Electric car tax: what EV owners pay from April 2025
Electric cars have paid vehicle tax since 1 April 2025. The 2026/27 rates by registration date, the £50,000 supplement threshold and the planned per-mile charge.
Updated
Electric cars are no longer exempt from car tax. Since 1 April 2025, electric cars pay Vehicle Excise Duty like petrol and diesel cars. For the 2026/27 tax year, most electric cars pay the standard rate of £200 a year. Older ones registered before April 2017 pay £20. An electric car registered from 1 April 2025 with a list price over £50,000 when new pays £640 a year for five years.
Which of those applies depends on one date: when the car was first registered. It is on the V5C log book.
The 2026/27 rates for electric cars
These are the 12 month rates that apply from 1 April 2026, from the GOV.UK rate tables. Zero emission cars use the same tables as other cars, so the rate is set by the first registration date.
| First registered | First tax payment | From the second payment (12 months) |
|---|---|---|
| From 1 April 2025 | £10 | £200, or £640 if the list price was over £50,000 |
| 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2025 | already paid | £200 |
| 1 March 2001 to 31 March 2017 | already paid | £20 (band A) |
If you buy a used electric car, the first payment is behind it. You pay the rate in the right-hand column.
Cars registered from 1 April 2025
A new electric car pays £10 for its first year. From the second time it is taxed, it pays the standard rate: £200 for 12 months in 2026/27, or £210 in total if you pay in 12 monthly Direct Debit instalments.
If its list price when new was more than £50,000, it also pays the expensive car supplement of £440 a year in 2026/27, for 5 years from the second time it is taxed. With the supplement, the 12 month payment is £640.
Cars registered from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2025
These cars pay the standard rate, £200 for 12 months in 2026/27. GOV.UK says a zero emission car registered before 1 April 2025 does not pay the expensive car supplement, whatever its list price.
Cars registered from 1 March 2001 to 31 March 2017
Older electric cars sit in the CO2 band system and pay the band A rate: £20 for 12 months in 2026/27. There is no 6 month option at this rate. See car tax bands by CO2 for the full table.
The £50,000 threshold
For petrol, diesel and hybrid cars, the expensive car supplement starts above a list price of £40,000. For electric cars registered from 1 April 2025, GOV.UK sets the threshold at £50,000.
The list price is the published price before the car was first registered, before any discounts. It is not what you pay for the car used. A three-year-old electric car selling for much less than £50,000 can still carry the supplement if its list price when new was higher.
Our guide to the expensive car supplement explains how long it lasts and how to check.
Hybrids are not electric for tax
Only cars powered purely by electricity, from a chargepoint or a battery, or by hydrogen fuel cells, count as zero emission. GOV.UK is explicit that hybrid cars pay vehicle tax. Hybrids registered from 1 April 2017 pay the same £200 standard rate as petrol and diesel cars in 2026/27, with the supplement above £40,000.
The planned per-mile charge (eVED)
The government has announced a separate mileage-based charge for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, called Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED). It is a published plan, not yet in force. According to the HMRC policy paper published on 13 July 2026:
- It would take effect from 1 April 2028, as an extension of the current vehicle tax.
- The rates would be 3 pence per mile for battery electric and hydrogen cars, and 1.5 pence per mile for plug-in hybrids.
- The rates would then rise in line with CPI inflation, starting in the 2029 to 2030 tax year.
- Drivers would give an odometer reading and an estimate of their mileage for the year when they renew their tax, with a reconciliation at the end of the year.
- DVLA would run it alongside existing vehicle tax.
The charge was announced at Budget 2025. The government says primary legislation will be introduced to bring it in. Details can change before then, so treat it as a plan and check GOV.UK before you rely on it.
What a buyer should check
- First registration date. On the V5C. It tells you which row of the table applies.
- List price when new. For a car registered from 1 April 2025, ask the seller or dealer whether it was over £50,000. If it was, budget £640 a year until the supplement ends.
- The exact version. Two versions of the same model can sit either side of the threshold, so ask about this car, not the model in general.
Use the car tax calculator or the car tax check to work out the figure from the V5C details.
Frequently asked questions
Do electric cars pay road tax now?
Yes. Electric cars have paid vehicle tax since 1 April 2025. Only heavy goods vehicles over 3,500kg stay exempt among electric vehicles.
How much is tax on an electric car in 2026/27?
Most pay the standard rate of £200 a year. Electric cars first registered from 1 March 2001 to 31 March 2017 pay £20. An electric car registered from 1 April 2025 with a list price over £50,000 pays £640 for five years.
Does my older electric car pay the expensive car supplement?
Not if it was registered before 1 April 2025. GOV.UK says a zero emission car registered before that date does not pay the supplement.
Is the pay-per-mile charge for electric cars confirmed?
It is a government plan. The HMRC policy paper of 13 July 2026 says it would start on 1 April 2028 at 3 pence per mile for electric cars, and that primary legislation will be introduced. It is not in force today.