Millions of drivers face paying more in car tax from this April thanks to a major set of changes that are being introduced.
The first new rule affects anyone who has an electric vehicle (EV). Under current rules, you don’t pay car tax if you have an EV – but this is due to change. If you have an electric, zero or low emission cars that is registered from April 2025, you will need to pay the lowest first year rate of vehicle tax of £10.
Then from the second tax payment onwards, you’ll be charged the standard rate of £195. Electric, zero or low emission cars registered between April 1, 2017 and March 31, 2025 will pay the standard rate of £195 from April this year. Electric, zero or low emission cars registered between March 1, 2001 and March 31, 2017 will pay £20 car tax from this April.
There is also a major shake-up coming to how much car tax you pay if you buy a brand new vehicle from this April. If you purchase a new car from April 2025 that emits between 1-50g/km of CO2, including hybrid vehicles, the first-year car tax rate – known as the showroom tax – will rise from £10 to £110.
The rates for new cars emitting 51-75g/km of CO2 will increase from £30 to £130, while all other rates for cars emitting 76g/km of CO2 and above will double from their current level. For a car that emits over 255g/km of CO2, the first-year car tax rate will double from £2,745 to £5,490.
The changes will affect new cars purchased from April next year – so if you have a used car, you won’t be affected by the higher rates. How much you pay in car tax depends on when your car was registered. All petrol and diesel cars manufactured from 2017 pay a flat rate of £190, rising to £195 from April 2025.
The expensive car supplement is also increasing to £425 a year, up from £410. You need to pay this for the second to sixth year your car is on the road if it cost more than £40,000 brand new. If your car was built between 2001 and 2017, then your car tax is based on how many emissions your vehicle produces.
Cars that produce up to 100g/km of CO2 pay no car tax – but from April, there will be a charge of £20. If your car produces between 101-110g/km of CO2, or between 111-120g/km of CO2, you’re charged £20 or £35 a year in car tax, respectively. These rates won’t be changing from this April – but for cars that produce more CO2 than these levels, the rate of car tax is going up.
For example, if your car produces between 121-130g/km of CO2, the yearly rate for car tax is rising from £160 to £165, while a vehicle that produces over 255g/km of CO2 will be charged £760 from April, up from its current rate of £735.
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