How much will electric vehicle (EV) road tax be in 2025?

Electric vehicle drivers currently do not have to pay road tax (also called Vehicle Excise Duty). However, from 1 April 2025, drivers of electric cars in the UK will need to pay for road tax for the first time.

As well as paying for road tax for the first time, there will also be a car tax supplement for electric cars with a list price that exceeds £40,000.

To help you understand the 2025 electric vehicle road tax changes, here is a guide 

How much do electric vehicle (EV) drivers pay for road tax?

At the moment, drivers of electric vehicles do not have to pay for road tax;. however, they must still get their vehicle taxed – even if they do not need to pay any money to do so. 

To be exempt from paying VED, the electricity used to charge the vehicle must come from an external source, such as a private or public charge point, an electric storage battery not connected to any source of power when the vehicle is moving; or hydrogen fuel cells.

For almost all other vehicles – including hybrids which can generate their own electricity – you must pay vehicle tax every year.

How much will electric vehicle (EV) road tax be in 2025?

From 1 April 2025, drivers of electric vehicles will need to pay for VED – road tax. Announced by the Government in the 2022 Autumn Budget, then Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “To make our motoring tax system fairer I’ve decided that electric vehicles will no longer be exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty (VED).”

The 2025 EV road tax changes are:

• New zero-emission cars registered on or after 1 April 2025 will be liable to pay the lowest first-year rate of VED (which applies to vehicles with CO2 emissions 1 to 50g/km) currently £10 a year.
• From the second year of registration onwards, they will move to the standard rate, currently £190 a year
• Zero emission cars first registered between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2025 will also pay the standard rate
• The Expensive Car Supplement exemption for electric vehicles is due to end in 2025. New zero emission cars registered on or after 1 April 2025 will therefore be liable for the Expensive Car Supplement. The Expensive Car Supplement currently applies to cars with a list price exceeding £40,000 for five years and is currently £410 a year. This means EV drivers with an 'expensive car' will pay up to £600 a year for road tax
• Zero and low emission cars first registered between 1 March 2001 and 30 March 2017 currently in Band A will move to the Band B rate, currently £20 a year
• Zero-emission vans will move to the rate for petrol and diesel light goods vehicles, currently £335 a year for most vans
• Zero-emission motorcycles and tricycles will move to the rate for the smallest engine size, currently £25 a year
• Rates for Alternative Fuel Vehicles and hybrids will also be equalised

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