Wondering how much your car tax costs — or whether a vehicle you are about to buy is even taxed? Enter the registration number above and our free check will retrieve the car's DVLA data and show you the current tax status, when it expires, and the exact cost to tax the vehicle for 6 or 12 months.
Car tax — officially called Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) — is a legal requirement for any vehicle driven or kept on a public road in the UK. How much you pay depends on several factors: when the car was first registered, its fuel type, its CO2 emissions, and whether its original list price exceeded £40,000. Our check works out all of this automatically using the registration number alone, so you get the right figure for your specific vehicle without needing to calculate it yourself.
Alongside the tax cost, the free report also includes DVLA vehicle data — make, model, fuel type, engine size, colour, and MOT status — giving you a quick, complete snapshot of any UK vehicle in seconds.
Always check the tax status before you buy. Tax does not transfer with the vehicle when it changes hands — the new owner must tax the car immediately. Our free check confirms whether the vehicle is currently taxed and how much it will cost you to renew.
See whether the vehicle is currently taxed or untaxed, and when the current tax period expires — sourced directly from DVLA data by registration number.
Get the exact cost to tax the vehicle for 6 or 12 months — calculated from your car's registration date, fuel type, and CO2 emissions. No manual lookups required.
Every free check includes make, model, fuel type, engine size, colour, registration date, and MOT status — everything you need to know about a vehicle at a glance.
Check the tax cost for your own car, a vehicle you are thinking of buying, or any UK-registered car, van, or motorcycle — free, in seconds, using just the reg.
The amount you pay in car tax depends almost entirely on when your vehicle was first registered. The UK uses three separate systems depending on the car's age, and our check identifies which applies to your vehicle automatically.
Cars registered from 1 April 2017 onwards pay a first-year rate based on CO2 emissions, then a flat standard rate from year two. For 2025/26 the standard rate is £195 per year, rising to £200 from April 2026. This applies to petrol, diesel, hybrid, and — from April 2025 — electric vehicles alike. If you pay for 6 months rather than 12, the rate is £110 (or £105 by direct debit) for 2026.
Cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 are taxed on CO2 emissions across 13 bands. Lower-emission cars pay less; higher-emission cars pay more. The bands and rates are set by the DVLA and updated annually. Enter your reg to see exactly which band applies.
Cars registered before 1 March 2001 are taxed on engine size only. Engines up to 1549cc pay £220 per year in 2025/26; engines above 1549cc pay £360 per year.
If your car had an original list price over £40,000 (£50,000 for electric vehicles from April 2026), an additional £425 per year applies on top of the standard rate — for five years, starting from year two of registration. This means some cars cost £620 or more per year to tax during that period. Our check flags this where it applies.
The table below shows the standard ongoing VED rates for the most common vehicle categories. First-year rates for new cars vary significantly based on CO2 emissions and can range from £10 for zero-emission vehicles up to £5,690 for the highest-polluting cars. Our free check gives you the exact figure for any specific registration — no manual calculation needed.
| Vehicle type | Registration date | Annual rate (2025/26) | 6-month rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petrol / diesel / hybrid | From April 2017 | £195 | £107.25 |
| Electric vehicle (EV) | April 2017 – March 2025 | £195 | £107.25 |
| Electric vehicle (EV, new) | From April 2025 | £10 (year 1), then £195 | — |
| EV registered before April 2017 | Before April 2017 | £20 | £11 |
| CO2-based bands | March 2001 – March 2017 | £20 – £735 (by band) | Varies |
| Engine size up to 1549cc | Before March 2001 | £220 | £121 |
| Engine size over 1549cc | Before March 2001 | £360 | £198 |
| Expensive car supplement (over £40k list) | From April 2017 (years 2–6) | +£425 per year | +£233.75 |
Rates rise annually in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI). From April 2026, the standard rate increases to £200 per year. Historic vehicles over 40 years old, vehicles used by disabled drivers, and vehicles declared SORN may be exempt from VED. Enter your registration to confirm the exact cost for your vehicle.
For years, electric vehicles paid no Vehicle Excise Duty at all. That exemption ended on 1 April 2025 — one of the biggest changes to the UK car tax system in a generation. If you own or are considering buying an electric car, here is what you need to know:
Looking further ahead, the government has announced a new pay-per-mile Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) system from April 2028, where EV drivers will pay 3p per mile and plug-in hybrid drivers will pay 1.5p per mile — in addition to standard VED rates.
Check whether the vehicle's original list price exceeded £40,000. If it did, the expensive car supplement of £425 per year may still be running — which significantly increases the annual tax cost during years two to six. Our free check shows this where it applies.
When you enter a registration number, our free check retrieves the following information from DVLA-sourced data at no cost:
All of this is available free. For a deeper look into the vehicle's past — including mileage history, write-off status, salvage records, outstanding finance, and ownership data — our full vehicle history report provides a complete picture.
Renewing car tax in the UK is straightforward. The easiest and fastest method is online via the government's official vehicle tax service at gov.uk. You can also renew by phone or in person at a Post Office.
To renew online or by phone, you will need one of the following:
You will also need a valid MOT (for vehicles over three years old) and valid insurance. The DVLA checks both automatically when you apply online — if either has lapsed, you will not be able to tax the vehicle until they are in order.
You can choose to pay for 6 months, 12 months, or by monthly direct debit. Paying annually is the cheapest option overall — the 6-month rate is not simply half the annual cost, and the monthly direct debit route adds a small surcharge across the year.
When a car changes hands, the vehicle tax is automatically cancelled. The seller receives a refund for any complete months remaining. The buyer must tax the vehicle before driving it — even if the tax disc shows time left. This is why checking tax status before buying is important.
Driving without valid Vehicle Excise Duty is illegal in the UK, regardless of whether the vehicle is insured or has a valid MOT. The DVLA uses a national network of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras to identify untaxed vehicles — you do not need to be stopped by police for the penalty to apply.
Note that even if you are not driving the vehicle but it is parked on a public road, it still requires valid tax — unless you have declared it SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification). A SORN confirms the vehicle is kept off public roads and exempts it from VED, but means it cannot be driven legally on a public road without first being re-taxed.
For most cars registered after 1 April 2017, the standard annual VED rate is £195 for 2025/26, rising to £200 from April 2026. Cars registered between March 2001 and April 2017 pay between £20 and £735 per year depending on CO2 emissions band. Cars registered before March 2001 pay £220 (engine up to 1549cc) or £360 (engine over 1549cc) per year. Enter your registration for the exact figure.
Enter your vehicle registration number into the box at the top of this page. Our free check retrieves DVLA data for your vehicle and shows the current tax status, the 6-month cost, and the 12-month cost — calculated automatically from your car's registration date, fuel type, and CO2 emissions. No additional information is required.
Enter the registration number above to check. Our free report shows the current tax status sourced from DVLA data, including whether the tax is valid and the date the current period expires. This is useful for checking your own vehicle's status or verifying the tax position of a car you are considering buying.
Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) is the official government term for car tax or road tax in the UK. It is collected by the DVLA and is a legal requirement for any vehicle driven or kept on a public road. The amount varies by registration date, fuel type, CO2 emissions, and list price. VED income goes into the general government revenue pool — it is not ringfenced for road maintenance, despite the historical use of the term "road tax."
Yes. From 1 April 2025, electric vehicles are no longer exempt from VED. New EVs registered from April 2025 pay a £10 first-year rate and £195 per year from year two. EVs registered between April 2017 and March 2025 now pay the £195 standard rate. EVs registered before April 2017 pay £20 per year. EVs with an original list price over £40,000 (£50,000 from April 2026) also face the expensive car supplement of £425 per year for five years from year two.
The expensive car supplement adds £425 per year on top of the standard VED rate for any vehicle with an original list price (including optional extras) that exceeded £40,000. It applies for five years starting from the second year of registration — so the total additional cost over that period is £2,125. From April 2026, the threshold for electric vehicles increases to £50,000. Our free check indicates whether this supplement applies to the vehicle you are checking.
Yes. You can pay for 6 months, 12 months, or monthly by direct debit. However, paying for 6 months or monthly costs slightly more over the year than a single annual payment. For 2026, the 6-month rate for a standard-rate car is £110 (or £105 by direct debit). The monthly direct debit total across 12 months works out at £210 — £10 more than the annual lump sum. Our check shows both the 6-month and 12-month rates side by side.
Driving without valid car tax is illegal. The DVLA uses ANPR camera networks to automatically identify untaxed vehicles. Penalties include an £80 fixed fine (reduced to £40 if paid quickly), fines up to £1,000 if taken to court, clamping, and potential impoundment. A £100 release fee applies to clamped vehicles, plus a £160 surety fee if you cannot show valid tax at the point of release. Even a car parked on a public road must be taxed unless it has a valid SORN declaration.
Whether you want to know how much your own car tax costs to renew, verify that a vehicle you are buying is correctly taxed, or simply understand which VED band applies to a specific registration — enter the number plate at the top of this page. The check is free, takes seconds, and includes current tax status, 6 and 12-month rates, and a complete set of free DVLA vehicle data.
The free check covers tax and DVLA data. For a complete view of any vehicle's past — including MOT history, mileage records, write-off status, salvage history, and outstanding finance — our full vehicle history report gives you everything you need before buying a used car.