How is UK road tax (VED) worked out?
Vehicle Excise Duty depends on when the car was registered — and for older cars, its CO2 or engine size. We show the recurring standard rate you’d pay each year, not the one-off first-year showroom tax.
Three systems, by registration date
Registered from April 2017
One flat standard rate every year regardless of CO2 — £200/yr for petrol, diesel, hybrid and (from April 2025) electric. First-year 'showroom tax' is paid once by the original buyer, not you.
Registered 2001–March 2017
Taxed by CO2 emissions, bands A–M. A clean diesel can be £20–£35/yr; a thirsty V8 can be £760+. This is where a low-emissions used car really saves you money.
Registered before March 2001
Taxed by engine size: £230/yr up to 1549cc, £375/yr above. Simple, and usually the older the car the more it costs.
CO2 bands (cars registered 2001–2017)
Standard annual rate, 2026/27. The cleaner the car, the lower the band.
| Band | CO2 (g/km) | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| A | Up to 100 | £20 |
| B | 101–110 | £20 |
| C | 111–120 | £35 |
| D | 121–130 | £170 |
| E | 131–140 | £200 |
| F | 141–150 | £225 |
| G | 151–165 | £275 |
| H | 166–175 | £325 |
| I | 176–185 | £360 |
| J | 186–200 | £410 |
| K | 201–225 | £445 |
| L | 226–255 | £760 |
| M | Over 255 | £790 |
Electric cars now pay road tax too
From 1 April 2025 the EV exemption ended — electric cars pay the same £200/yr standard rate as petrol and diesel. Worth factoring in if you’re comparing an EV against a used petrol.
Common questions
Is this the showroom (first-year) tax?
No — we show the recurring standard rate you pay every year you own the car. The much higher first-year 'showroom tax' is paid once by the original buyer based on CO2; you inherit the standard rate.
What about the £40k 'expensive car' supplement?
Cars with a list price over £40,000 pay an extra supplement for five years from registration. We don't show it because we rarely know the original list price — so a pricey near-new car could cost a little more than the figure shown.
Why might my exact tax differ?
The figure is exact when we have the car's reg — we read its CO2, fuel and registration date straight from DVLA. On a listing that doesn't show the reg we estimate from the year and fuel, which is reliable for the post-2017 flat rate but can't see the CO2 band for a 2001–2017 car.
Are these rates current?
These are the 2026/27 standard rates from gov.uk. VED rates change every April — we refresh them each year.
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