VehicleScore
Check a Car

Car tax rules from April 2026

Updated 26 October 2026. The rates below are the ones GOV.UK is publishing for 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. Electric cars have paid vehicle tax since 1 April 2025. This page describes the rules in force.

To see whether a car is taxed, untaxed or on SORN, use the car tax check. The full rate tables and calculator are on that page. This article does not take a tax payment.

The registration date decides the rules

Three sets of rules run side by side. Renewing in this tax year does not move a car from one set to another.

  • Before 1 March 2001, tax follows engine size. The amounts are on the GOV.UK table for older cars.
  • From 1 March 2001 to 31 March 2017, the annual rate follows the CO2 band. Petrol, diesel, hybrid and electric cars use the same table this year. The old £10 discount for alternative fuels has been removed.
  • From 1 April 2017, CO2 sets only the first year. From the second year the standard 12-month rate is £200.

First year and the standard rate

A car first registered in 2026 to 2027 pays a first-year rate based on CO2. At 0g/km that payment is £10. Diesel cars that do not meet the Real Driving Emissions 2 standard pay the higher column in the official table. From the second licence, petrol, diesel, electric and alternative-fuel cars pay £200 for 12 months. Twelve monthly payments come to £210. The full first-year table is on the car tax check and on GOV.UK.

Expensive-car supplement

An extra £440 a year applies for five years, starting the second time the vehicle is taxed. For petrol, diesel and other non-electric cars the list price has to be more than £40,000. Exactly £40,000 does not qualify. For an electric car the threshold is more than £50,000, and only if it was registered on or after 1 April 2025. A zero-emission car registered before that date does not pay the extra. Where the supplement applies, the 12-month total is £640. The list price is the published price before registration, before discounts. Factory options count. The detail is on the expensive-car supplement guide.

Electric cars

GOV.UK dates the end of the electric-car exemption to 1 April 2025, for new and existing vehicles. The prices in the paragraph above are the 2026 to 2027 rates, not a change that is still waiting to start. A zero-emission car registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 is on the CO2 table. GOV.UK states a 12-month rate of £20 for that group. Read the electric car road tax guide for the registration-date split.

Historic vehicles

From 1 April 2026, a vehicle built before 1 January 1986 can stop paying vehicle tax. If you do not know the build date, the same applies when it was first registered before 8 January 1986. You have to apply for the historic tax class. Until that class is granted, the car is not treated as free. The rules are on GOV.UK: historic vehicles.

What is not in force

A mileage charge for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, Electric Vehicle Excise Duty, is announced for 1 April 2028. It is not part of the bill for this tax year. The pay-per-mile guide sets out the published rates. Rates for cars from 1 April 2027 are not shown here.

Sources

Frequently Asked Questions

The published car rates run from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. Which set applies depends on the date the car was first registered, not on the date you renew.

Electric cars have paid vehicle tax since 1 April 2025. In 2026 to 2027, a car first registered on or after 1 April 2025 pays £10 in the first year, then £200. The extra £440 applies only when the list price was more than £50,000 and the car was registered on or after 1 April 2025.

No. The old £10 alternative-fuel discount has gone. A hybrid registered on or after 1 April 2017 renews at the £200 standard rate. One registered before that date is taxed on its CO2 band. The first year of a brand-new car still follows the CO2 table.

A car built before 1 January 1986 can stop paying vehicle tax from 1 April 2026. If the build date is unknown, the same applies when it was registered before 8 January 1986. The keeper has to apply for the historic tax class. It is not applied automatically.

Car Tax Changes from April 2026 | VehicleScore