If you have been hearing that EVs are no longer exempt from road tax, that is correct. Electric cars in the UK now pay vehicle tax, and the amount depends mainly on when the car was first registered.
For most drivers, the headline is simple. A brand new electric car registered on or after 1 April 2025 pays £10 in first-year tax, then £200 a year after that. Most older electric cars registered from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2025 now pay the same £200 standard annual rate. Older electric cars first registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 pay £20 a year.
This guide explains what those rules mean in plain English, where the expensive car supplement can catch buyers out, and what hybrid and plug-in hybrid owners need to know too.
Strictly speaking, UK "road tax" is vehicle excise duty, usually shortened to VED, but most drivers still search for road tax and that is the wording used here.
Quick answer
If you want the short version, here it is.
- New electric cars registered on or after 1 April 2025 pay £10 for the first year, then £200 a year after that.
- Electric cars registered between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2025 pay the standard annual rate of £200.
- Electric cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 pay £20 a year.
- Electric cars registered on or after 1 April 2025 with a list price above £50,000 can also face the expensive car supplement.
- Hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars no longer get the old £10 annual alternative fuel discount.
Why this changed
The old EV exemption is gone. DVLA guidance says the change was introduced on 1 April 2025 and applies to both new and existing electric, zero-emission and low-emission vehicles.
That matters because EV ownership is no longer a niche decision. SMMT’s latest UK registration data shows battery electric cars still account for a substantial share of new car demand, so road tax is now part of the running-cost maths for a lot more buyers than it used to be.
What electric car tax costs in 2026
The current vehicle tax guidance and rate tables apply from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. For most readers, these are the figures that matter.
| Type of electric car | Current annual tax position |
|---|---|
| Registered on or after 1 April 2025 | £10 first year, then £200 a year |
| Registered between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2025 | £200 a year |
| Registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 | £20 a year |
That means the answer to "do electric cars pay road tax?" is now yes, but not every EV owner pays the same amount.
New EVs registered on or after 1 April 2025
If you buy a brand new electric car that was first registered on or after 1 April 2025, the first-year rate is £10.
After that first year, the car moves onto the standard annual rate of £200.
For a normal mainstream EV, that is the figure most buyers should budget for long term. If you are comparing an electric car with a petrol hatchback, hybrid crossover or plug-in hybrid SUV, it means EVs no longer have the simple tax-free advantage they used to.
Existing EVs registered between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2025
This is the group that catches a lot of owners out. If your electric car was first registered in that period, it is no longer tax-free. It now pays the standard annual rate of £200.
So if you bought an EV a few years ago when road tax was effectively a non-issue, your running costs have changed. The difference is not huge compared with fuel or depreciation, but it is still a real annual ownership cost that used buyers should factor in.
Older EVs registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017
Older electric cars first registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 pay £20 a year.
That lower figure matters for early Nissan Leaf, Renault Zoe and similar older EV buyers shopping at the cheaper end of the used market. It also means you should not assume every electric car now pays the same annual rate.
The expensive car supplement is the bit worth checking twice
The extra charge that used to trip up higher-priced petrol and diesel cars can now affect some electric cars too.
DVLA says an electric or zero-emission car registered on or after 1 April 2025 with a list price of more than £50,000 has to pay the standard rate plus the additional rate. On current figures, that means:
- £200 standard annual rate
- £440 expensive car supplement
- £640 total for each affected year
That additional rate applies for five years, starting from the second time the vehicle is taxed.
This is where buyers get caught. It is based on list price before discounts, not what you actually paid. A dealer contribution, a finance offer or a year-end discount does not change the official list price used for this rule.
If you are shopping for a better-specified EV, especially a larger SUV or premium saloon, check that list price before you assume the annual tax bill is just £200.
What about hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars?
Hybrid and alternatively fuelled vehicles no longer get the old £10 annual discount.
DVLA says the rate you pay now depends on when the car was first registered:
- if it was registered before 1 April 2017, the rate depends on its CO2 band
- if it was registered on or after 1 April 2017, it pays the standard annual rate of £200
So if you were hoping a self-charging hybrid or plug-in hybrid still had a small tax perk over a normal petrol car, that advantage has effectively disappeared for newer cars.
First-year tax on petrol, diesel and hybrid cars can still be very different
This is one area where EVs still look relatively tidy.
For cars first registered on or after 1 April 2017, first-year tax on petrol, hybrid and compliant diesel cars depends on CO2 emissions. On the current DVLA table, a zero-emission car pays £10 in the first year, while higher-emissions petrol and diesel cars can be far more expensive.
That means EVs have lost the old blanket exemption, but they can still be relatively competitive at the point of first registration, especially against bigger or dirtier combustion cars.
Do you still have to tax the car if it is cheap or exempt?
Yes. GOV.UK’s vehicle tax service makes the rule clear: you must tax the vehicle before driving it, even if you do not have to pay anything because it is exempt.
For electric car owners, that mostly matters as a reminder that road tax is an admin job as well as a cost. Do not assume that because your previous EV was free to tax, or because the amount is small, the paperwork takes care of itself.
How to check what your EV will cost
The safest route is the official one.
- Check the car’s first registration date.
- Check the published list price if the car is new or nearly new.
- Use GOV.UK’s vehicle tax rate tables to confirm the current rate.
- Use the official vehicle tax service when it is time to tax the car.
If you are buying used, this is worth doing before you agree the deal. A car advertised as cheap to run can look a bit different once you add insurance, tyres, charging, finance and tax together.
Common mistakes buyers make
Assuming all EVs are still tax-free
They are not. That ended in April 2025.
Assuming all EVs now pay the same amount
They do not. Registration date still matters.
Ignoring the list price on pricier EVs
The expensive car supplement is based on official list price before discounts. That can make a big difference.
Forgetting hybrids lost their little tax advantage
For many newer hybrids and plug-in hybrids, the old alternative fuel discount is gone.
Bottom line
Electric cars do pay road tax in the UK now. For most EV owners, the figure to remember is £200 a year, with new EVs paying £10 in the first year and some older EVs still paying £20. The real sting is for electric cars with a list price above £50,000, because the expensive car supplement can push the bill to £640 a year for five years.
If you are comparing running costs before buying, tax should now sit alongside charging costs, insurance and depreciation in the same spreadsheet. EVs can still make sense, but they are no longer the tax-free outlier they used to be.
