Car tax bands: how much is car tax?

When you sell your car, you can have any remaining tax refunded to you. Simply let the DVLA know, and they will process a refund. You are no longer permitted to transfer any remaining tax to the new registered keeper.

No, car tax cannot be transferred from the existing owner to a new owner when the vehicle is sold. Whether you buy a vehicle outright or with a car finance agreement, you’ll need to tax it before you can drive it on the roads. It doesn’t matter if the seller’s tax isn’t due to expire for several months; as soon as someone new becomes the car’s registered keeper, they must tax it themselves.

It’s illegal to drive a car on a public road without road tax. The only exceptions are if your vehicle is exempt (as listed above) or if you are taking your car to a pre-booked MOT test.

Yes, the law states that a registered vehicle being kept or used on public roads must be taxed and insured. If your car is being kept off the road in a garage, on a driveway or on private land, it can be declared as such under a SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification). If you declare your car SORN, it doesn’t need to be taxed. However if you do declare it as SORN you will no longer be able to drive it.

If you register your vehicle as off-the-road with a SORN, you’ll get a refund for the tax you’ve already paid but no longer require.

You can check when your next car tax payment is due by entering your vehicle registration number on the GOV.UK website. You should receive a letter or email notification when your next Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) payment is due.

Alternatively, you can enter your vehicle registration into a third-party site, such as Car Tax Check, to find out your car’s tax band, tax due date, and other information.

Currently, zero-emission vehicles do not pay road tax. Plug-in hybrids do pay but at a low tax rate. These exemptions are to incentivise people to buy an electric car over a petrol or diesel car. Even though electric vehicles have free car tax, drivers must still tax their cars via the government website.

From 1 April 2025, all vehicles, regardless of fuel type and engine size, must pay road tax.

Alternative fuel vehicles are any vehicles that don’t run using either petrol or diesel. Alternative fuel types include hydrogen fuel cells, electricity, liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and compressed natural gas (CNG).

Each tax year, the UK government updates vehicle tax rates in accordance with policy and broader economic changes, such as the rate of inflation. In the 2023-24 tax year, car tax bands shifted quite significantly to incentivise UK drivers to switch to low or zero-emission vehicles, such as electric cars.

This follows changes in 2020 when new emissions-based rates came into effect. The government switched from NEDC (New European Driving Cycle) to WLTP (Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure), regarded as a more realistic evaluation of your car’s fuel consumption.

These changes form part of wider government efforts, including the new ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) in London, to reduce CO₂ emissions at a national level. In practice, they mean drivers of petrol and diesel cars, alongside drivers of other high-emission vehicles, will pay more in Vehicle Excise Duty (VED).

Yes, vans are taxed differently from cars. While car tax rates are based mainly on the CO₂ emissions g/km generated, van tax bands are based on vehicle weight. Private light goods vehicles pay £200 or £325 per year, depending on engine size, and commercial light goods vehicles pay £320 per year.

Visit the GOV.UK website for more information about tax rates for other vehicles.