What every driver needs to know about the 2017 VED car tax changes

Car tax

Did you know that the car tax regulations will change in April, 2017? Big alterations are afoot after the government calculated that increasingly fuel efficient cars are leaving it out of pocket.

That’s because currently, the annual tax drivers pay to be on the road is calculated according to how much carbon dioxide (CO2) comes out of their car’s exhaust. And around 25 per cent of all new cars are so clean that, guess what? They’re exempt from road tax.

But from next April anybody that buys a new car will face a new regime of car tax. And overnight it will make many of the UK’s most popular new motors much more expensive to own. 

Will new rules affect my current car?

The car tax regulations are complex, so let’s get the easy bit out of the way first. Any car registered before 1 April, 2017, will continue to be taxed as it currently is and cost its owner the same annual sum in Vehicle Excise Duty (VED).

Yes, it’s confusing. But even the government appreciates that it would be unfair to introduce retrospective taxes for drivers that it encouraged to buy cars with low CO2 levels.

At the moment, there’s a sliding scale of car tax that goes from ‘Band A’ to ‘Band M’. It would seem the number of drivers buying low emission cars has taken the government by surprise.

Currently, cars that pump out 100g/km of CO2 are exempt from road tax. They’re labelled Band A for VED. So, if you’re already the proud owner of a Fiat 500 TwinAir or Ford Fiesta 1.0, then you’ll continue to pay nothing in tax.

Similarly, if you have an SUV, like the popular Nissan Qashqai dCi 130, and were paying £30 a year in tax for emissions of 116g/km (Band C), nothing will change.

At the top of the scale, for cars that emit more than 255g/km, such as a Land Rover Range Rover Sport 5.0 V8, road tax remains £515 a year.

How is the 2017 car tax system different?

car tax

Popular sellers like the Fiat 500 TwinAir will cost more to tax in 2017

From 1 April, for the first year that a car is registered, it will incur road tax that is charged according to a sliding scale of 13 CO2 bands. In subsequent years, it will face a flat rate of £140. If the car costs more than £40,000, there’ll be an additional £310 annual bill for years two to six.

This means that only cars with zero emissions – pure electric cars – costing under £40,000 will be exempt from road tax.

The inexpensive Fiat 500 will become £380 more costly

If we look at the Fiat 500 TwinAir (88g/km), tax will cost £100 in year one, then a flat rate of £140 a year thereafter. If you run the car over a three-year finance period, as so many British drivers do, it means that the inexpensive Fiat has become £380 more costly.

The Ford Fiesta 1.0 (99g/km), will shoot up from zero to £400 over the same three-year period.

A Nissan Qashqai dCi 130 (116g/km) rises from £90 to tax over three years, to £440.

Land Rover’s big, gas-guzzling Range Rover Sport 5.0 V8 would cost £2150 to tax over three years, according to the 2016 regs. But from next April, a buyer will end up with a £2900 bill.

You can view the government’s road tax bands from April, 2017 here.

What if I spend more than £40,000?

New cars like the Range Rover Sport 5.0 V8 will face a hefty rise in road tax from April, 2017

New cars like the Range Rover Sport 5.0 V8 will face a hefty rise in road tax from April, 2017

Then you’ll be clobbered with a bigger road tax bill. The charge of £310 a year for the car’s five years after its first year is calculated on the total list price of the car – not the price before options. An upgraded infotainment system, or larger alloy wheels could prove very costly indeed.

And even if you haggle hard and secure a discount that brings the invoice price of the car below £40,000, the road tax will be based on the pre-discount sum. Many drivers could be caught out by this quirk.

Should I buy a new car before the changes?

If you were planning to buy a car that was exempt from road tax under the existing rules, and know it’s going to be hammered by the changes, then yes. You could do yourself a favour and save hundreds of pounds by buying before April. The best advice is to grab a calculator, pen and piece of paper and crunch the numbers.

113 comments on “What every driver needs to know about the 2017 VED car tax changes

  1. Marcel Tucker 02/02/2017 4:32 PM

    The government would earn enough money if they prosecuted tax evaders when they are informed, they choose to ignore this and allow vehicles without MOT to remain on the road also. While people who are legal get peanalised for the people who seem to be above the law

  2. Doug pomfrett 02/02/2017 7:09 PM

    Thank you for the information it has put my mind at rest as i am on a limited budget and will be spared from more expense

  3. MICHAEL CRAWFORD 02/02/2017 8:17 PM

    THANK YOU FOR CLEARING UP NEW TAX RULES FOR ME

  4. jonny705 02/02/2017 8:25 PM

    Road tax is great value, what ever the cost, if you compare our roads to other places like India, they are well maintained, there are very few pot holes.
    The constant investment in building new roads, and the ground braking ideas like bus lanes, means there is very little congestion- if ever.
    My only complaint is there isn’t enough investment in speed camera’s i would not hesitate to pay more tax, if this meant i could reach my journey even slower than i do now-everyone is in too much of a rush today!

    • Jenny Welch 03/02/2017 12:00 PM

      I’d like to know where this person is living as the general state of the roads wherever I have driven in the UK is not good and pot holes are the norm. Also, anyone who drives on the M25 knows what congestion means. Even roads other than motorways have congestion at peak times so I do not believe this is a true picture of the state of our roads.

      • Judith Gaffney 05/02/2017 12:40 PM

        I just thought he was being very sarcastic and laughed!

      • Brett 11/02/2017 12:26 PM

        He doesn’t live in the south that’s for sure! The roads near Worthing are gridlocked in rush hour and only 2 weeks back I hit a pot hole bulged my tyre and that wasn’t cheap! Two weeks later only yesterday the same thing on a different road and now tracking is out! I have a low emission 320d BMW £140 per year. And a Range Rover TDV8 used say 40 miles a week and I already pay £515 for the tax so reckon the pollution I put out on the minimal mileage is a damn sight less than a person with low emissions doing 100 miles a week! How about increase tax on fuel?? More you use the roads more you pay!

        • Stephen Shelley-Davis 14/02/2017 10:21 AM

          I totally agree with putting the tax on fuel. The road tax is based on co2 immisions, it would be a fairer system, the more co2 you put in the atmosphere the more you pay. It would also cut down on government administration.

    • Graham Rose 03/02/2017 5:56 PM

      Why don’t you get a horse and cart.

      • Tony Davies 15/02/2017 7:00 PM

        When I was in the forces I quite happily drove around in my Warrior A.P.C without any worry about terrain. Now with the state of the roads near here I think I will buy a decommissioned one and drive it around our roads. Sure the fuel and Tax will be expensive. However I can offset that by having tracks that will defeat potholes wherever they are and I might find it easer to get out of my road onto the main road at peak times. Happy Days

      • Phil 18/02/2017 2:10 PM

        They would tax that also

      • BIGJACK 19/02/2017 12:37 PM

        GREAT IDEA! NOT ONLY ALMOST NO POLUTION, BUT ONE GETS COMPOST MATERIAL FREE!!! IF ONE HAS A FEW TOO MANY AT THE PUB, DON’T WORRY, THE HORSE KNOWS THE WAY HOME AND SHOULD GET YOU BACK SAFE!!!!

    • Ozzie 03/02/2017 10:13 PM

      Ha ha, nearly got me there before I realised this was a skit! More pot holes where I live than in India – this morning dodging really serious ones that I must get round to telling the council about before an accident happens. Other than that, congestion is my reality and I live north not south. I am not in a particular rush by the way. Oh and I agree with Duke, everyone needs to pay to drive on the road and the money should go to the upkeep of the road – simples!

      • Judith Gaffney 05/02/2017 12:41 PM

        Including cyclists.

        • bazza 262 06/02/2017 3:08 PM

          why should cyclists (and pedestrians?) pay road tax when tens of thousands of new, allegedly non-polluting, cars pay no road tax at all?

          • Tony Orr 08/02/2017 9:18 PM

            Because they have roads set aside for them, ‘cycle lanes’ etc.

          • David Cross 26/02/2017 10:19 AM

            Why are cyclists allowed to by a bike that has no lights factory fitted; you aren’t allowed to by a car without lights.

        • Steve 12/02/2017 7:43 PM

          I have two cars that I pay tax for so why should I pay tax to ride my cycle.

          • Bryan Haddon 14/02/2017 8:24 AM

            Because your on the road

          • Mick 14/02/2017 3:20 PM

            You already do through your council tax, hence the argument of cyclist not paying is false.

          • Peter Western 17/02/2017 2:38 PM

            Cyclists should have at least some form of insurance, if you get a scratch from a bikes hanlebars like I did you pay yourself. Dont always blame the car driver or commercial vehicle driver it is the bike that causes an awful lot of problems on the road. So have at least the insurance to cover yourselves.

          • paul 24/02/2017 12:34 AM

            so called road tax hasn’t fully funded the roads since about 1967. it’s regular tax payers (some of whom are cyclists) that fund our roads.

          • David Townsend 25/02/2017 3:31 PM

            As a Cyclist like you Paul, i feel we should have a VED rebate because of our no co2 when on our bikes. Dave.

        • Stephen Shelley-Davis 14/02/2017 10:28 AM

          So what co2 emmisions come from a bike then? They are quiet, healthy and don’t contribute to congestion. You very rarely see a fat person on a bike. Do you want to tax pedestrians for walking on the path?

    • Adrian Moffat 03/02/2017 10:57 PM

      LMFAO 😉

    • dave whiting 04/02/2017 10:56 AM

      are you still alive?

    • Mark 04/02/2017 12:02 PM

      What planet are you on?

    • Judith Gaffney 05/02/2017 12:39 PM

      HaHaHa!

    • bazza 262 06/02/2017 3:14 PM

      OK, so road tax and fuel duty brings in a lot more cash to the govt than they spend on new roads, road repairs etc but what about all the other costs that car drivers impose on the govt – the cost of road accidents to the NHS, ambulance service, police, fire service, etc etc – for some reason the moaners never take these costs into account when complaining about road tax.

    • Vada Pav 07/02/2017 1:20 PM

      You must be joking when praising the state of roads… certainly you should visit edinburgh!

    • Glenn Merton 07/02/2017 4:10 PM

      No pot holes ? No congestion? Where are you a normal 10 min journey can take over 30 mins at peak times and the state of some roads are disgraceful here on Durham

    • Roger Parks 08/02/2017 8:38 PM

      How can road tax be considered great value whatever the cost? We are not comparing our roads with India or the surface of the moon either. How is grammes per mile a good way to decide the cost of tax. What if you pay £515 a year but only drive 500 miles a year. Is that fair? If it is to be based on emissions then a percentage must be added to the cost of fuel and have no tax.Road tax charging has nothing to do with emissions at all. It’s about revenue. If all cars where electric there would still be road tax. Speed cameras are all about raising money too. Why not just give points for speeding?

      • Carey Keates 12/02/2017 1:05 PM

        Two points, Roger. Speeding costs lives and causes more damage to roads. That all needs paying for, and financial penalties are just as likely to make the idiots think before speeding – more so than points on a licence, which are just bragging material. If you are only driving 500 miles a year you can’t be going far – try a bicycle, it will be so much cheaper!

    • ColinW 09/02/2017 12:53 PM

      Why do we keep calling it “Road Tax” ? It’s “Petrol tax”, and goes to the government coffers, not directly to road improvements. According to my local council, they pay for road repairs.

    • Jimmy Stewart 09/02/2017 5:05 PM

      Jonny 705 what planet you from?

      • Sarah Fairlamb 12/02/2017 10:40 AM

        He’s from a planet with a sense of humour…..read it again

    • Lisa Long 09/02/2017 6:11 PM

      jonny705 – I don’t know where you live but I doubt it’s in England. Only a fraction of the rip-off tax we pay goes to repair old roads & build new. I’ve broken one coil spring & damaged two wheels going over pot holes. Before you say I must be driving too fast, I stick to the limits and have never been caught speeding in 37 years of driving. “Ground braking ideas like bus lanes” – you are easily impressed. Speed camera’s catch & prosecute 99.9% of law abiding citizens – the 0.1% who drive well in excess of the limits (and these are the real dangerous ones) could not care less if the stolen car they are in goes through a speed camera zone.
      “everyone is in too much of a rush today!” – let me guess, you don’t have a job?
      I need to go and have a lie down now before I start taking jonny705 seriously.

    • Badgerman 10/02/2017 3:10 PM

      You just proved you can fool a lot of the people most of the time. Where I live you need to be careful not to run over the cavers as they emerge from the pot holes; except no one is gong fast enough for it to be a problem. I think it has been a long time since road tax was spent on roads. It all goes into a massive pot hole called the Exchequer, emerging at the other end as Type 45 destroyers that break down with the depressing frequency of a 1970s Alfa. Anyway, you build a new road it just fills with traffic. We spend a lot of time on road improvements to enable drivers to make excellent progress between four hours delays. If all roads were like the A14, there would be no need for speed cameras. Just put a speed limited HGV in every lane, problem solved. A temporary 40 mph speed limit becomes an aspirational target…Stay home.

    • Brown 10/02/2017 5:34 PM

      Don’t agree with few pot holes, here in Lincolnshire they are really bad also a better idea for cutting speed would be to reduce the speed limit it saves petrol/Diesel too and would cut accidents as there is too much speed mostly from idiots who can’t drive sensibly .

    • Richard Sutcliffe 11/02/2017 2:03 PM

      I think La La land must be a great place to live. Unfortunately most of us live in the real world. Perhaps you could swap to a push bike you’ll get there slower then.

    • John 12/02/2017 5:13 PM

      wow LaLa land does exist then!!!

    • mike 15/02/2017 1:30 AM

      what roads do you drive on mine are covered in pot holes and surfaces lifting you miss the point we are not a third world country we pay a lot of tax for the right to drive on them and deserve to drive along them without damaging the suspension i don`t mean side roads ether i mean main roads .

    • jim nairn 16/02/2017 5:21 PM

      are you one these drivers that drive with blinkers on, come to Liverpool, there are more pot holes than road in certain parts of my city

  5. Duke 03/02/2017 9:04 AM

    As a pensioner, on a limited budget the whole issue of road tax disgusts me, it started as road tax, then changed to vehicle excise license? In my mind every vehicle on the road should pay a tax towards the upkeep, and with the amount of potholes we need a lot of repair doing, and its unfair for this money to come from other tax means. Regarding the green issues, cut the cost of the green vehicles? Oh and I am a driver,

    • Drew H Dunn 04/02/2017 2:47 AM

      what other taxes ? the government spends less than 25 % of road tax on roads ,no % of tax on fuel is spent on roads , no % of tax from brand new cars ( tax when you buy a new car before you leave showroom ) .they are actually spending more on the railway .i would just like the government to spend more of the road tax on the roads .

      • Marcus Cleathero 05/02/2017 4:10 PM

        Totally agree Drew. The spending on railways is a farce they’re supposed to be privately run & as I understand several are ‘Owned’ by German & French Companies !!

      • Ted 12/02/2017 11:27 AM

        Taxes on alcohol don’t go to providing better pubs.

  6. Ian Kippax 03/02/2017 9:58 AM

    The issue I have with road tax based on emissions, is that it takes no regard to the annual mileage. A person with a vehicle on the higher rate with an annual 4000 miles, is penalised against someone with a lower rated vehicle travelling 25000 miles

    • Barry Watson 09/02/2017 3:54 PM

      Now that’s a great point. Perhaps we should have an Emissions Meter on the back of our cars actually measuring actual output. So, indeed a nominally gas-guzzling car on low mileage would pollute LESS than a green car on high mileage. Discuss!!

  7. Gordon Dunbar 03/02/2017 10:52 AM

    Here you can find an interesting array of driver comments – as a senior citizen with a Blue Badge partner I drive for both pleasure and necessity, but cannot lose sight of costs and potential savings. It is many years since I have had any sort of accident so Insurance is under control, fuel is whatever it is, and our mileage much reduced since I retired. Road Tax relates to our chosen vehicle which is old & low value. Neither Cars nor Senior Citizens go on forever as I approach the age when my Doctor & the DVLA decide if I am allowed to continue driving on Health & Age and Competence Grounds.
    I plan to drive until I no longer enjoy the freedom, maybe 2038 – God & Government Permitting
    Gordon Dunbar ( retired Teacher )

  8. Ian Jamieson 03/02/2017 12:34 PM

    Why aren’t cyclists made to pay a reasonable amount to use the road ? they have their own piece of the road which in the main makes most roads a single lane . Bus’s have their own lane and it is the norm that they carry very few passengers. Easy to hit the car owner because any increase in road tax is compulsory.

    • Judith Gaffney 05/02/2017 12:43 PM

      Hear hear!

    • Badgerman 10/02/2017 3:21 PM

      Easy to hit the cyclist too, as many recent news items have shown, sadly. There are not enough cycle lanes, and this is still a very cycling unfriendly country. I say this as a non-cyclist. However, if the criteria is emissions, cyclists are zero emissions, so, like electric cars, pay nothing. Bear in mind that the car tax regime has had the desired effect of making drivers choose lower emission, generally more economical cars, so the manufacturers are incentivised to make more economical cars, as they sell better. So we are all benefiting from paying less for fuel, apart from the eco-warriors sill driving around in 1960 VW campers, each of which emits more pollution in a day than China. Bear in mind also that methane, which is emitted by livestock (don’t ask how) is 25 times more damaging than CO2 as a greenhouse gas; which has priced cows off the road completely.

      • David Walland 15/02/2017 4:13 PM

        I’m a driver and until fairly recently a cyclist. Any tax on road users should be linked to the amount of damage they cause. HGVs rip our roads apart and Beeching made sure that there is no alternative. Cars do a lot less damage, but “Chelsea Tractors” with tyres meant for cross country work have been shown to do much more than lighter cars with normal road tyres.

        There are stupid cyclists but they tend to be a self-limiting problem. There’s a hell of a lot more stupid aggressive drivers whether driving electric cars or massive HGVs and that is why so many cyclists are killed on our roads, especially by HGVs. What *SHOULD* be required of cyclists is insurance. Try finding insurance for a cyclist – I managed to find a company that would insure me for my then electric bike and it cost next to nothing as long as I was riding legally (ie not on the pavement or in pedestrianised areas). That says it all! Bikes do measurable damage to the roads when ground into them by drivers of heavier vehicles.

        I have cycled in Central London (in the 1980s – I wouldn’t dare do so now) without ever causing measurable damage to roads or other road users. They are much greener than electric cars (I have written many environmental impact statements professionally – you can take my word for it or disagree and I’ll bore the pants off you with the detailed facts).

        No there is no reason for excise tax on bikes, but there should be mandatory insurance for cyclists.

    • Jeff 17/02/2017 11:37 AM

      I cycle as much as possible for fitness & to help save the environment although I put my life in ‘others’ hands doing so! I pay over £230 per year for my little Suzuki Jimny doing on average only 2500 miles p.a……roads here in West Cornwall are pretty bad in places ….which is another risk for cyclists as there are almost no cycle lanes & then they are full of vehicle debris like glass & discarded rubish or ‘white van man uses them to park on! How about charging those 100’s of thousands of foreign trucks/workers & visitors to use our road network…..best & fairest option is to put a small % on fuel! Also why should someone with the surplus cash have been able to buy an expensive car & do 10’s of thousands of miles a year cost free….hardly pollution reduction….seems absolutely crazy to me?

  9. Kevin Preston 03/02/2017 1:03 PM

    Why so complicated? ??? Why not a few pence on fuel duty ,that way everyone would pay a proportionate amount of road tax to road use including road tax dogers regardless of co2 emmisions

    • Fred Harris 04/02/2017 11:33 AM

      Great idea! If ever there was such a thing as a sensible government but sadly there never has been and probably never will be. It would work well for a couple of years then it would be forgotten and the government would introduce some new tax – road repair tax or vehicle emission tax. The end result being higher fuel costs

    • Stewart 06/02/2017 2:14 PM

      because thought it may start out as a few pence it would not take long before it was a few pounds, then many pounds. no government could resist that one! they would probably re – invent road tax as something else. how did it not occur to anybody in government that more people would buy cars that had zero tax and therefore revenue income would drop

    • james savage 09/02/2017 11:05 AM

      putting fuel up instead of road tax is the worst thing you can do because big users and firms cars vans get the vat and tax back off the fuel they use so will end up paying less and small milage ie private motorist will pay the bulk of it

    • A Jacklin 10/02/2017 1:37 PM

      I agree, that’s what I think too! it would cover everything and at the same time do away with speed humps

  10. becky 03/02/2017 5:07 PM

    quite agree with kevin preston am sure the government would save money by cancelling road tax all together ,increase the price of petrol ,would that not do away with road tax dodgers and simplify matters .

    • Drew H Dunn 04/02/2017 2:52 AM

      road tax and mot s , car insurance are ways police can gather all information on computer so they can use cameras to try to put unfit uninsured cars off the road – to get road tax you must have insurance and mot

    • Graham Rose 04/02/2017 12:55 PM

      Quite agree .So obvious .Would save a lot of red tape.and save a lot of people being prosecuted for having a bad memory like me.

    • T Fox 05/02/2017 1:35 PM

      I agree

  11. Rita Soane 03/02/2017 6:44 PM

    Will the new Toll roads not give the Government the money to cover the road repairs etc.? Surely if the Government put the money from car taxes in total to repair and make new roads they would have sufficient monies for this Country to have the best roads in the world without all these increases.

    It is the same with the pensions and NHS. If the National Insurance monies paid by those who are working was put into a separate account, they would have sufficient monies to cover these expenses too. Just saying!!!

  12. Kath English 03/02/2017 7:29 PM

    I am a pensioner and a widow, mine is a old car so funny my rad goes up I won’t be able to run it and I can’t do without a car

  13. Anne kettlewell 04/02/2017 7:06 AM

    But what about CARAVANS: it is congestion on the roads that is also a problem and many caravans take up more road space than even the cars towing them….quite apart from slowing others particularly in the holiday season. Whilst emissions are important we should not lose sight of the rapidly increasing traffic numbers and those who use most space including caravan ‘towers’ must pay too!!!

  14. BILL GOODBODY 04/02/2017 10:51 AM

    Thanks greenflag for information. on road tax

  15. P Chamberlain 04/02/2017 11:44 AM

    why are we so behind tax should be added on fuel prices this would then mean you would pay on milage/size

  16. Werner Bols 04/02/2017 11:47 AM

    I am very pleased I am a member of Green Flag. You are A1 in all you do..

  17. Neville Patten 04/02/2017 12:34 PM

    Agree with Becky up the petrol tax and do away with road tax

  18. Vincent 04/02/2017 12:40 PM

    The only fair and sensible way is to abolish VED and up the tax on fuel.

    • Ja 06/02/2017 7:34 PM

      whole heartedly agree. More fuel used the more you contribute. So if you have a gas guzzler but do only a few miles a year you contribute little to CO2 levels compared to something economical but doing tens of thousands of miles and wearing out the roads more.

  19. Russell Roe 04/02/2017 1:14 PM

    Typical politician getting paid for getting it wrong then getting paid again for getting it wrong

  20. peter turnbull 04/02/2017 3:11 PM

    Why oh why they don’t put 2pence on a litre and abolish road tax then no one can escape. Too simple for our bureaucrats to take in

  21. Graham Wood 04/02/2017 4:06 PM

    Graham Wood
    as a blue badge holder and diabetic on insulin and have pacemaker pensioner I do not do a lot of miles yearly I need a car to keep hospital appointments as public transport is impossible although I have av6 2.8 vehicle 14years old I agree do away with road tax and stick a few pence on a liter is the fairest way

  22. John Crofts 04/02/2017 4:55 PM

    I agree, tax on fuel, it makes sense you do the miles you pay the money, save the use of policemen wasting time chasing untaxed vehicles.

    • james savage 09/02/2017 11:09 AM

      john crofts it does not work like that the more you put on fuel the big milage users pay less because they get the vat and tax back

    • Dave 11/02/2017 12:38 AM

      And the cost of prosecuting the ones they catch

  23. Chris 05/02/2017 12:15 AM

    Simply adding a penny tax per litre would be a very simple and effective means of collecting the tax as well as being proportionately fair to users. Unfortunately it would take masses of administration out of the system and cut large numbers of DVLA employees. With insurance and MOT databases accessed, as now, to keep tabs on vehicles thrre could be no reason to retain the current tax system. Simplicity and savings all round.

  24. Brian Farmer 05/02/2017 1:00 PM

    I bought a motorcycle 800cc brand new and very efficient on fuel and emmissions. Why do I pay £80 a year road tax. Because it’s easy money fror the Treasury!

  25. Brian Arnold 05/02/2017 1:18 PM

    brian Paignton,accident black spot nearby.i have contacted Torbay council of the nearby black spot knowing of six minor accidents in the last year of a blind bend allowing different parking October to end april to may to end September,silly comment from Council “CANNOT AFFORD TOO INVESTIGATE”

  26. ALAN T HAGUE 05/02/2017 2:31 PM

    IS THE NEW FIRST YEAR SLIDING SCALE THE SAME SCALE AS THE EXITING ONE, AND HOW WILL SECOND HAND PURCHASES BE TREATED.E.G. IF I BUY A MERCEDES IN DEC.2017 AT A COST OF SAY 28K,WITH AN ORIGINAL COST OF SAY 42K IN MAY 2017 WHAT WOULD BE THE TAX REQUIRED?

  27. Peter Wilcox 05/02/2017 3:24 PM

    Having read everything (I think), I cannot see what happens if one buys a second hand or preregistered car after 1 April. Does the new flat rate of £140 apply, or does the original rate apply indefinitely?

    • James Mills 06/02/2017 6:18 AM

      From the article, Peter. Hope this helps:

      Will new rules affect my current car?

      The car tax regulations are complex, so let’s get the easy bit out of the way first. Any car registered before 1 April, 2017, will continue to be taxed as it currently is and cost its owner the same annual sum in Vehicle Excise Duty (VED).

  28. Rockford Pratt 06/02/2017 6:48 AM

    Road Tax should be cancelled and the duty raised on fuel in stead, so people who use the roads more, should pay more. Electric cars owners should be required to submit their mileage every 3 months and pay an approriat amount of road tax and All monies raised should be used to maintain our highways

  29. Richard toogood 06/02/2017 2:40 PM

    Richard in Kent why do we allow all the continental lorries to wreck our roads they pay no road tax yet they cause a terrible amount of damage to our roads put the tax on fuel and we might get some income from all the lorries and make a rule to make them pay any fines or toll charges before they leave the ports all English lorries are fined on the spot on the continent this county seems to let the continentals get away with everything will someone in government ever wake up

    • Grumpy Old git 08/02/2017 12:45 PM

      Simple system, all foreign drivers on arrival register a valid credit card(could be a box like a car park entrance) before they can enter the country, and again on exit and all fines and parking charges are immediately deducted and they can not leave until they have paid.

  30. David Townsend 06/02/2017 6:17 PM

    Hi, Will my Van go from it’s £225 VED to a lower amount.
    Thanks Dave.

    • James Mills 07/02/2017 9:29 AM

      Hi Dave. Hope this helps: Any car registered before 1 April, 2017, will continue to be taxed as it currently is and cost its owner the same annual sum in Vehicle Excise Duty (VED).

  31. JOHN DORAN 07/02/2017 9:05 AM

    thanks for very help full information, regards john.

  32. tony 07/02/2017 9:50 AM

    having lived in france for 20yrs. i can tell you that despite what size car you drive there is no road tax and petrol and diesel is cheaper than in the uk also the roads are supurb and kept so

  33. Les Phillips 07/02/2017 11:04 AM

    Bring back the tax disc.

  34. Sue 07/02/2017 3:28 PM

    I’m no longer a cyclist! You seem to forget that most cyclists are also car drivers and so already pay their share. They can’t use both modes of transport at the same time so really they pay over the odds – bike doesn’t wear road out as cars do!!

  35. Tony 07/02/2017 9:34 PM

    It is unbelievable how many ignorant people bang on about cyclists needing to pay road tax!
    I’m a cyclist, I also drive a car, and guess what? I pay road tax, and when I use my bike to commute on country lanes I do less damage to the roads and ease congestion as I stay off the main routes. I don’t get a reduced rate.
    Give cyclists a break and think before you speak.
    About the only cyclists who don’t pay tax are children. Do you wish they were taxed too??!

  36. Keith 08/02/2017 10:17 AM

    How do electric cars get charged without using carbon emitting generating facilities? Perhaps they should pay more………

  37. Anthony 08/02/2017 4:22 PM

    Tax on fuel is the answer then everyone pays and tax dodging stops period, we must be the only country now that’s charges tax on the vehicle when are we going to step into the 21st century?????

  38. Pete Hannaford 08/02/2017 9:01 PM

    As a van driver doing a lot of miles per year I would rather pay an extra two or three pence per litre of fuel then pay road tax, its a fairer system as my wife does very little mileage per year, less than 6000 miles so the ones using the roads the most should pay more for the upkeep, but the funds raised must be used for road upkeep

  39. Clive Pearce 08/02/2017 10:36 PM

    I know its been said but instead of all this complicated new system why not just put the tax cost on fuel. The more miles you drive the more you pay, the bigger the engine the more you pay and it would also mean that foreign visitors and foreign trucks would also pay instead of being road tax free. Common sense to me as the government would save millions on administering the present and new system, they would also never have to check if a vehicle was taxed. Common sense must prevail.

  40. Lindsay 09/02/2017 9:13 AM

    Why oh why oh why does somebody/anybody in power EVERY do anything to simplify and sort this out?? It is glaringly obvious to practically everybody on this site that road tax does not work and is unfair. A penny or two extra per litre of fuel would solve this ludicrous state of affairs. Fines should be on the spot for foreign-registered vehicles. Police and courts should seriously clamp down on people who drive recklessly, without tax, without MOT or in stolen vehicles. We are a soft touch in this country and all law-abiding citizens are sick of paying for all the law-breakers. Isn’t there anybody out there who can sort this out????????????????????

  41. Ron Barker 09/02/2017 11:40 AM

    I cannot understand why there are so many differances in road tax. Why not charge every vehicle that uses the road system one flat sum of £250 per annum. We all use the same roads so why should some cars pay no tax at all. Don’t give me the same old rubbish about emmissions, as usual it’s the car that is hit hardest, what about all other vehicles like lorries, buses, tractors, trains, aircraft, static engines, to say but a few. At the end of the day very little of our revenue goe’s to repair the roads, as usual it’s just one big rip-off.

  42. Richard Stamper 09/02/2017 12:36 PM

    Good explanation about the new rules but can anyone tell me why my Audi A2 costs £30 per year and my Suzuki scooter £82… also, why can’t the DVLA charge from the day you buy and tax the vehicle and not back date it to the beginning of the month i.e. If you buy a second hand car on the 29th June, the Tax start date is the 1st of June, so really I am only getting 5 months or 11 months tax.

  43. dixon683w 09/02/2017 12:48 PM

    Why is everyone writing about “Road Tax”? There has been no Road Tax for years; it’s Vehicle Excise Duty. What the difference? Many years ago, the Road Tax used to be used for just that, the roads, or at least a large part of it anyway. VED is just another tax that is levied on vehicle owners but very little, if any, goes back into infrastructure.

  44. lynda 09/02/2017 4:57 PM

    Is’nt it about time the tax is put onto petrol and deasil so everybody pays there fare share for the use of the roads and nobody will get away with paying the tax which make the price go up, as you need fuel to make the car go.

  45. Birchman 10/02/2017 1:15 PM

    If the objection to putting removing VED and putting up the tax on fuel is that big companies can claim it back, what if there was a reduction in the percentage they could claim back? Surely that would be fairer then letting the private motorist pay it all.

  46. Tony Bason 12/02/2017 9:42 AM

    Would this have been put into place if we were staying in Europe, or is this another benefit of Britex 🙂

  47. Mark Head 12/02/2017 6:11 PM

    Utterly crazy – this will damage car production and mean less car purchase tax. it will mean people (like me) keep hold of older cars that produce more effluent so there will actually be an increase in pollution levels over time. That may even encourage the government to tax secondhand cars as a result. it has the same logic as the Bedroom Tax and is symptomatic of the convolution that central government delights in practising. it is not unlike the days of Henry VII where honest folk were set up and penalised for the sake of raising taxes. that ended up in certain ministers with their heads on poles! Ugly! Let’s have some sense!

  48. Rodney Baugh 13/02/2017 3:13 PM

    Rodney Baugh none of these told me how much my road tax is going to be this year.

  49. ladydriver 13/02/2017 7:05 PM

    maybe everyone should just give up cars and walk this would help NHS, reduce polution, reduce boy/girl racers, reduce congestion and parking issues outside of peoples homes as cars would not be needed therefore reduce neighborhood tiffs about cars.parked outside each others houses
    If everyone gave up their cars the roads would be nice and clear………for Me
    Thanks for the help

  50. Sidney Giles 16/02/2017 10:47 AM

    Just thinking about another tax i can invent for the government put them all in a hat and pull one out just as silly as the ones they have come up with

  51. Tony D 16/02/2017 6:14 PM

    What we need is Hoverboards like in Back to the Future 2. Then no need for road Tax and Fuel Duty. Come on Goverment I know our Nation of Inventors can do it.

  52. Colin Gillard 18/02/2017 10:15 AM

    You keep referring to ‘new cars’ , does that mean brand new cars, or does that mean buying a second hand car as well after April. I have a second hand Citroen at the moment which cost me £30 in road tax. What would the road tax be if in were to buy the same model Citroen but it was brand new at the end of last year say.? Put another way, when you buy a second hand car in future do you inherit the car tax that the previous owner paid or enter into some other tax band. What happens to pre-April registered and those new cars that are registered after April.

    • James Mills 21/02/2017 4:27 PM

      Colin, as it states in the article, the new rules only apply to new cars sold and registered from 1 April, 2017: “Any car registered before 1 April, 2017, will continue to be taxed as it currently is and cost its owner the same annual sum in Vehicle Excise Duty (VED).”
      So, the good news is that your Citroen will continue to be taxed at the same rate as it has been to date. Hope that helps.

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