Confirmed car tax changes from 1 April 2025
Get to know the latest for car tax changes in the UK from 1 April 2025
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By Tia Harrison-North
Last updated: 1 April 2025
Car tax changes will affect all drivers in the UK from 1 April 2025 – so it’s time to grit your teeth and see what to expect.
Car tax is a legal requirement in the UK, and you need to pay it every year if you want to drive or store your car on the road.
The biggest update to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED – aka car tax or road tax) this year is that electric cars are no longer exempt and need to pay it for the first time.
There are also some big changes to first-year road tax (spoiler alert: it’s going to double for most emissions bands), and small increases to the standard rate, expensive car supplement and tax bands for cars registered before 31 March 2017.
Take a look at our car tax changes guide to find out exactly what to expect.
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What changes are coming to car tax in 2025?
Electric vehicles (EVs) and first-year tax rates are seeing the biggest changes in 2025, but hybrid, petrol and diesel car owners will also be affected.
Electric car tax changes for 2025
One of the main changes is that EVs will now need to pay road tax and brand-new EVs need to pay the expensive car supplement (also called the ‘luxury car tax’) for the first time.
Electric cars registered on or after 1 April 2025 will pay £10 first-year road tax until 2029-30 (first-year road tax is based on emissions, and EVs are, of course, in the lowest band)
Electric cars registered between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2025 will pay the standard-rate road tax of £195 from 1 April 2025
Electric cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 30 March 2017 will now pay £20 road tax a year
The expensive car supplement (luxury car tax) now applies to electric cars registered on or after 1 April 2025, which is an extra £425 on top of standard-rate road tax from the second to the sixth year a car is registered on the road
Electric vans will now be charged £355 road tax each year – the same rate as petrol and diesel light goods vehicles
Get an extra year of free road tax for your electric car
You can renew your road tax any time, so if you renew the tax on your electric car before 1 April 2025, you can enjoy road-tax-free motoring until March 2026.
Simply go through the process online using your number plate and 11-digit reference number on your V5C log book, and you’re sorted.
The government website will ask if you're sure you want to renew (because, technically, you're taxing your car twice). However, it's free to extend for another 12 months, so there's no harm in renewing early.
And there you go – £195 saved for another year.
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First-year car tax rates increase
Your first year of car tax when buying a brand-new car is paid based on emissions, so it’s different than the standard rate.
Electric cars registered after 1 April 2025 will now pay first-year road tax (a first for new EVs), and fuel-powered cars are also seeing a significant increase.
Here’s how the tax bands look for petrols, hybrids and RDE2-compliant diesels from 1 April 2025:
0g/km – £10 (previously £0)
1-50g/km – £110 (previously £10)
51-75g/km – £130 (previously £30)
76-90g/km – £270 (previously £135)
91-100g/km – £350 (previously £175)
101-110g/km – £390 (previously £195)
111-130g/km – £440 (previously £220)
131-150g/km – £540 (previously £270)
151-170g/km – £1,360 (previously £680)
171-190g/km – £2,190 (previously £1,095)
191-225g/km – £3,300 (previously £1,650)
226-255g/km – £4,680 (previously £2,340)
255+g/km – £5,490 (previously £2,475)
Standard road tax rates
The standard road tax rate is what you’ll pay annually to tax your car from the second year onwards - for all cars registered registered after 1 April 2017.
From 1 April 2025, the standard road tax rate is £195 for all cars registered after 1 April 2017 – petrol, diesel, hybrid and electric (it was previously £190 for petrol/diesel, with a £10 discount for hybrids, and free for electric cars).
The expensive car supplement is also increasing to £425 per year (previously £410), which you need to pay for the second to sixth year your car is on the road if it cost more than £40,000 new.
Road tax for cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017
Cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 are sorted into emissions-based bands for road tax every year, not just for the first year they were registered.
The biggest change to taxing these cars is that cars with CO2 emissions of 0-100g/km will now pay £20 per year (previously, it was free). The rest of the bands have increased by between £5 and £25 or stayed the same.
Here’s the full breakdown of road tax bands for cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 when the 1 April 2025 changes kick in:
Up to 100g/km – £20 (previously £0)
101-110g/km – £20 (no change)
111-120g/km – £35 (no change)
121-130g/km – £165 (previously £160)
131-140g/km – £195 (previously £190)
141-150g/km – £215 (previously £210)
151-165g/km – £265 (previously £255)
166-175g/km – £315 (previously £305)
176-185g/km – £345 (previously £335)
186-200g/km – £395 (previously £385)
201-225g/km – £430 (previously £415)
226-255g/km – £735 (previously £710)
255+g/km – £760 (previously £735)
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Is my car tax changing?
Road tax is changing for almost all cars, but exactly how much will depend on your car.
Electric car drivers are among the most affected, as car tax is an entirely new bill they never needed to think about before.
Those buying new cars – especially cars that produce a lot of CO2 emissions – also need to watch out for those increasing first-year road tax rates.
Increasing first-year road tax rates are another tick in the ‘pro’ column for used cars, but keep an eye out for the expensive car supplement if the used car you're looking at costs over £40,000 new and is less than six years old.
You can check the government’s car tax rate tables if you're not sure how much your road tax is.
Do I need to do anything for the car tax changes?
You don't need to do anything different for the road tax changes.
If you pay for your road tax by monthly Direct Debit, your adjusted car tax amount will be taken on the next payment date after April 1.
If you pay annually, you'll be asked to pay your bill at the same time/date as before.
Just keep in mind that the prices will have likely increased - the rest of the process is the same.
It’s a good time to check if your car’s road tax is going up, and to consider how car tax changes might impact the next car you buy.
Electric car owners also need to prepare to pay road tax for the first time and, possibly, the expensive car supplement when shopping for a brand-new EV.
This might make it a good time to look at used electric cars since the expensive car supplement isn’t applicable on EVs registered prior to 1 April 2025.
Why is car tax changing?
Car tax changes most years, typically seeing a slight increase in line with other rates of inflation.
Most increases are based on the Retail Price Index (RPI) – the measurement of inflation in the UK over time.
As more people moved over to electric driving and enjoyed the previously free road tax, less tax was being paid by UK drivers. It makes sense that the government would apply tax to electric vehicles because of this.
The same goes for making electric car drivers pay the £425 expensive car supplement – another form of tax revenue missed as electric cars become more popular.
Inflation makes cars more expensive, and new electric cars can be slightly more expensive than similar petrol or diesel models as they cost more to make.
Explore low road tax cars at cinch
So, in summary, these car tax changes apply to cars registered after 31 March 2017:
Electric cars will now need to pay standard-rate road tax
New electric cars (registered after 1 April 2025) pay £10 first-year road tax, and the expensive car supplement from the second to the sixth year they're on the road if they cost over £40,000
Standard-rate road tax has increased to £195
The expensive car supplement has increased to £425
No more tax discounts for hybrid cars
Cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 will still pay tax based on CO2 emissions, although some rates have slightly increased
So, that’s everything you need to keep in mind for car tax come 1 April 2025. Make sure you check the rates for any car you might be buying and look at the government website to get all the details on the changes and their costs.
Buying a used car is a good way to save some money on these increases, and owning an electric car means you save on other running costs (such as fuel and maintenance) too.
Take a look at our guide on the best used cars to buy with cheap road tax.
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