How Much Is Car Tax In The UK

Car tax or Vehicle Excise Duty is paid by vehicle owners for the use of their vehicles on public roads in the United Kingdom. The cost of car tax usually varies depending on the type of your vehicle. So to know how much your annual obligation is, read on and find out the current car tax prices today.

Typical Cost Of A Car Tax

The cost of a car tax ranges from £0 to £460 per year.

This price includes your car’s vehicle excise duty for a year and a vehicle tax disc that must be displayed on the passenger side of the windscreen. Failure to display the tax disc can mean a maximum penalty of £200.

Factors That Affect The Price Of A Car Tax

Type of fuel. The kind of fuel your car uses will affect car tax prices. Alternative fuel cars have lower car tax prices as compared to cars using standard fuel such as petrol and diesel. Usually, alternative fuel cars are taxed £10 less than standard fuel cars.

Emission. The CO₂ emission of your vehicle also affects car tax prices. The lower the emission  of your vehicle is, the more environmentally-friendly it is. Hence, the car tax goes lower as its CO₂ emission goes lower. The Department of Transport categorized vehicles to various categories starting from Band A to Band M. Band A vehicles are those with lowest CO₂ emissions while M vehicles are those with highest emissions. Check out this table of car tax prices per band and per fuel type:

Car tax rates for vehicles registered from March 1, 2001 onwards

source: Direct.gov.uk

Registration. As you can see from the table above, the price quotes are for vehicles registered from March 1, 2001 onwards. If your vehicle is registered before this date, you have to follow a different pricing for your car tax. Its main difference is that its car tax calculation is based on engine size only and not the CO₂ emissions and type of fuel being used. For vehicles with an engine size of not over than 1549 cc, the annual tax rate is £130 while for vehicles with engine size of over 1549 cc, the car tax is £215 annually.

Type of vehicle. The type of vehicle you use also affects car tax prices. This usually applies to vehicles that are not covered by the tax bands mentioned above. Check out tax rates for other kinds of vehicles:

 

source: Direct.gov.uk

Additional Costs

Insurance is needed for you to tax your vehicle. It must cover you against third party claims for death or injury as well as damage to property that is caused by the vehicle’s use. The insurance must also cover the use of your vehicle for taxing purposes.

A MOT test is required before you can tax your vehicle. This must be done yearly to cars, motor caravans, motorcycles, and light goods vehicles that are more than three years old and also to passenger carrying vehicles and taxis that are more than a year old. This test costs from £29 to £100 or more depending on the type of your vehicle.

If you pay your car tax late, you can be charged a late penalty fee.

If you use a credit card to pay for your car tax, you will be charged extra £2.50 as a processing fee.

Photo by exfordy

Tips Before You Pay For Your Car’s Tax

To give you an idea on how much your car tax obligation is, you have to know which band your vehicle falls under. You can check out RoadTaxPrices.co.uk to see vehicle makes and models under specific bands for taxing purposes.

If you want to save money, you must think of car tax prices when you are purchasing a brand new car. Purchase a vehicle that is environment-friendly so you end up not paying too much for your car tax annually.

Pay for your car tax on time so you avoid paying unnecessary late fees.

Know the requirements when taxing a vehicle and prepare all of them beforehand for a smooth transaction. Some of the requirements include the following: application for a tax disc, registration certificate, application for a vehicle registration certificate, MOT test certificate, and insurance certificate.