Overview
- The new Vehicle Excise Duty regime, which took effect on April 1st, sets the standard annual rate at £200 for most petrol, diesel and hybrid cars first registered after 2017, with zero‑emission cars paying £10 in year one before moving to the same £200 rate.
- Cars registered between 2001 and 2017 now pay by CO2 output on bands that run from £20 for the cleanest models to £790 for the highest emitters, with published examples including a £360 charge in Band I.
- Pre‑2001 cars are charged by engine size under Private/Light Goods rules, with vehicles over 1549cc now paying up to £375 a year.
- The Expensive Car Supplement remains £440 a year for five years on high‑list‑price cars, and the EV threshold has risen to £50,000, a change Dick Lovett estimates will spare about 475,836 drivers from the charge and save around £425 a year.
- Vehicles built before January 1, 1986 qualify for a £0 historic VED, though owners must reclassify with the DVLA, and a growing petition to cut VED for 20–39‑year‑old cars has drawn a Treasury reply saying there are no plans to change current policy.