Vehicle tax or car tax in the UK is something that is easy to get confused about, especially with the changes that have recently taken place.
The Tax Bands
The 13 different tax bands that vehicles fall into in the UK that are based on the CO2 emissions of the vehicle. These bands and charges are as follows: –
| Cars registered on or after 1stMarch 2001 | Petrol Car and Diesel Cars | Alternative Fuel Car | |||||||||
| Non Direct Debit | Direct Debit | Non Direct Debit | Direct Debit | ||||||||
| Bands | CO2 (g/km) | 12 months | 6 months | Single 12 month payment | Single 6 month payment | Monthly payment (Yearly Total) | 12 months | 6 months | Single 12 month payment | Single 6 month payment | Monthly payment + Total |
| Band A | 0 – 100 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| Band B | 101 – 110 | £20 | N/A | £20 | N/A | £1.75 (£21) | £10 | N/A | £20 | N/A | £0.88 (£10.50) |
| Band C | 111 – 120 | £30 | N/A | £20 | N/A | £2.63 (£31.50) | £20 | N/A | £20 | N/A | £1.75 (£21) |
| Band D | 121 – 130 | £110 | £60.50 | £110 | £57.75 | £9.63 (115.50) | £100 | £55 | £100 | £52.50 | £8.75 (£105) |
| Band E | 131 – 140 | £130 | £71.50 | £130 | £68.25 | £11.38 (£136.50) | £120 | £66 | £120 | £63 | £10.50 (£126) |
| Band F | 141 – 150 | £145 | £79.75 | £145 | £76.13 | £12.69(£152.25) | £135 | £74.25 | £135 | £70.88 | £11.81 (£141.75) |
| Band G | 151 – 165 | £180 | £99 | £180 | £94.50 | £15.75(£189) | £170 | £93.50 | £170 | £89.25 | £14.88 (£178.50) |
| Band H | 166 – 175 | £205 | £112.75 | £205 | £107.63 | £17.94(£215.25) | £195 | £107.25 | £195 | £102.38 | £17.06 (£204.75) |
| Band I | 176 – 185 | £225 | £123.75 | £225 | £118.13 | £19.69(£236.25) | £215 | £118.25 | £215 | £112.88 | £18.81 (£225.75) |
| Band J | 186 – 200 | £265 | £145.75 | £265 | £139.12 | £23.19(£278.25) | £255 | £140.25 | £255 | £133.88 | £22.31 (£267.75) |
| Band K | 201 – 225 | £290 | £159.50 | £290 | £152.25 | £25.38(£304.50) | £280 | £154 | £280 | £147 | £24.50 (£294) |
| Band L | 226 – 255 | £490 | £269.50 | £490 | £257.25 | £42.88(£514.50) | £480 | £264 | £480 | £252 | £42 (£504) |
| Band M | Over 255 | £505 | £277.75 | £505 | £265.13 | £44.19(£530.25) | £495 | £272.25 | £495 | £259.88 | £43.31 (£519.75) |
These rates of vehicle tax are the standard rates, howere there are different rates for those purchasing a first road tax licence as well as for those that cover carriage of light goods and commercial vehicles. For a full list of the rates of road tax in the UK please see this DVLA PDF.
Double-Charging
One of the biggest changes to affect road tax in terms of cost is when selling a car. Now, instead of being able to sell the tax with your car or receive a refund on the unused tax on your vehicle, there is what is being dubbed the “double-charging windfall”. This means that when you buy a car you have to start paying tax from the day you first purchase a vehicle and the person selling it is only entitled to a refund of any full months remaining. So if you sold your car on the 2nd of the month, you wouldn’t be entitled to a refund of money for the rest of that month and the person buying your car would also have to pay road tax for that month.
