Road Tax Calculator
Estimate Vehicle Excise Duty, often called road tax or car tax, using the current 2026/27 UK rates. The calculator handles new-car first-year CO2 bands, standard annual rates, older CO2-band cars, pre-2001 engine-size rates, light goods vehicles, motorcycles and the expensive car supplement.
Estimate your VED
Start with the vehicle type and registration period. If you have the V5C, use the first registration date, CO2 figure, fuel type and engine size shown there.
Non-RDE2 diesels pay a higher first-year rate. Ask the manufacturer or check DVLA details if unsure.
Use list price before discounts, not what you paid used.
For 1 March 2001 to 31 March 2017 cars, VED is based on the V5C CO2 band.
The V5C taxation class controls this. Most vans are TC39.
Standard post-2017 rate
GBP 200
For most cars from the second tax payment onwards in 2026/27.
Expensive car supplement
GBP 440
Added for five years where the list-price and timing rules are met.
New zero-emission car
GBP 10
Lowest first-year rate for zero-emission cars registered on or after 1 April 2025.
The registration date decides the calculation
Road tax is one of those bills where two cars that look similar can have very different answers. A 2016 diesel family car may still sit in a CO2 band. A 2018 version may pay the standard rate after its first year. A new high-emission car can have a very large first tax payment, then fall back to the standard rate later.
That is why this calculator asks for the registration period before anything else. For cars registered from 1 April 2017, the first tax payment is based on CO2 emissions, including a higher column for diesel cars that do not meet RDE2. After that, the annual standard rate is GBP 200 for 2026/27, with the expensive car supplement if the list-price rule applies.
For cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017, the annual bill remains tied to CO2 bands. For cars and light goods vehicles registered before 1 March 2001, GOV.UK uses engine size. Vans, motorcycles and tricycles have their own tables, so the V5C taxation class matters more than the nickname people use for the vehicle.
| Vehicle route | What drives the result |
|---|---|
| Car from 1 Apr 2017 | First-year CO2 band, then standard rate and supplement |
| Car from 1 Mar 2001 to 31 Mar 2017 | CO2 band A to M |
| Car before 1 Mar 2001 | Engine size, not CO2 |
| Light goods vehicle | Tax class TC39 or qualifying Euro 4/5 TC36 |
| Motorcycle/tricycle | Engine size or zero-emission class |
How this road tax calculator works
Inputs used
- Vehicle type, because cars, vans, motorcycles and tricycles use different VED tables.
- First registration period for cars, because the VED route changes at 1 March 2001 and 1 April 2017.
- CO2 emissions and fuel/RDE2 status for cars where the VED table uses emissions.
- Original list price and supplement-year status for post-2017 cars that may be caught by the expensive car supplement.
- Payment method, because six-month and monthly Direct Debit routes can cost more than one annual payment.
Calculation method
- Route the vehicle to the correct 2026/27 GOV.UK VED table.
- For cars registered on or after 1 April 2017, apply the first-year CO2 band if the first registration payment is selected.
- For second tax payments onwards on post-2017 cars, start with the GBP 200 standard rate.
- Add the GBP 440 expensive car supplement only when the list-price threshold, vehicle type and five-year timing rule are met.
- For 2001 to 2017 cars, use the CO2 band A to M annual rate. For pre-2001 cars, use the engine-size annual rate.
- Convert the annual rate to the selected payment method using the official 2026/27 payment table.
Assumptions
- Rates are for the period from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 and are based on GOV.UK tables checked on 10 May 2026.
- The calculator assumes the V5C taxation class and details entered are correct. Use the official DVLA vehicle information service if you need to confirm the registration date, fuel type, CO2, RDE level or engine size.
- For zero-emission cars, the expensive-car supplement is blocked where the car was registered before 1 April 2025, following the GOV.UK EV guidance.
What this does not cover
- It does not check whether the vehicle is already taxed, SORN, written off, imported, radically altered, disabled-class, historic, agricultural, specialist, heavy goods or subject to a concession. Check the official vehicle tax status service and exemption guidance.
- It does not calculate company car Benefit-in-Kind, employer Class 1A NIC or employee tax on private use. Use the Company Car BiK Tax Calculator for that separate tax.
- It does not estimate ULEZ, Clean Air Zone, parking, tolls, insurance, MOT, fuel duty or any future road-pricing scenario. Use the ULEZ / CAZ Cost Estimator or Pay-Per-Mile Tax Estimator for adjacent checks.
EVs, hybrids and the expensive car supplement
The big practical change is that electric, zero and low emission vehicles are no longer outside VED. GOV.UK says the change was introduced on 1 April 2025 and applies to both new and existing vehicles. For 2026/27, a new zero-emission car registered on or after 1 April 2025 pays GBP 10 for the first year and GBP 200 after that.
Electric cars registered between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2025 pay the standard GBP 200 rate in 2026/27. Electric or zero-emission cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 pay GBP 20. Hybrids and alternative fuel vehicles no longer receive the old GBP 10 annual discount, so the normal table applies.
The expensive car supplement is the part that can surprise buyers. For 2026/27 it adds GBP 440 a year for five years from the second time the vehicle is taxed. GOV.UK now uses a threshold of more than GBP 40,000 for petrol and diesel cars, but more than GBP 50,000 for electric cars covered by the current EV supplement rule. A used car can still be affected because the test uses the original list price before discounts.
Worked example
Say you are buying a used 2024 petrol car that was first registered after 1 April 2017. It has CO2 emissions of 145g/km and an original list price of GBP 42,000. The first-year CO2 charge was dealt with when the car was new, so you are checking the standard annual renewal.
The 2026/27 standard rate is GBP 200. Because the original list price was more than GBP 40,000 and the car is still inside the five-year supplement window, the expensive car supplement adds GBP 440. Paying for 12 months in one go gives a total of GBP 640.
If the same car had originally listed at GBP 39,995, the annual renewal would be GBP 200 instead. If it were a new non-RDE2 diesel at 145g/km, the first-year payment would be based on the higher diesel column, which is much more expensive than the later standard renewal.
Common road tax mistakes
Using the first-year rate for a used post-2017 car
The CO2 first-year rate applies when the car is first registered. Later renewals use the standard rate and supplement rules.
Using the purchase price instead of list price
The supplement looks at the published list price before first registration, before discounts, not the used price.
Assuming all EVs are still zero-rated
EVs moved into VED from 1 April 2025. The rate depends on vehicle type and first registration date.
Treating every pickup or van as a car
Some vehicles use light goods rates, while others may be treated differently for company car tax. The V5C is the VED starting point.
Road tax FAQs
Is road tax based on CO2?
Do electric cars pay road tax?
What is the expensive car supplement?
Why is first-year tax different?
Where do I find my CO2 emissions figure?
Official sources
Last verified: May 10 2026. Calculations are estimates based on the published rules and assumptions shown on this page.
- GOV.UK vehicle tax rates - 2026/27 VED rates for cars registered from 1 April 2017, older CO2 bands, pre-2001 engine-size bands, vans and motorcycles
- GOV.UK electric, zero and low emission vehicle tax - EV VED changes from 1 April 2025 and 2026/27 standard-rate and expensive-car supplement treatment
- GOV.UK get vehicle information from DVLA - where to check first registration date, fuel type, engine size, CO2 emissions, RDE level and current vehicle tax rate
- GOV.UK check if a vehicle is taxed - official service for checking current tax and SORN status using a registration number
- GOV.UK vehicles exempt from vehicle tax - historic vehicles, disability exemptions and other cases where no VED may be payable