The DVLA has warned motorists that they could face new car tax charges in April, regardless of whether their vehicle is new or old.
From the new financial tax year in April, electric vehicles will be liable to pay Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) in the same way as vehicles with internal combustion engines.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has consistently updated motorists about the upcoming changes and whether they could be impacted by the new measures.
Posting on social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, the DVLA posted: “Vehicle tax is changing for electric and low emission vehicles from 1 April 2025.
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The DVLA is warning that car tax changes will impact all electric vehicles
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“Drivers will need to pay vehicle tax in the same way as those of petrol and diesel vehicles. This will apply to both new and existing vehicles.”
Any new electric, zero or low emission cars registered on or after April 1, 2025, will need to pay the lowest first year rate of vehicle tax set at £10 from 1 April 2025.
From the second tax payment onwards, you will pay the standard rate, which will see drivers pay a fee of £195.
Any of the vehicles mentioned which were registered between April 1, 2017, and March 31, 2025, will pay the standard rate of £195 when the changes are introduced.
Electric, zero or low emission cars registered between March 1, 2001, and March 31, 2017, will move to the first band that has a VED value and will cost £20.
Changes will also be seen to the Vehicle Excise Duty paid by hybrid and alternatively fuelled vehicles (AFVs) from next April.
The £10 annual discount for hybrids and AFVs will be removed while the VED rate paid will depend on when the vehicle was first registered.
For those registered before April 1, 2017, the rate will depend on the vehicle’s CO2 emissions, while any vehicles registered before that deadline will pay the £195 standard rate.
Electric vans will move to the standard annual rate for light goods vehicles, while motorcycles and tricycles will move to the annual rate for the smallest engine size.
Owners of new electric and zero emission vehicles registered after April 1, 2025, will also need to pay the Expensive Car Supplement if it has a list price of more than £40,000.
This currently costs £410 and will see motorists of more expensive vehicles pay the rate for the first five years from the start of the second licence.
In the most recent Budget, the Government recognised that the Expensive Car Supplement had a “disproportionate impact” on electric vehicles, given that they currently tend to have a higher list price than ICE equivalents.
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Former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that electric vehicles would start paying car tax in the 2022 Autumn Budget
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It outlined that it would only consider raising the threshold for zero emission cars only at a “future fiscal event” to make it easier for drivers to buy electric vehicles.
Many industry experts have called for ESP to be cut or the threshold made higher for electric vehicles to help motorists buy an EV without being hammered with extra costs as soon as they register it.
