Road Tax Calculator
Work out your 2025/26 UK road tax (VED): the £195 standard rate, first-year rates by CO2 band, and the £425 expensive-car supplement on cars over £40,000.
Road tax (VED) calculator
Estimate your annual vehicle excise duty.
Rates change each year. Check the exact figure on the GOV.UK rate tables.
How UK road tax works in 2025/26
Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), better known as road tax or car tax, is an annual charge you pay to keep a vehicle on a public road in the UK. For almost all cars registered on or after 1 April 2017, the system is split into two stages: a one-off first-year rate tied to how much carbon dioxide the car emits, followed by a flat standard rate that applies every year after that. For the 2025/26 tax year the standard rate is £195 a year, whatever the car burns or however clean it is.
Most drivers pay the flat £195 standard rate. Brand-new cars pay a CO2-based first-year rate instead (from £10 up to £5,490), and cars with a list price over £40,000 pay an extra £425 a year for years two to six.
First-year road tax by CO2 band
The first-year rate — sometimes called the showroom tax — is what you (or the dealer) pay when a car is registered for the first time. It rises steeply with emissions to nudge buyers towards cleaner models. These are the 2025/26 petrol and diesel first-year bands:
| CO2 (g/km) | First-year rate |
|---|---|
| 0 (electric) | £10 |
| 1–50 | £110 |
| 51–75 | £135 |
| 76–90 | £175 |
| 91–100 | £210 |
| 101–110 | £235 |
| 111–130 | £265 |
| 131–150 | £1,360 |
| 151–170 | £2,340 |
| 171–190 | £3,680 |
| 191–225 | £4,680 |
| over 225 | £5,490 |
Diesels that do not meet the RDE2 standard move up one band in year one. After year one every car drops to the £195 standard rate.
The £40,000 expensive-car supplement
If a car had a list price of more than £40,000 when new — including options and delivery — the keeper pays an extra £425 a year on top of the standard rate. This supplement applies from the second to the sixth year of registration, so a buyer pays it for five tax years before it falls away and the bill returns to the plain £195. That means a £45,000 car costs £620 a year (£195 + £425) during the supplement window.
Electric cars now pay road tax too
Until April 2025, fully electric cars were exempt from VED. That changed on 1 April 2025: new EVs now pay £10 in the first year and then the standard £195 each year, and any EV costing over £40,000 is also caught by the expensive-car supplement. Older EVs first registered before April 2017 moved onto a small standard charge as well. The exemption for historic vehicles over 40 years old remains.
When and how to pay
You can pay VED annually, every six months, or by monthly Direct Debit (the six-monthly and monthly options carry a small surcharge). You must keep a vehicle taxed even when it is not exempt, and SORN it if you take it off the road. Driving an untaxed car risks an automatic £80 penalty and clamping.
Frequently asked questions
How much is road tax in 2025/26?
The standard annual VED rate for most cars registered after April 2017 is £195 a year for 2025/26. Cars in their first year pay a separate CO2-based first-year rate instead, and cars costing over £40,000 pay an extra £425 supplement for years two to six.
What is the first-year road tax rate?
The first-year rate (often called the showroom tax) is based on the car's CO2 emissions. It ranges from £10 for the lowest-emitting petrol and diesel cars up to £5,490 for the highest-emitting models. From April 2025, even zero-emission cars pay £10 in year one.
What is the expensive car supplement?
Cars with a list price over £40,000 pay an additional £425 a year on top of the standard rate, for the second to sixth year of registration. After that it drops back to the standard £195.
Do electric cars pay road tax now?
Yes. From 1 April 2025 electric and zero-emission cars are no longer exempt. New EVs pay £10 in the first year then the standard £195, and EVs over £40,000 now also pay the expensive-car supplement.
How do I check the exact road tax for my car?
Use the GOV.UK vehicle tax rate tables or the check-vehicle-tax service with your registration number. Your V5C logbook shows the CO2 figure and registration date needed to find the right band.