Electric cars lost their Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) exemption on 1 April 2025, and the rules have changed again for 2026/27. If you are buying or running an EV this year, here is exactly what you will pay - and the bigger change coming in 2028.
Do electric cars pay road tax in 2026?
Yes. Zero-emission cars have been liable for VED since April 2025, when the long-standing exemption was removed. The government ended the exemption because fuel-duty revenue was falling as EV adoption grew, and the policy was confirmed in subsequent budgets.
VED rates for electric cars in 2026/27
How much you pay depends on when the car was first registered:
| First registration | First year | From year two |
|---|---|---|
| On or after 1 April 2025 | £10 | £200 per year |
| 1 April 2017 - 31 March 2025 | - | £200 per year |
| Before 1 April 2017 | - | £20 per year |
Most EVs on UK roads today fall into the middle band and pay the standard £200 rate when their tax is renewed in 2026/27. The rates come from GOV.UK and the House of Commons Library's VED briefing.
The Expensive Car Supplement: the £50,000 threshold
From 1 April 2026, the expensive car supplement threshold for zero-emission cars rises from £40,000 to £50,000. EVs with a list price above £50,000 pay an extra £440 a year from year two to year six of registration - on top of the standard £200 rate.
That change matters for buyers of premium EVs: a £55,000 electric SUV now costs roughly £640 a year in VED for its first five years after year one, versus £200 for a car priced below the threshold. Cars registered before April 2026 keep the old £40,000 threshold, so check the registration date when comparing used cars.
What changes in 2028: pay-per-mile eVED
The bigger shift is already confirmed. From 1 April 2028, a new mileage-based Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) will apply to battery electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen fuel-cell cars. The rates announced by HM Revenue and Customs in July 2026 are:
- 3 pence per mile for battery electric (BEV) and hydrogen fuel-cell cars
- 1.5 pence per mile for plug-in hybrids (PHEV)
Drivers will provide an odometer reading, estimate their mileage for the year and pay upfront or spread the charge across the year. A year-end reading reconciles the final bill. The rates will be uprated with CPI from 2029-30.
What it means for buyers
Road tax is now a real line in the running-costs equation for EVs, but it is still modest. A typical EV paying £200 a year in VED and around £483 a year in charging still undercuts a petrol car paying roughly £963 a year in fuel, per Compare the Market's July 2026 running-costs study.
