Essential Guide to Car Tax

Unfortunately, the cost of a car isn’t the only thing that’s going to cause a strain on your bank account. Owning a car comes with a range of costs: car insurance, fuel, repairs and Tax all add to your yearly costs.

Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) is one of those compulsory costs you will be faced with. Commonly referred to as road tax, the amount you pay differs depending on a number of factors including engine size, fuel type, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and when the vehicle was first registered.

If your car was registered after 1 April 2017 then your car tax regime will be different to those registered before. Road tax is still calculated on your car’s CO2 emissions, with only zero emission cars being exempt from paying tax.

The infamous sliding scale of first-year ‘showroom tax’ remains, but the standard rate of car tax has changed to a flat rate of £140 for all cars except those that are exempt under the zero emissions category.

Additionally, cars that are priced over £40,000 will have to pay an additional £310 per year for five years.

Paying Your Car Tax

Today, the easiest way to pay your car tax is to do it online. You can always telephone the DVLA service, lines are open 24-hours a day, if you need to make a one-off payment. If you don’t have access to a phone or computer, you can tax your vehicle at a Post Office that deals with vehicle tax.

Always remember that if you sell your car, you cannot transfer any unexpired tax to the new registered keeper. Every new owner who buys a car from second hand car dealers must tax a car themselves before driving away. If you let the DVLA know when you sell your car then they can refund you any remaining tax left over.