How much is road tax for an electric vehicle?

Road tax, officially known as Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), is calculated based on the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) that a vehicle produces. As fully electric – or Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) produce zero emissions, they are currently exempt from road tax.

However, from 1st April 2025, BEV drivers will have to pay road tax in the UK. These changes will affect more than 1 million BEV owners. In this guide, we will explain the road tax BEV owners pay today – and how this will change when the new rules are implemented in 2025.

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Do you need to pay road tax for an electric vehicle?

All BEVs are currently exempt from road tax.
However, they still need to be registered for road tax to remain legally compliant.
The rules will change from 1st April 2025, when all BEVs will be subject to road tax.

Do you need to pay road tax on a hybrid?

Most hybrids, including Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs), Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) and Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicles (MHEVs) are subject to road tax.
However, hybrid cars usually have lower CO2 outputs than combustion engine models. Therefore, you can expect a new hybrid car to fall into a lower car tax band than a typical petrol or diesel model for the first year.
All non-BEVs registered from 1st April 2017 (including hybrids) are currently subject to the same £180 annual tax rate from year 2 onwards.

Please note: Older hybrid models first registered between 1st March 2001 and 31st March 2017 are exempt from road tax, if they produce 100g/km of CO2 or less.

How much is tax for an electric vehicle?

Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs)

BEVs are fully electric cars that don’t produce any emissions and are therefore exempt from road tax until 2025.

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs)

PHEVs are usually subject to road tax as they produce CO2 emissions from their combustion engines.
PHEVs registered from 1st April 2017 are likely to cost between £0 and £155 for the first year. From the second year onwards, they will be subject to the standard £180 annual rate.
However, lower polluting PHEVs (producing 100g/km of CO2 or less) that were first registered between 1st March 2001 and 31st March 2017 are exempt from road tax until 1st April 2025.

Electric vehicles worth over £40,000

BEVs are currently exempt from the Expensive Car Supplement, which applies an additional five-year £390 annual tax to all other new cars with a list price exceeding £40,000.
However, from 1st April 2025, all new BEVs with a list price exceeding £40,000 will also be subject to the Expensive Car Supplement.

Please note: The Expensive Car Supplement won’t be retroactively applied to BEVs registered prior to 1st April 2025. So, if you buy a BEV with a list price over £40,000 in February 2024 for example, you won’t be subject to this tax when the new rules come into effect.

Do you still need to tax your electric vehicle?

All BEVs are currently exempt from road tax. However, you are still required to register your electric vehicle for tax, regardless of its VED exemption status.

What are the requirements for EV road tax exemption?

EV road tax exemption will only apply to your vehicle if the electricity you need to power your car comes from an external source, such as a private or public charge point, an electric storage battery that isn’t connected to any power source when the vehicle is moving - or hydrogen fuel cells.

Paying road tax on your EV after 2025

The following changes will come into effect from 1st April 2025:

All new BEVs registered on or after 1st April 2025 will be taxed at a rate of £10 for the first year.
From the second year onwards, new BEVs will be taxed at the standard rate (currently £180 per year).
BEVs that were first registered between 1st April 2017 and 31st March 2025 will also have to pay the standard annual road tax rate.
However, if your car was first registered between 1st March 2001 and 31st March 2017 - and produces no more than 100g/km per year, the vehicle will move from Band A (£0 per year) to Band B (currently £20 per year).

How much is EV road tax?

BEVs are currently exempt from road tax in the UK. However, from 1st April 2025 onwards, all BEVs will be subject to road tax.

Is it financially better to buy an electric car?

Whilst new BEVs typically cost more than equivalent petrol and diesel models, running costs are typically lower.

How much it costs to charge an electric car can also vary depending on energy prices – and where you choose to charge your car. Charging your BEV at home is typically cheaper than using public chargepoints.

Opting for an EV will also spare you any road tax expenses - until April 2025, at least.

Buying a first-generation BEV such as the Nissan Leaf (2010-2017) could be an economical option.

Whilst their electric ranges are limited compared to later models, if you tend to stick to shorter journeys, this option offers the benefits of electric motoring without the typical BEV price tag!

What’s more, if you buy an older BEV (registered between 1st March 2001 and 31st March 2017), you can benefit from a cheaper road tax rate than newer BEV models from 1st April 2025.