Road Tax Calculator 2026/27

Calculate your Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) — first-year rates, standard rate, and the expensive car supplement.

Calculate Your Road Tax

Annual Road Tax (Year 2+)
£0
£195
Standard Rate
—
Expensive Car Supplement
—
First Year Rate
£0
Monthly (DD, +5%)

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is road tax in 2026/27? ▼
The standard annual rate is £195 for most cars registered from April 2017 (including EVs from April 2025). The expensive car supplement adds £425/year for cars over £40,000 for years 2–6. First-year rates for new registrations range from £10 (zero-emission) to £2,745 for 255g/km+ vehicles.
Do electric cars pay road tax? ▼
From 1 April 2025, new electric cars pay the standard rate of £195/year. EVs registered between April 2017 and March 2025 paid £10/year for the 2025/26 tax year, then moved to standard rates. Pure EVs registered before April 2017 remain exempt.
What is the expensive car supplement? ▼
Cars with a list price over £40,000 (including options) pay an extra £425/year for years 2 to 6. After year 6, the supplement drops off and you pay only the standard rate. This applies to all fuel types, including electric.
Is there a 5% surcharge for paying monthly? ▼
Yes — paying VED by monthly direct debit costs 5% more than paying annually upfront. On a £195 annual rate, that's £10 extra per year. It's a modest amount for the cash-flow convenience of spreading payments.

How UK road tax (Vehicle Excise Duty) works in 2026/27

UK road tax — officially Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) — is calculated based on your vehicle's CO2 emissions, list price (for cars over £40,000), and fuel type. The system distinguishes between first-year tax (paid at registration) and standard annual VED in subsequent years. Cars first registered after April 2025 use the current band structure; cars registered between 2017-2025 use slightly different bands; older vehicles (pre-2017) use a legacy graduated system based purely on CO2.

For cars registered after April 2025, first-year VED ranges from £10 (for ultra-low emission cars under 50g/km CO2) up to £5,490 (for cars emitting over 255g/km CO2). After year one, all petrol and diesel cars pay the standard annual rate (£195 for 2026/27). Electric vehicles, previously exempt from VED, now pay the standard rate from April 2025 — but at a reduced first-year rate of £10.

The "expensive car supplement" applies for years 2-6 of ownership for any car with a list price over £40,000: an additional £425/year on top of the standard rate, taking total annual VED to £620 for petrol/diesel and £425 for electric (when standard rate kicks in). For a £55,000 luxury car, the 5-year additional supplement total is £2,125 — a meaningful ownership cost factored against the headline purchase price.

VED is administered by the DVLA — payment is normally automatic via direct debit (annual, six-monthly or monthly), with a 5% surcharge on six-monthly/monthly payments. Cars declared off-road via SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) are exempt from VED during the SORN period, but driving an untaxed vehicle on the public road carries an automatic £80 fine and the vehicle can be clamped or impounded. Worth knowing: classic cars (40+ years old) are exempt from VED entirely if registered for the historic vehicle taxation class.

Why the £40,000 expensive-car supplement matters

The "expensive car supplement" — an additional £425/year of Vehicle Excise Duty payable in years 2-6 of ownership for any vehicle with a list price over £40,000 — catches more drivers than expected. The £40,000 trigger is the LIST PRICE (manufacturer's RRP including delivery, options and accessories), not the actual purchase price after discount. A car listed at £42,000 but bought at £38,000 still triggers the supplement.

Over the 5 supplement years, this adds £2,125 to total ownership cost — meaningful when comparing a £39,500 specification of a model to a £41,000 specification of the same model. The difference becomes acute for EVs because they have higher list prices on average: many mainstream EVs cross the £40k trigger when buyers add desirable options. Options that push under-£40k to over-£40k can therefore cost £2,125 more than their visible price.

Workarounds: choose the lower trim level (under £40k list), order without optional extras, or buy ex-demonstrator/nearly-new vehicles registered before April 2017 (when the supplement system was introduced) — though these are increasingly rare. Note: the supplement applies regardless of fuel type from 2025 onward; previously EVs were exempt.