The changes to car VED road tax costs for 2026, explained

Driving on the UK’s roads is set to get more expensive this year for owners of both petrol and diesel cars, as a set of new taxes comes into effect in two months.

In addition to the first fuel duty rise in over a decade and changes to company car taxes, the rate of vehicle excise duty (VED), otherwise known as car tax, is also set to increase from April this year.

How much more drivers will have to pay depends on a range of factors, including how old and polluting their car is, engine size and whether it is a newly purchased petrol or diesel car.

Changes to the VED system mean some cars already taxed at £5,490 are facing a further tax rise, with 59 models from 24 manufacturers set to face a higher tax bill of £5,690 from 1 April.

Here is a guide on how much the tax is increasing by and how to check how much you will have to pay on your car.

How much is VED car tax increasing in April 2026?

For cars registered on or after 1 April 2017, the standard annual rate of VED is set to rise from £195 to £200.

However, owners buying brand-new petrol and diesel cars will have to pay more on top of this due to the first-year rate applied to a car’s first registration, otherwise known as a “showroom tax”.

This first-year tax varies significantly between cars and is split up into different bands based on CO2 emissions.

Most cars will revert to the new standard rate of £200 per year after their first year of registration.

However, more expensive cars will be subject to an additional tax known as the Expensive Car Supplement (ECS), which was first introduced in 2017.

Petrol and diesel cars with a list price of over £40,000 and zero-emission cars priced at over £50,000 will be taxed at an additional rate of £440 per annum on top of the standard rate in the second to sixth years after the car’s first registration.

First-year rate tax increases from 2025/26 to 2026/27, based on CO2 emissions (g/km)

• 91 to 100: £350 to £365

• 101 to 110: £390 to £405

• 111 to 130: £440 to £455

• 131 to 150: £540 to £560

• 151 to 170: £1,360 to £1,410

• 171 to 190: £2,190 to £2,270

• 191 to 225: £3,300 to £3,420

• 226 to 255: £4,680 to £4,850

• Over 255: £5,690 to £5,490

There are different rates for cars and vans first registered on or after 1 March 2001, motorcycles, articulated vehicles (like a lorry with a cab) and HGVs.

If your car was built more than 40 years ago, it counts as an “historic vehicle”, meaning it is exempt from VED.

You can find out more by searching for “vehicle excise duty” on this page on the Gov.uk website.

Which models of cars are affected?

All models of car will face some form of tax rise, including electric vehicles, which were subject to VED for the first time in April 2025.

Here is a full list of new models over 255 g/km, according to the Daily Mirror, which will face a first-year VED rise from £5,690 to £5,490.

• Lamborghini Huracan 5.2 V10

• Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 6.2 V8

• Volkswagen Amarok 3.0 TDI

• Range Rover Sport 4.4P V8

• Jaguar F-Pace 5.0 P575 V8

• Porsche 911 3.7T 992 Turbo

• Ford Ranger 2.0 TD EcoBlue

• Bentley Continental 4.0 V8

• Aston Martin Vantage 4.0 V8

• Mercedes-Benz AMG GT 4.0 V8

• Porsche 718 Cayman 4.0 GT4

• Lamborghini Urus 4.0 V8 BiTurbo

• Bentley Continental 6.0 W12

• Land Rover Defender 90 5.0 P425 V8

• Rolls-Royce Ghost 6.75 V12

• Ferrari Purosangue 6.5 V12

• Rolls-Royce Cullinan 6.75 V12

• Alfa Romeo Stelvio 2.9 V6 Bi-Turbo

• Land Rover Defender 110 5.0 P425 V8

• Lamborghini Revuelto 6.5 V12

• Bentley Flying Spur 4.0 V8

How to check what tax band you’re in

If you have the latest 11-digit reference number from your vehicle’s V5C registration certificate (logbook), you can view tax rates here on the government’s website.

Those who do not have their reference numbers to hand can enter their car’s registration number here and see a range of information held by the DVLA.

This should include details like when the car was first registered and CO2 emissions, which should allow you to establish what VED tax band you are in.