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Car tax calculator: how much will I pay?

2026/27 rates, from the date on the log book or the advert. Free, no number plate, nothing leaves your browser.

When was the car first registered?

Or try an example:

Cars only. Pre-March 2001 electric cars and taxis capable of zero emissions at first registration need DVLA's figure. Other vehicles: GOV.UK.

Your car tax, 2026/27 rates

Waiting for details

Three sets of rules. The registration date picks one.

Rates and rules checked 8 October 2026 against GOV.UK and DVLA's V149 (April 2026).

Start with the date the car was first registered. It's on the V5C log book, or in the advert.

Or try an example:

Example: a petrol car first registered 12 June 2015, 124 g/km

Band D, 121 to 130 g/km: £170 a year in one payment, £178.50 over 12 monthly Direct Debits, £93.50 for 6 months, or £89.25 for 6 months by Direct Debit.

Turn on JavaScript to work out the tax for your own car.

How the car tax calculator works

Two identical cars sit on a forecourt. One costs £35 a year to tax, the other £200, and the only difference is a day on the log book: 31 March 2017 against 1 April 2017.

Vehicle tax runs on three sets of rules, and the date of first registration picks the set. Before 1 March 2001 it goes on engine size: £230 up to 1,549cc, £375 above. From 1 March 2001 to 31 March 2017 it goes on the CO2 figure, in 13 bands from A to M. From 1 April 2017 the CO2 figure sets only the first tax, paid when the car's registered. After that every car pays the same £200 standard rate, electric cars included.

On top of that sits the expensive car supplement: another £440 a year. It applies if the list price when new was over £40,000, or over £50,000 for a zero emission car, and only to tax starting less than six years after first registration. We count those six years on the calendar, the way the law words it, which gets you a date for the diary instead of a guess at the year. Zero emission cars registered before 1 April 2025 never pay it. One catch: if your tax starts in the month the six years run out, check the figure DVLA quotes before you pay, because licences run from the 1st of the month.

That's why the calculator asks for the date first, and after that only for what those rules use. A month and a year are almost always enough. The day matters near three dates: 23 March 2006 for cars over 225 g/km, 8 January 1986 for the historic class, and the month the supplement runs out. Near those, it shows both answers and asks for the day. Don't lean on the number plate here. The 06 plate covers March to August 2006 and the 17 plate March to August 2017, so both straddle a cut-off.

The five payment figures come straight from GOV.UK's 2026/27 tables, pence and all. You won't see a monthly instalment: GOV.UK prints only the total of 12 monthly payments, and most of those totals don't split into whole pennies. After 31 March 2027 the calculator stops showing amounts rather than show you last year's.

The calculator leaves out exemptions and discounts: the disability exemption, the 50% reduction for the standard rate mobility component of PIP or ADP, and the historic class, which you have to apply for. It does flag the historic class when the dates fit. Two kinds of car aren't covered and need DVLA's figure: taxis capable of zero emissions at first registration, and electric cars first registered before 1 March 2001.

Who this is for

  • Buyers pricing a used car from an advert, before they've seen the plate.
  • New-car buyers checking the first tax on an order form, and what follows it.
  • Owners whose renewal just jumped to £640 and who want to know when it drops back.
  • Owners of older cars checking a band, an engine-size rate or the historic class.

Car tax bands for 2026/27

Every figure is GOV.UK's 2026/27 rate, in force 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.

Cars registered on or after 1 April 2017: the first tax

Paid once, when the car is registered, for 12 months.

CO2 (g/km)Petrol, hybrid, Euro 6d diesel, zero emissionOther diesel
0£10£10
1 to 50£115£135
51 to 75£135£280
76 to 90£280£365
91 to 100£365£405
101 to 110£405£455
111 to 130£455£560
131 to 150£560£1,410
151 to 170£1,410£2,270
171 to 190£2,270£3,420
191 to 225£3,420£4,850
226 to 255£4,850£5,690
Over 255£5,690£5,690

The £10 for a 0 g/km car in the other diesel column is GOV.UK's figure. The Act's own table (VERA 1994, Schedule 1, checked 8 October 2026) gives £135 for that cell. The calculator never reaches that cell, because you can't enter a diesel at 0 g/km.

Cars registered on or after 1 April 2017: every tax after the first

The supplement applies to tax starting less than six years after first registration, when the list price was over £40,000, or over £50,000 for a zero emission car registered from 1 April 2025.

Rate12 months12 months by Direct Debit12 monthly Direct Debits, total6 months6 months by Direct Debit
Standard rate£200£200£210£110£105
With the expensive car supplement£640£640£672£352£336

Cars registered 1 March 2001 to 31 March 2017: bands A to M

BandCO2 (g/km)12 months12 months by Direct Debit12 monthly Direct Debits, total6 months6 months by Direct Debit
AUp to 100£20£20£21Not availableNot available
B101 to 110£20£20£21Not availableNot available
C111 to 120£35£35£36.75Not availableNot available
D121 to 130£170£170£178.50£93.50£89.25
E131 to 140£200£200£210£110£105
F141 to 150£225£225£236.25£123.75£118.13
G151 to 165£275£275£288.75£151.25£144.38
H166 to 175£325£325£341.25£178.75£170.63
I176 to 185£360£360£378£198£189
J186 to 200£410£410£430.50£225.50£215.25
K201 to 225£445£445£467.25£244.75£233.63
L226 to 255£760£760£798£418£399
MOver 255£790£790£829.50£434.50£414.75
  • K*: a car over 225 g/km registered before 23 March 2006 pays the band K rate.
  • Bands A to C have no 6-month option. The law allows one only when the yearly rate is over £50.
  • A non-zero-emission car from these years whose approval certificate shows no CO2 figure falls back to the engine-size rates. A zero emission car is treated as 0 g/km instead. For a car like that, check the figure with DVLA.

Cars registered before 1 March 2001: engine size

Engine size12 months12 months by Direct Debit12 monthly Direct Debits, total6 months6 months by Direct Debit
Not over 1,549cc£230£230£241.50£126.50£120.75
Over 1,549cc£375£375£393.75£206.25£196.88

Driver questions about car tax

Why is my car tax £640?

Because the car's list price when new was over £40,000, or over £50,000 for a zero emission car registered since 1 April 2025. That adds the expensive car supplement, £440, to the £200 standard rate. It applies to tax starting less than six years after first registration and then drops off. Put in the registration date and you'll see the date it stops.

Why is my car tax only £20 or £35?

Your car was first registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017, so it's still taxed on its CO2 band. In 2026/27, up to 110 g/km is £20 a year and 111 to 120 g/km is £35. Cars from those years never moved to the flat rate. One registered a day later, on 1 April 2017, pays £200 whatever its CO2.

Do electric cars pay road tax now?

Yes, since 1 April 2025. In 2026/27 a new electric car pays £10 for its first tax and £200 a year after that. One first registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 pays £20. The supplement only reaches electric cars registered from 1 April 2025 with a list price over £50,000. Older ones don't pay it at all.

Does the £40,000 car tax apply to second-hand cars?

Yes. It follows the car, not the owner. What counts is the list price when the car was new, so a 2022 car that listed at £45,000 still carries the supplement on tax starting before the sixth anniversary of its first registration, even if you paid £20,000 for it. If the seller doesn't know the list price, choose Not sure and you'll see both answers.

What does list price mean for car tax?

It's the published price of the car before it was first registered, before any discount. GOV.UK puts it in those words. It isn't what the first owner paid, and it isn't today's value. Non-standard accessories fitted when the car was first registered with DVLA can count on top, under rules borrowed from company car tax, so a car listed just under £40,000 can still go over.

Is car tax cheaper if I pay annually?

Yes. One 12-month payment is the cheapest way, by card or by Direct Debit. DVLA adds 5% to monthly and six-monthly Direct Debit. Six months by card costs more again: two of those come to 10% more than paying once. On the £200 standard rate that's £210 a year by monthly Direct Debit and £220 in two card payments. If you can pay the year in one go, we'd do that.

Can I check car tax by registration number?

Yes, on GOV.UK. DVLA's vehicle enquiry service shows whether a car is taxed and when its tax runs out, free, from the number plate. For the current rate, GOV.UK asks for the 11-digit V5C reference too. We don't ask for a plate: the calculator works from the registration date, so you can price a car straight from an advert and see when the supplement stops.

Which cars are exempt as historic vehicles?

For 2026/27, cars built before 1 January 1986. If you don't know when yours was built, a first registration before 8 January 1986 counts instead. You apply at a Post Office and still tax the car every year, at £0. GOV.UK says a car in the historic class can't be used for hire or reward, or for commercial use.

Is company car tax the same as car tax?

No. Company car tax is income tax on the value to you of a car your employer provides, and it goes to HMRC. Vehicle tax is what the keeper pays DVLA to use the car on the road. If you've got a company car, GOV.UK's page on tax on company cars is where to start.

Do hybrid cars pay road tax?

Yes, the same as a petrol car. The £10 annual discount hybrids used to get has gone, so a hybrid first registered from 1 April 2017 pays the £200 standard rate after its first tax, and an older one pays its CO2 band, or its engine size if it's from before March 2001. A plug-in hybrid isn't zero emission: at 30 g/km a new one pays £115 for its first tax and meets the £40,000 threshold, not £50,000.

Road tax calculator: three dates that change the bill

Car tax, road tax and VED (Vehicle Excise Duty) are one tax. GOV.UK calls it vehicle tax, DVLA collects it, and the rates are the same in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Whatever you call it, three things set the bill: the date of first registration, which picks the rules; the CO2 figure, which sets the band or a new car's first tax; and, for a car from April 2017, the list price when new.

Fuel matters less than people think. Petrol and hybrid cars pay exactly the same, and a diesel costs more only on a new car's first tax, and only without Euro 6d. That isn't the Euro 6 the ULEZ asks for, so a diesel can pass one test and fail the other.

Sources and last checked

Rates and rules for 2026/27, in force 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 (datasets ved-cars-2026-27 and ved-rules-2026-27, version 2026-27). Last checked 8 October 2026.

Supporting facts: car-tax-content-facts-uk, version 2026-10-07. Last checked 8 October 2026.

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