UK DVLA Road Tax VED Rates & Electric Vehicle Calculator 2026

Authoritative 2026 Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) guide: exact first-year and standard road-tax rates, electric-vehicle taxation, the Expensive Car Supplement (£440/year), £40,000 petrol/diesel and £50,000 electric thresholds, CO2 banding, Direct Debit payment options, refunds, and SORN.

1. 2026 VED Structure & Electric Vehicle Tax Implementation

Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), commonly referred to as vehicle or road tax, is payable when a vehicle is used or kept on public roads in Great Britain, subject to the applicable tax class and exemptions. Vehicles that are kept entirely off public roads may instead need a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN). From 1 April 2025, electric and zero-emission cars, vans and motorcycles became subject to VED. The rates applying from 1 April 2026 are now the current 2026/27 rates. For cars registered on or after 1 April 2017, the first tax payment is based on CO2 emissions and the subsequent standard rate is £200 for petrol, diesel, electric and alternative-fuel cars. The Expensive Car Supplement also changed from 1 April 2026: the threshold is over £40,000 for petrol/diesel and alternative-fuel cars and over £50,000 for electric cars registered from 1 April 2025 onwards. The supplement is £440 a year and applies for 5 years from the second tax payment.

Vehicle Type / Registration Year	First Year VED Rate	Standard Annual VED Rate (Year 2+)
Electric / Zero-Emission Cars Registered on or After 1 April 2025	£10 first-year VED	£200 standard rate from the second tax payment onwards
Petrol / Diesel / Alternative-Fuel Cars Registered on or After 1 April 2017	CO2-based first-year rate; exact 2026 rates run from £10 to £5,690, with higher rates for certain non-RDE2 diesel cars	£200 standard rate from the second tax payment onwards
Expensive Car Supplement	Not charged in the first tax payment	£440 additional rate for 5 years from the second tax payment; threshold is over £40,000 for petrol/diesel/alternative-fuel cars and over £50,000 for qualifying electric cars
Historic Vehicles	Historic vehicle tax-class rules apply	Qualifying vehicles at least 40 years old can generally be placed in the historic vehicle tax class and pay £0 VED, subject to the statutory conditions

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2. Exact 2026/27 First-Year VED Rates for Cars Registered on or After 1 April 2017

The first VED payment is based on the vehicle's official CO2 emissions figure. The 2026/27 rates are exact, not estimates. Diesel cars that do not meet the RDE2 standard can fall into the higher-rate column. Electric and zero-emission cars have a £10 first-year rate.

CO2 Emissions	Petrol / RDE2 Diesel / Alternative Fuel / Zero Emission	Non-RDE2 Diesel
0g/km	£10	£10
1–50g/km	£115	£135
51–75g/km	£135	£280
76–90g/km	£280	£365
91–100g/km	£365	£405
101–110g/km	£405	£455
111–130g/km	£455	£560
131–150g/km	£560	£1,410
151–170g/km	£1,410	£2,270
171–190g/km	£2,270	£3,420
191–225g/km	£3,420	£4,850
226–255g/km	£4,850	£5,690
Over 255g/km	£5,690	£5,690

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3. Paying VED, Direct Debit, Refunds & SORN

After the first tax payment, the standard rate for cars covered by the 2026 table is £200 for a 12-month payment. You can pay by Direct Debit monthly, every 6 months or every year where the option is available. Paying by 12 monthly Direct Debit costs £210 in total, so the annual lump-sum payment of £200 is cheaper than monthly payment. If you sell or transfer the vehicle, DVLA automatically refunds any full months of vehicle tax that remain. The buyer does not inherit the seller's road tax and must tax the vehicle before driving it away. If a vehicle is kept off public roads, the registered keeper may make a SORN. A SORN means the vehicle must not be driven or kept on a public road except in the limited circumstances permitted by the rules, such as travelling to or from a pre-booked MOT or other qualifying test.

Key Takeaways

Electric vehicles pay standard annual VED road tax from 2025/2026.
Standard annual VED rate for petrol/diesel/EV cars is approx £190/year.
Cars with a list price over £40,000 pay an extra £410/year for 5 years.
First-year VED rate is based directly on CO2 emissions (g/km).
Driving an untaxed vehicle incurs DVLA out-of-court settlement fines or clamping.

Related UK Driving & Transport Guides

UK EV Company Car Tax & Benefit-in-Kind (BIK) Calculator →UK DVLA SORN Statutory Off Road Notification Guide →

Frequently Asked Questions (6 Verified Answers)

Yes. For electric and zero-emission cars registered on or after 1 April 2025, the 2026/27 first-year VED rate is £10 and the standard rate from the second tax payment onwards is £200. Electric cars can also be subject to the £440 Expensive Car Supplement where the applicable list-price threshold is exceeded.

For 2026/27, the Expensive Car Supplement is £440 a year for 5 years from the second tax payment. The threshold is over £40,000 for petrol, diesel and alternative-fuel cars, while qualifying electric cars registered from 1 April 2025 have a higher threshold of over £50,000. The threshold is based on the vehicle's published list price before first registration and before discounts.

For cars first registered on or after 1 April 2017, the 2026/27 first-year rate is based on the official CO2 emissions figure. Rates for petrol, RDE2-compliant diesel, alternative-fuel and zero-emission cars range from £10 to £5,690. Certain diesel cars that do not meet the RDE2 standard are charged at higher rates.

Yes, where Direct Debit is available. For a standard car in the 2026/27 table, the 12-month payment is £200, while paying by 12 monthly Direct Debit totals £210. Six-month payment is £110, while the six-month Direct Debit option is £105 per instalment. The exact option and rate depend on the vehicle.

When you tell DVLA that you have sold or transferred the vehicle, DVLA automatically refunds any full months of vehicle tax that remain. Vehicle tax does not transfer to the buyer. The buyer must tax the vehicle before driving it on a public road.

Yes, vehicles built 40 or more years ago qualify for the historic vehicle tax class and pay £0 VED.