How much is my road tax? UK car tax calculator (2026/27)

It depends on when your car was first registered. Cars registered from 1 April 2017 pay £200 a year (2026/27), or £640 a year for 5 years if the list price was over £40,000 (over £50,000 for an electric car); zero-emission cars first registered before 1 April 2025 don't pay the extra. Cars registered from March 2001 to March 2017 pay £20 to £790 by CO2 band, and older cars pay £230 or £375 by engine size. For your exact rate, choose the registration period in the calculator above and enter the CO2 figure (from the V5C logbook or a free CarVouch scan) or engine size.

For a car first registered on or after 1 April 2017, road tax is £200 a year from the second tax payment onwards (2026/27 rate), whatever its CO2. Add £440 a year for five years if its list price was over £40,000, or over £50,000 for a zero-emission electric car. Electric cars first registered before 1 April 2025 don't pay this supplement. Cars registered between March 2001 and March 2017 pay £20 to £790 a year depending on their CO2 band, and cars registered before March 2001 pay £230 or £375 depending on engine size.

Find the date of first registration and the CO2 figure. Both are on the V5C logbook, and a free CarVouch scan pulls the official CO2 figure, year of manufacture and tax status from the DVLA using just the number plate. Then use the calculator or tables on this page. GOV.UK's vehicle enquiry service can also show the current tax rate if you have the 11-digit V5C reference number. For cars registered from April 2017, also ask the seller whether the original list price was over £40,000 (£50,000 for an electric car registered on or after 1 April 2025), because that adds the expensive car supplement.

To check whether a car is taxed or declared off the road (SORN), and when its tax expires, use the free CarVouch car tax check or the DVLA vehicle enquiry service on GOV.UK. Both only need the registration number. GOV.UK says records can take up to 2 working days to update after you tax a car or declare SORN. To check how much tax it will cost, use the calculator on this page.

£200 a year from the second tax payment (2026/27 rate), whatever the CO2. If the list price was over £40,000 (over £50,000 for an electric car), you pay an extra £440 a year for 5 years, so £640 a year. Zero-emission cars first registered before 1 April 2025 don't pay the extra, whatever their list price.

Yearly is cheapest. Paying monthly or every 6 months by Direct Debit adds a 5% surcharge: 12 monthly payments for a £200 car total £210.

No. Vehicle tax is not transferred to the new keeper. The seller gets a refund of any full months left, and you must tax the car before you drive it away, using the 11-digit reference number on the green V5C new keeper slip (V5C/2).

Yes, since 1 April 2025. Electric cars registered from April 2017 pay the standard rate of £200 a year. Zero-emission cars first registered before 1 April 2025 never pay the £440 expensive car supplement, whatever their list price. Electric cars first registered on or after 1 April 2025 pay it for five years if the list price was over £50,000. Electric cars registered between March 2001 and March 2017 are in band A (£20 a year).

Not if they qualify as historic vehicles. From 1 April 2026, vehicles built before 1 January 1986 can stop paying vehicle tax (if the build date isn't known, first registered before 8 January 1986), but you must apply for the exemption with DVLA.