How much is car tax on an electric car?

What does an electric car pay under the current tax rates?

DVLA's 2026/27 table gives a new zero-emission car a first-year rate of £10. The standard annual rate is £200, while the older CO2-band system charges £20 in band A. These are different routes through the tax rules, not payment options that an owner can choose between.

Start with the date of first registration on the vehicle record. A personalised plate, the date you bought the car or the year advertised by a dealer cannot move it into a different system. Also confirm that it is registered as a car: electric motorcycles, vans and specialist vehicles have their own classes, so the car figures should not be copied into their budgets.

The diagram below explains the wider car-tax structure. For an electric vehicle, read it alongside DVLA's specific electric-vehicle guidance, especially for vehicles outside the usual modern registration periods. The absence of a combustion engine is not permission to leave a vehicle untaxed, and a vehicle benefiting from another exemption still needs the correct tax record.

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

How do I tax an electric car for the first time after buying it?

If you buy a used electric car, the seller's tax does not come with it. The same keeper-change rule applies even if the dashboard is fully electric and an old advert says the model was tax exempt. Use the new-keeper slip from the current V5C and tax the vehicle before using it on the road. A dealer saying that tax is included should provide the confirmation, not merely point to a taxed status left over from the previous keeper.

For a renewal, use your own V5C or the DVLA reminder. Check the registration and the start date shown by the service, then inspect the amount before paying. Where it differs from the table, investigate the registration period, tax class and supplement first. Do not repeatedly submit applications in an attempt to find a cheaper amount; a mistaken record needs correcting through DVLA.

Keep the transaction confirmation with the vehicle paperwork. A bank authorisation alone may not show that the application was completed, and the public status service is not always updated immediately. If you are unable to complete the application, resolve the problem before driving. An electric car still needs the other legal conditions for road use, including insurance and an MOT where required.

1. 1Confirm the car's first-registration date, tax class and current keeper details.
2. 2Use the green new-keeper slip for a purchase, or your own V5C or reminder for a renewal.
3. 3Check the quoted rate and any expensive-car supplement against the vehicle's registration history and original list price.
4. 4Complete the official DVLA application, choose the payment method and retain the confirmation before driving.

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

What does an older electric car pay compared with a newer one?

An early electric car in the older CO2 system can have a lower annual bill than a later electric car using the standard rate. That difference follows the tax system selected by first registration. It is not a discount for battery condition, low annual mileage or being the original owner. Changing keeper does not move the car into the latest registration-date system.

Use the comparison when checking a used-car advert, especially if the seller quotes an old zero rate. Ask which annual rate applies now and verify it against the registration date. The purpose is to budget accurately, not to assume that the lower-tax car is cheaper overall: battery condition, insurance, charging arrangements and repairs still need their own assessment.

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

How much is electric car tax when the supplement applies?

The supplement is added to the standard rate when the car falls within the qualifying registration and supplement period. The test uses the relevant original list price, not today's used price. Buying an eligible expensive car cheaply later does not remove a remaining supplement, and a dealer discount when new does not change the list-price test.

Ask for the original specification and list-price evidence if the car is near the threshold. Options can change the result, and otherwise similar cars can have different recorded prices. A statement that the base model started below the threshold does not settle the tax position of a highly specified vehicle. Check the exact car rather than a brochure headline.

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

What if I sell the car, stop using it or cannot pay the quoted rate?

Tell DVLA when you sell or transfer the car. The keeper notification ends your vehicle-tax liability through the normal cancellation process and triggers any refund for complete unused months. Cancelling a bank payment by itself does not notify DVLA of a sale. Keep the sale confirmation because it records the change that matters if later correspondence arrives.

If you keep the car but take it off the road, use SORN and keep it somewhere that qualifies as off-road storage. An unused vehicle parked on the public road is not covered merely because you are not charging or driving it. When you want to use the vehicle again, tax it and check the other road-use requirements before setting off.

Where the amount looks wrong, compare the V5C, registration date and the vehicle-tax class with DVLA's current guidance. A disabled tax exemption or reduction depends on the qualifying rules, not simply on a Blue Badge. Follow the appropriate application or tax-class-change process rather than selecting an unrelated category to reduce the bill.

A refund is not a daily adjustment for the part of a month you did not drive. DVLA refunds complete remaining months under its published rules. That can matter when arranging a sale or taking a seasonal vehicle off the road, but do not postpone a required keeper notification to try to alter the calculation. Give DVLA the true transaction details and retain the evidence.

1. 1Notify DVLA of the actual sale, transfer or SORN event using the official route.
2. 2Retain the confirmation and check that any refund is sent to the correct keeper name and address.
3. 3For a rate dispute, ask DVLA to check the recorded facts rather than cancelling payment and continuing to use the car.

When did electric cars start paying vehicle tax?

Until 31 March 2025 a battery electric car paid no vehicle excise duty at all. From 1 April 2025 the exemption was removed rather than swapped for a lower electric rate, so electric cars are now taxed by exactly the same three systems as everything else.

Which system applies is decided by the date of first registration, and nothing about the fuel changes that. A car registered from April 2017 pays a first year rate and then the flat standard rate. One registered between March 2001 and March 2017 pays by lettered CO2 band. One registered before March 2001 pays by engine size, which no electric car of that era would have.

The practical effect is that the answer to what an electric car pays depends on when it was registered, in the same way as it does for a petrol one.

• Registered from 1 April 2025: a £10 first year rate, then the £200 standard rate.
• Registered 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2025: the standard rate, and no supplement whatever the list price was.
• Registered 1 March 2001 to 31 March 2017: £20 a year, the same as band B and lower than the standard rate.

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Why is the first-year electric-car rate different?

A new electric car pays £10 for its first licence, which is the lowest figure in the first year table. A petrol car emitting 130 g/km pays £455 for the same twelve months, and one emitting over 255 g/km pays £5,690.

Within the later car-tax system, the CO2-sensitive first-year rate is followed by the standard rate. Cars in the older CO2-band system continue to have annual tax set by their band, so the first-year table is not the only place where emissions can affect vehicle tax.

It is also usually invisible, because a dealer registers and taxes a new car before handover, so the first year rate is inside the on the road price rather than arriving as a separate bill. On a high emitting car it is the largest line on the invoice after the car itself.

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Which electric cars pay the expensive-car supplement?

The expensive car supplement is charged on top of the standard rate for five years, running from the start of the second licence, where the car's list price when new was above a threshold. It is based on the published list price rather than on what was paid, so a discount cannot get a car under the line and factory options can push it over.

For petrol, diesel, hybrid and plug in hybrid cars that threshold is £40,000 and has not moved. For zero emission cars it rose to £50,000 for any licence taking effect on or after 1 April 2026, so an electric car listed between the two figures does not pay it. Because no electric car registered before April 2025 pays the supplement at all, the first ones to meet it are those reaching their second licence from April 2026.

For zero-emission cars, check both the qualifying first-registration date and the threshold applying when the licence takes effect. A higher threshold does not abolish the supplement for every electric car; cars above the revised limit can remain liable during the supplement period.

• £40,000 threshold for petrol, diesel and hybrid cars.
• £50,000 threshold for zero emission cars, for licences taking effect from 1 April 2026.
• £440 a year for 5 years from the start of the second licence, on top of the standard rate.
• The list price is the published price including delivery and factory options, before any discount.

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Which tax system applies to an older electric car?

An electric car first registered between March 2001 and March 2017 sits in the lettered band system rather than the flat rate one. Zero emissions puts it in band A, and band A stopped being free on 1 April 2025, so it now pays the band A figure, which is the same as band B.

That is a lower number than the standard rate, and it catches people out in the opposite direction: owners of early electric cars sometimes assume they are on the same figure as a modern one and budget too much.

An electric car registered between April 2017 and March 2025 pays the standard rate and no supplement at all, whatever its list price was when new. The supplement only reaches zero emission cars registered from April 2025 onwards.

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

How does vehicle tax compare with other electric-car costs?

For a car in the standard-rate system, compare the same registration period and supplement position. An electric car's lower first-year rate is a different charge from the standard annual renewal, while older electric cars may remain in the CO2-band system.

Company-car income tax has its own HMRC percentage schedule and must be calculated separately from vehicle excise duty. The zero-emission percentage can be lower than a petrol car's, but the vehicle value, tax year and employee's own tax position also affect the bill.

For energy costs, use the charging prices and fuel costs available to you. Home and public charging can differ substantially, and a blanket claim that one fuel is always cheaper ignores vehicle efficiency and tariffs. Compare actual costs instead of assuming the VED result answers the whole running-cost question.

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]