the licence.
Common questions
- Does a bigger engine pay a higher standard rate?
- No. The standard rate is flat. A 1.0 litre city car and a V8 registered on the same day both pay £200 a year, because the CO2 figure is used once, for the first year rate, and never again. The only extra that can sit on top is the expensive car supplement, which follows original list price rather than engine size. Cars first registered before 1 April 2017 are not in this system at all.
- Do hybrids still get a discount?
- No. The £10 alternative fuel discount for hybrids, bioethanol and LPG cars was repealed for licences taken out on or after 1 April 2025. From that date they pay the same standard rate as petrol and diesel, which is £200 in 2026/27. Electric cars pay that same figure too. The discount never applied to the expensive car supplement, and it does not come back if you pay monthly.
- When does my car move onto the standard rate?
- At the second licence. The first licence, bought at first registration, is charged at the CO2 based first year rate. Every renewal after that is the standard rate of £200, plus the expensive car supplement where the list price was above the threshold. A used car that is already past its first year starts at the standard rate the day you tax it in your name. You do not inherit the previous keeper's remaining licence.
- Is paying monthly more expensive?
- Yes. Direct Debit monthly or six monthly adds a 5 per cent surcharge, so the standard rate becomes £17.50 a month. That column is calculated, not a separate published tariff. A single annual Direct Debit payment carries no surcharge at all. A six month licence is calculated at 55 per cent of £200, which is £110.00, so two of them across a year cost 10 per cent more than one twelve month licence.
- How do I pay the standard rate?
- 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.
- 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 pay the standard rate as well as benefit in kind?
- Yes. Vehicle excise duty is charged on the vehicle. A company car first registered from 1 April 2017 pays £200 from its second licence, plus the expensive car supplement if the original list price was over the threshold. The registered keeper, usually the employer or the leasing company, pays that bill. Benefit in kind is a separate income tax charge on the employee and does not replace vehicle tax.
- What if I do not tax it?
- If there is no tax and no SORN, DVLA can issue a late licensing penalty of £80, reduced to £40 if paid within 33 days. That penalty is a register offence, so the car does not have to have been seen on a road. Use or keeping on a public road can then lead to an out of court settlement of £30 plus 1.5 times the outstanding tax, or a court penalty of £1,000 or five times the tax, whichever is greater. Make a SORN if the car will stay off the road instead.
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)
- 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)
Related pages
- First year ratesThe one off charge at first registration.
- Expensive car supplementThe only thing added on top of the standard rate.
- Car tax calculatorBoth figures for one car.
- Bands A to MThe system for cars registered before April 2017.
- Electric car taxThe same standard rate, with a different supplement rule.