Road Tax Calculator 2026/27

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

Where these figures come from. See the VED rates, bands and expensive-car supplement used here, each with its official source and the date UKCalc last checked it, on the 2026/27 rates and thresholds UKCalc uses.

Calculate Your Road Tax

Annual Road Tax (Year 2+)
£0
£200
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 £200 for most cars registered from April 2017 (including EVs from April 2025). The expensive car supplement adds £440/year for petrol and diesel cars over £40,000, and for electric cars over £50,000, for years 2–6. First-year rates for new registrations range from £10 (zero-emission) to £5,690 for 255g/km+ vehicles.
Do electric cars pay road tax? ▼
From 1 April 2025, new electric cars pay the standard rate of £200/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? ▼
Petrol and diesel cars with a list price over £40,000 (including options) — and electric cars over £50,000 — pay an extra £440/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 £200 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 £5,690 (for cars emitting over 255g/km CO2). After year one, all petrol and diesel cars pay the standard annual rate (£200 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 £440/year on top of the standard rate, taking total annual VED to £640. The threshold is £40,000 for petrol and diesel and £50,000 for electric cars. For a £55,000 luxury car, the 5-year additional supplement total is £2,200 — 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 £440/year of Vehicle Excise Duty payable in years 2-6 of ownership for any petrol or diesel vehicle with a list price over £40,000, or any electric vehicle over £50,000 — 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.

Written and reviewed by the UKCalc Editorial Team. UKCalc’s calculators and analysis are built and maintained using verified statutory data and official sources. Published by Animateed Limited. About UKCalc · Editorial policy · Methodology

Last reviewed: 9 August 2026 · Rates: 2026/27 tax year unless stated otherwise.

Rates and source. Vehicle Excise Duty bands and first-year rates are set by the government and published by DVLA. Figures checked against GOV.UK: Vehicle tax rate tables on 2 September 2026. This calculator gives an estimate for the 2026/27 tax year.