ANALYSISMotoring

Electric car mileage charge from 2028: what 3p a mile would cost drivers

UKCalc News Desk · Published 11 September 2026

The answer

Under the Government's published policy — announced, consulted on, but NOT yet law — Electric Vehicle Excise Duty would charge electric cars 3p a mile from 1 April 2028. UKCalc calculates that as £240.00 a year at 8,000 miles and £360.00 at 12,000, in addition to existing Vehicle Excise Duty.

What happened

Electric Vehicle Excise Duty was announced at Budget 2025. The government consulted on its introduction, published a response to that consultation, and has published draft legislation. GOV.UK states that from 1 April 2028 a mileage-based charge will apply to battery electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell cars, at 3 pence per mile for battery electric and hydrogen cars and 1.5 pence for plug-in hybrids. Primary legislation amending the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 has not yet been passed.

Source fact

GOV.UK states that from 1 April 2028, Electric Vehicle Excise Duty, a new mileage-based charge, will apply to battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles that are cars.

GOV.UK (HM Treasury) — Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED)

Source fact

The published rates are 3 pence per mile for battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell cars, and 1.5 pence per mile for plug-in hybrids.

GOV.UK (HM Treasury) — Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED)

Source fact

GOV.UK states that primary legislation amending the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 will be introduced. The charge is therefore announced policy and is not yet law.

GOV.UK (HM Treasury) — Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED)

Source fact

Drivers would provide an odometer reading and estimate their mileage for the forthcoming tax period, with the government intending to cross-reference MOT data for consistency.

GOV.UK (HM Treasury) — Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED)

Source fact

eVED is described as an extension of the current Vehicle Excise Duty regime, renewed alongside VED rather than replacing it.

GOV.UK (HM Treasury) — Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED)

Source fact

The government consulted on the introduction of eVED and published a response to that consultation, with draft legislation published on GOV.UK.

GOV.UK (HM Treasury) — Consultation on the Introduction of Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED)

What it means

Read the status alongside the number, because the two belong together. This is announced Government policy with published rates that has been through consultation, and GOV.UK states that primary legislation amending the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 will be introduced. It is not yet law, and the final form could still change. On that basis, at the published 3p rate the annual cost would depend entirely on mileage: UKCalc calculates £150 at 5,000 miles, £240 at 8,000, £300 at 10,000, £360 at 12,000, £450 at 15,000 and £600 at 20,000. The £240 figure at 8,000 miles is the same illustration the Government itself publishes. Because eVED is described as an extension of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) rather than a replacement, it would be an additional charge rather than a substitute for the vehicle tax an owner already pays.

Who is affected

Key numbers

Every figure below is a UKCalc calculation from the stated inputs, not a figure published by any source.

UKCalc calculation

At the published 3p rate, 8,000 miles a year would cost £240.00 — about £20.00 a month.

UKCalc calculation — see eVED at 3p a mile on 8,000 miles a year for inputs and assumptions.

UKCalc calculation

12,000 miles a year would cost £360.00, and 20,000 miles £600.00.

UKCalc calculation — see eVED at 3p a mile on 12,000 miles a year for inputs and assumptions.

UKCalc calculation

A plug-in hybrid at the 1.5p rate would pay £120.00 on the same 8,000 miles, in addition to fuel duty on the petrol or diesel it uses.

UKCalc calculation — see eVED at 1.5p a mile on 8,000 miles a year (plug-in hybrid) for inputs and assumptions.

What UKCalc calculated

eVED at 3p a mile on 5,000 miles a year

£150.00 a year (£12.50 a month)

Method
Annual mileage multiplied by the published rate of 3 pence per mile.
Inputs
  • annual mileage 5,000
  • rate 3p per mile (GOV.UK, battery electric and hydrogen cars)
Assumptions
  • The rate and start date are as published by the government. eVED is announced policy and is not yet law: the government has said primary legislation amending the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 will be introduced.
  • Assumes the whole year is charged at the single published rate, with no exemption, discount or transitional arrangement, none of which is settled.
  • eVED is described as an extension of Vehicle Excise Duty rather than a replacement, so this is additional to existing VED rather than instead of it.
  • Mileage is the driver's own, however it is eventually reported and verified.
Check it
Run this yourself

eVED at 3p a mile on 8,000 miles a year

£240.00 a year (£20.00 a month)

Method
Annual mileage multiplied by the published rate of 3 pence per mile.
Inputs
  • annual mileage 8,000
  • rate 3p per mile (GOV.UK, battery electric and hydrogen cars)
Assumptions
  • The rate and start date are as published by the government. eVED is announced policy and is not yet law: the government has said primary legislation amending the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 will be introduced.
  • Assumes the whole year is charged at the single published rate, with no exemption, discount or transitional arrangement, none of which is settled.
  • eVED is described as an extension of Vehicle Excise Duty rather than a replacement, so this is additional to existing VED rather than instead of it.
  • Mileage is the driver's own, however it is eventually reported and verified.
Check it
Run this yourself

eVED at 3p a mile on 10,000 miles a year

£300.00 a year (£25.00 a month)

Method
Annual mileage multiplied by the published rate of 3 pence per mile.
Inputs
  • annual mileage 10,000
  • rate 3p per mile (GOV.UK, battery electric and hydrogen cars)
Assumptions
  • The rate and start date are as published by the government. eVED is announced policy and is not yet law: the government has said primary legislation amending the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 will be introduced.
  • Assumes the whole year is charged at the single published rate, with no exemption, discount or transitional arrangement, none of which is settled.
  • eVED is described as an extension of Vehicle Excise Duty rather than a replacement, so this is additional to existing VED rather than instead of it.
  • Mileage is the driver's own, however it is eventually reported and verified.
Check it
Run this yourself

eVED at 3p a mile on 12,000 miles a year

£360.00 a year (£30.00 a month)

Method
Annual mileage multiplied by the published rate of 3 pence per mile.
Inputs
  • annual mileage 12,000
  • rate 3p per mile (GOV.UK, battery electric and hydrogen cars)
Assumptions
  • The rate and start date are as published by the government. eVED is announced policy and is not yet law: the government has said primary legislation amending the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 will be introduced.
  • Assumes the whole year is charged at the single published rate, with no exemption, discount or transitional arrangement, none of which is settled.
  • eVED is described as an extension of Vehicle Excise Duty rather than a replacement, so this is additional to existing VED rather than instead of it.
  • Mileage is the driver's own, however it is eventually reported and verified.
Check it
Run this yourself

eVED at 3p a mile on 15,000 miles a year

£450.00 a year (£37.50 a month)

Method
Annual mileage multiplied by the published rate of 3 pence per mile.
Inputs
  • annual mileage 15,000
  • rate 3p per mile (GOV.UK, battery electric and hydrogen cars)
Assumptions
  • The rate and start date are as published by the government. eVED is announced policy and is not yet law: the government has said primary legislation amending the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 will be introduced.
  • Assumes the whole year is charged at the single published rate, with no exemption, discount or transitional arrangement, none of which is settled.
  • eVED is described as an extension of Vehicle Excise Duty rather than a replacement, so this is additional to existing VED rather than instead of it.
  • Mileage is the driver's own, however it is eventually reported and verified.
Check it
Run this yourself

eVED at 3p a mile on 20,000 miles a year

£600.00 a year (£50.00 a month)

Method
Annual mileage multiplied by the published rate of 3 pence per mile.
Inputs
  • annual mileage 20,000
  • rate 3p per mile (GOV.UK, battery electric and hydrogen cars)
Assumptions
  • The rate and start date are as published by the government. eVED is announced policy and is not yet law: the government has said primary legislation amending the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 will be introduced.
  • Assumes the whole year is charged at the single published rate, with no exemption, discount or transitional arrangement, none of which is settled.
  • eVED is described as an extension of Vehicle Excise Duty rather than a replacement, so this is additional to existing VED rather than instead of it.
  • Mileage is the driver's own, however it is eventually reported and verified.
Check it
Run this yourself

eVED at 1.5p a mile on 8,000 miles a year (plug-in hybrid)

£120.00 a year

Method
Annual mileage multiplied by the published plug-in hybrid rate of 1.5 pence per mile.
Inputs
  • annual mileage 8,000
  • rate 1.5p per mile (GOV.UK, plug-in hybrids)
Assumptions
  • As for the battery-electric calculation. The plug-in hybrid rate is half the battery-electric rate, so every figure is half.
  • Plug-in hybrid drivers also pay fuel duty on the petrol or diesel they buy; this calculation covers eVED only.
Check it
Run this yourself

Assumptions and scope

Change any of these and the result changes. They are stated so the figure can be checked rather than taken on trust. How UKCalc produces its figures: methodology.

UKCalc's interpretation

The section below is UKCalc's analysis. It is separated from the facts above deliberately: it is arguable, and the facts are not.

UKCalc interpretation

The position is clear enough to describe and to calculate from, but it is not settled law. The rate, the date and the mechanism are published and have been consulted on; the primary legislation has not been passed, and the final form could still change. Anything written about eVED should say which of those it is relying on.

UKCalc's reading of the evidence above, not a statement by any source.

UKCalc interpretation

Because eVED is an addition to Vehicle Excise Duty rather than a replacement, the figures here are not the whole of what an electric car would pay. Comparing the total cost of an electric car with a petrol one after 2028 requires the VED, the eVED and the fuel or electricity cost together, not the mileage charge alone.

UKCalc's reading of the evidence above, not a statement by any source.

UKCalc interpretation

A charge assessed on an estimate and reconciled against odometer and MOT data is a materially different administrative arrangement from a flat annual duty, and how over- and under-estimates are settled is one of the details that the legislation will need to resolve.

UKCalc's reading of the evidence above, not a statement by any source.

What happens next

The primary legislation amending the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 has to be introduced and passed before eVED takes effect. The rate, the treatment of estimates and the final administrative mechanism are the details to watch.

Questions this answers

Sources

Statutory figures belong to the body that publishes them. UKCalc compiles and verifies them, and any calculation built on top is UKCalc's own — see the governed rates reference.

UKCalc electric car running cost calculatorWork out the total running cost the mileage charge would be added to.UKCalc road tax (Vehicle Excise Duty) calculatoreVED would sit alongside Vehicle Excise Duty rather than replacing it.UKCalc mileage calculatorEstablish your own annual mileage before applying the rate.UKCalc fuel cost calculatorCompare against what a petrol or diesel car costs in fuel duty today.
For journalists and editorial partners. The UKCalc News Desk can supply the underlying figures, model a different scenario, or explain the mechanics on the record. How to work with us.

Reported by the UKCalc News Desk. Statutory inputs are taken from UKCalc’s verified rates reference for the 2026/27 tax year; the calculations and interpretation are UKCalc’s own. Published by Animateed Limited. About · Editorial policy · Methodology · News Desk