Do electric cars pay road tax?
Yes. Since 1 April 2025 electric cars pay vehicle tax like any other car: a nominal first-year rate, then the standard annual rate: £200 from April 2026. The expensive car supplement applies to electric cars listed above £50,000.
Updated 14 October 2026
What changed in 2025
Until April 2025 electric cars were exempt from vehicle tax. From 1 April 2025 that exemption ended. New electric cars pay the lowest first-year rate (£10), and from the second year pay the standard rate that petrol and diesel cars pay.
Electric cars registered before April 2025 moved onto the standard rate at their first renewal after that date. Those registered between April 2017 and March 2025 pay the standard rate; older ones pay a lower band.
The expensive car supplement for EVs
Because electric cars tend to cost more, the supplement for cars with a high list price was a big concern. From April 2026 the threshold for electric cars is £50,000 rather than the £40,000 that applies to other cars. Electric cars registered before 1 April 2025 are exempt from the supplement entirely.
You still need to tax it
Even when an electric car paid nothing, it had to be taxed. Now that it pays, the reminders matter even more: an untaxed car can be clamped, fined, and is caught automatically by cameras. Odomint tracks the tax expiry for electric cars the same way as any other.
Running costs beyond tax
Tax is now similar to a petrol car, so the running-cost case for an electric car rests on fuel and servicing. Charging at home on an overnight tariff is far cheaper than public rapid charging, which averaged around 80p per kWh in mid-2026. Odomint’s map shows chargers near you, with their speed and published price.
Plug-in hybrids and company cars
Plug-in hybrids registered since April 2017 pay the same standard rate as petrol and diesel cars after the first year, and the first-year rate is based on their low official CO2 figure. The expensive car supplement threshold for hybrids is £40,000, the same as petrol and diesel.
For company car drivers, vehicle tax is not usually the issue: benefit-in-kind company car tax is. Electric cars still have far lower benefit-in-kind rates than petrol or diesel cars, which is why so many company cars are electric even now that vehicle tax applies.
Common questions
How much is road tax for an electric car in 2026?
£10 in the first year for a new electric car, then the standard rate of £200 a year from April 2026, plus the expensive car supplement if the list price was over £50,000.
When did electric cars start paying road tax?
On 1 April 2025, when the vehicle tax exemption for electric cars ended.
Do hybrid cars pay the standard rate?
Yes. Hybrids registered since April 2017 pay the standard rate after the first year, like petrol and diesel cars.
Check any car before you buy it
MOT history, every advisory and the full mileage record are free for any UK registration. An Odomint Check adds outstanding finance, insurance write-offs, stolen markers and salvage history, with a £10,000 data guarantee.