Road Tax Calculator

Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) — colloquially "road tax" or "car tax" — is the annual UK tax for keeping a vehicle on a public road. From April 2025 the rate structure for cars first registered after 1 April 2017 splits into two tiers: a first-year rate scaled by CO2 emissions, then a flat £195/year standard rate from year 2 onwards for petrol, diesel and electric. First-year rates in 2025/26 run from £10 (0 g/km CO2 — i.e. fully electric, no longer £0) to £5,490 for the most-polluting bands above 255 g/km. The mid-bands typical of family cars run £130 (75-90 g/km), £180 (91-100 g/km), £220 (101-110 g/km), and quickly climb to £500-£800 for typical SUVs at 130-150 g/km. The Expensive Car Supplement is a major catch — any car with a list price (manufacturer’s suggested retail price including options, before discount) of £40,001 or more pays an extra £425/year on top of the £195 standard rate from years 2 to 6 of ownership. That is £620/year total VED for years 2-6 of an "expensive" car, falling back to £195/year from year 7. The supplement applies regardless of fuel type — EVs became subject to it from April 2025 alongside losing their VED exemption, which catches almost every new EV with a list price over £40k. This calculator picks the right regime automatically based on first-registration date, applies the correct first-year band by CO2, adds the Expensive Car Supplement where the list price warrants, and shows annual cost across years 1-7 of ownership. For older cars (registered between March 2001 and March 2017) the older CO2-band scheme applies — 13 bands from A (0-100 g/km, £0/year) to M (over 255 g/km, £760/year) — and the calculator falls back to that band table automatically. For cars registered before March 2001, VED is based on engine size: £210/year under 1549cc and £345/year above. For motorhomes, vans, and Type Approval Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) different rules apply, as do classic cars over 40 years old (rolling exemption, currently anything pre-1985 is VED-exempt). The calculator does not model historic monthly or 6-monthly payment surcharges (paying 6-monthly costs 10% more than annual; monthly direct debit costs about 5% more), Direct Debit administration costs, or specialist vehicle classes. For total ownership cost including fuel, insurance and depreciation, use the Car Running Cost Calculator.