Updated 15 October 2026 with the current GOV.UK rates and the confirmed pay-per-mile charge from 2028.
Electric cars no longer go tax-free. Since 1 April 2025, electric car tax (Vehicle Excise Duty, or VED) has applied to every electric car on UK roads, and from April 2028 a new pay-per-mile charge will be added on top. This guide explains how much road tax an electric car pays now, which EVs pay the expensive car supplement, how the 3p-per-mile charge will work, and what it all means if you’re buying a used EV.
Electric car tax at a glance
- New electric cars pay £10 for the first year, then the standard rate of £200 a year.
- Electric cars registered between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2025 pay the standard rate of £200 a year.
- Electric cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 pay £20 a year.
- An extra £440 a year applies to electric cars registered from 1 April 2025 with a list price over £50,000.
- From April 2028, electric cars will also pay 3p a mile, and plug-in hybrids 1.5p a mile.
To see exactly what a particular car costs to tax, enter its registration in our car tax check. It shows whether the car is taxed, when its tax is due, and the 6- and 12-month cost.
How much is road tax on an electric car?
What an electric car pays depends on when it was first registered. These are the rates from 1 April 2026, from GOV.UK’s vehicle tax rate tables:
| First registered | First year | After the first year (12 months) |
|---|---|---|
| On or after 1 April 2025 | £10 | £200 (plus £440 if the list price was over £50,000) |
| 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2025 | Already passed | £200 |
| 1 March 2001 to 31 March 2017 | Already passed | £20 |
Paying £200 by 12 monthly Direct Debits costs £210 in total, and a 6-month payment costs £110 (£105 by Direct Debit). The rates usually rise each April: the standard rate was £195 in 2025 to 2026. For what changed this year, see our guide to the VED increases from April 2026.
Do electric cars pay the expensive car supplement?
Some do. The expensive car supplement adds £440 a year to the standard rate, taking the total to £640, for five years from the second time the car is taxed. For petrol and diesel cars it applies above a list price of £40,000. For electric cars the threshold is £50,000.
- It applies to electric cars first registered on or after 1 April 2025 with a list price over £50,000.
- Zero-emission cars registered before 1 April 2025 don’t pay it, whatever their list price.
- The list price is the car’s published price when new, including options and before any discount, not what you pay for it second-hand. A used EV that cost more than £50,000 new still pays the supplement until its five years are up.
Pay-per-mile tax on electric cars from 2028
The government has confirmed a new Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED), which starts on 1 April 2028. It’s charged on top of VED, not instead of it, to replace some of the fuel duty that electric cars don’t pay.
- Rates: 3p a mile for battery electric and hydrogen cars, 1.5p a mile for plug-in hybrids. For example, an electric car driven 10,000 miles a year would pay £300 in eVED.
- Paying: when you tax the car, you give its mileage and an estimate of how far you’ll drive over the next year, then pay upfront or spread the cost. The charge is balanced against the actual mileage the following year.
- Checking: the mileage recorded at each MOT will be used to check the figures drivers give.
- Rising with inflation: the rates will go up in line with CPI from 2029 to 2030.
- Not included: vans, buses and lorries are outside the scheme when it starts.
The rates were confirmed in the government’s consultation response on 13 July 2026, and the legislation is still to be finalised.
Company car tax on electric cars
If you drive an electric company car, you pay benefit-in-kind (BiK) tax on a percentage of its list price. For electric cars that percentage is 3% in 2025 to 2026, 4% in 2026 to 2027 and 5% in 2027 to 2028. It then rises by two percentage points a year, to 7% in 2028 to 2029 and 9% in 2029 to 2030. That’s still far below the rates for petrol and diesel cars, which go up to 37%.
Can you still get an extra year of free tax on an EV?
No. Before April 2025, owners could re-tax an electric car for 12 months at the £0 rate just before the change, pushing their first paid renewal into 2026. Every electric car now pays the rate for its registration date, so if your EV’s tax runs out, you’ll pay the rate shown above. Tax it on GOV.UK’s tax your vehicle service with the reference number from your V5C logbook.
Buying a used electric car? What to check
Tax is only one running cost, and it’s the same for most EVs of a similar age. The bigger risks with a used electric car are its battery, its history and any finance still owing. Start with our free car check, which shows a car’s make, model, MOT and tax status, and our free electric vehicle check, which shows its real-world running costs and estimated charging costs.
Before you pay, run a full car history check: it shows whether the car has been stolen or written off, or still has finance owing. See Silver and Gold check prices. For what’s happening to used EV prices and sales this year, read our used EV sales 2026 report, and our used electric car guide for what to look for on a viewing.
Frequently asked questions
Do electric cars pay road tax?
Yes. Since 1 April 2025, every electric car pays Vehicle Excise Duty. Most pay the standard rate of £200 a year; those registered between 2001 and 2017 pay £20.
How much is road tax on an electric car in 2026?
£10 for the first year for a new electric car, then £200 a year. An electric car registered from 1 April 2025 with a list price over £50,000 pays £640 a year for five years.
Do hybrid cars pay road tax?
Yes. Hybrids pay the same standard rate as petrol and diesel cars, £200 a year after the first year. From April 2028, plug-in hybrids will also pay 1.5p a mile.
When does pay-per-mile tax for electric cars start?
On 1 April 2028, at 3p a mile for electric cars and 1.5p a mile for plug-in hybrids, on top of VED.
Do petrol or diesel cars have to pay the planned pence-per-mile charge?
No. The charge applies only to battery electric, hydrogen and plug-in hybrid cars. Petrol and diesel cars, and hybrids that can’t be plugged in, already pay fuel duty every time they fill up, so they’ll carry on paying VED and fuel duty as now.
Does my used EV pay the expensive car supplement?
Only if it was first registered on or after 1 April 2025 and its list price when new was over £50,000. Our car tax check shows what a particular car costs to tax.
- GOV.UK: vehicle tax rates (updated 9 September 2026)
- GOV.UK: Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) (13 July 2026)
- GOV.UK: company car benefit, the appropriate percentage
- VED increases from April 2026
- Car tax changes UK drivers need to know about
- How to cancel car tax
- Used EV sales 2026
See what any car costs to tax with our car tax check, and estimate a used electric car’s running and charging costs with our free electric vehicle check.
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