UK motorists face changes to vehicle tax from April 2026 under updated Vehicle Excise Duty rates confirmed for the 2026–27 financial year.
The revised charges will take effect from 1 April 2026 as part of the Treasury’s annual update of motoring taxes. Petrol, diesel, hybrid and electric vehicles will all be affected, with adjustments to standard rates and changes to how higher-value vehicles are treated.
Analysis of the updated structure shows that some drivers could face significantly higher annual bills. In cases where vehicles attract both higher emissions rates and the Expensive Car Supplement, the total yearly charge could rise by several hundred pounds, with the maximum difference between lower and higher bands approaching £600 depending on vehicle type and value.
How Vehicle Excise Duty Works
Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) is the annual tax required to keep a vehicle registered for use on UK roads. The amount charged is determined by a combination of factors, including fuel type, carbon dioxide emissions, the vehicle’s age and its original list price when new.
Rates are reviewed each year by the Treasury and confirmed through legislation ahead of the new financial year. Vehicles registered after April 2017 generally pay a flat standard rate after their first year, with additional charges applying in some cases.
The UK has just introduced a per-mile tax for driving your car.
To start with it’s just 3p per mile and just for electric cars.
Going to visit your family who live 3 hours away will now cost you £10 extra every time.
But then it will obviously become 5p and then 10p and then…
— Sasha Yanshin (@sashayanshin) November 26, 2025
Key Changes From April 2026
From 1 April 2026, standard VED rates for petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles will rise slightly in line with inflation. Electric vehicles registered on or after 1 April 2017 will continue to pay the standard rate, following the end of the long-standing exemption for zero-emission cars.
The threshold for the Expensive Car Supplement for electric vehicles will increase to £50,000. Previously, electric cars costing more than £40,000 when new were subject to the additional charge. For petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles, the £40,000 threshold will remain unchanged.
As a result, some electric vehicle owners will no longer be liable for the supplement, while drivers of higher-value non-electric vehicles will continue to pay it for the first five years of ownership.
How Bills Could Rise By Up To £600
The largest increases apply to vehicles that combine higher emissions with the Expensive Car Supplement. When the supplement is added to the standard rate, annual VED charges can exceed £600 for some models.
Drivers whose vehicles move into higher bands, or who remain liable for the supplement following rate increases, could therefore see a difference of several hundred pounds compared with lower-emission or lower-value cars.
The exact amount payable varies according to a vehicle’s emissions rating, original list price and registration date.
April 1: Huge car tax of £5,690 will be placed on a total of 59 cars from 24 manufacturers. This includes well-known brands such a Toyota, Ford, BMW & Mercedes.
The massive payment is a result of the Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) rates sky rocketing in April 2025 for some car models.— Joseph Dickerson (@joekaren46) February 1, 2026
Checking Vehicle Details
Motoring organisations have advised drivers to review their vehicle details ahead of the April changes. Information on emissions ratings and current tax bands is available via the V5C logbook or the official vehicle tax checker on GOV.UK.
The date of a vehicle’s next tax renewal will determine when the revised rates are applied.
Wider Motoring Costs
The Vehicle Excise Duty update comes as enforcement activity against untaxed vehicles continues to increase, with authorities using automatic number plate recognition technology to identify cars without valid tax, insurance or MOT certification.
Further changes affecting motorists, including fuel duty and company car tax, are expected to be announced later in the year.
The revised Vehicle Excise Duty rates will apply from 1 April 2026, with drivers seeing any changes reflected at their next renewal.
