Road Tax Bands from 2009 - Vehicle Excise Duty

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Road tax bands

New Vehicle Excise Duty (Road Tax) bands will come into force in 2009 in an effort to support lower emission cars and make owners of higher-emitting cars, such as larger family vehicles, 4x4s and executive cars, pay more in tax.

The changes to road tax duty will mean that drivers of cars that produce more than 255g/km of CO2, which include the majority of 4x4s and sports cars, will have to pay £950 for their first year's tax disc from next year.

In the following years the road excise duty for such vehicles will still be as high as £455, compared with the current £300 charge.

Additionally from 2010, a new so-called 'showroom' tax will be enforced, whereby buyers of new cars with carbon dioxide emissions of less than 130g/km will be exempt from paying any road tax in the first year of ownership – good news for owners of vehicles such as the Toyota Prius. In contrast, buyers of the most polluting cars will face a higher first year-rate not yet revealed.

New car bands

All vehicles will be taxed on a sliding scale of 13 new bands, replacing the existing A to G categories from 2009/10. Charges will range from zero to £455, with owners of cars in the top six categories facing the sharpest increases in duties.

Car bands examples

• Cars which emit no more than 150g of carbon per kilometre and will pay less tax include the Mini Cooper 1.6, Peugeot 307 1.6 and the Vauxhall Corsa 1.3.
• Cars in the free category include the Toyota Prius, VW Polo BlueMotion, Honda Civic Hybrid, Peugeot 107 Urban, Citroen C1 and the Mini Diesel.
• The midway point will be Band G, which will include the majority of family cars such as the Honda Accord 2.2i and the 2-lite Ford Mondeo. From 2009, drivers of these cars will have to pay £260 for their first year’s tax, followed by annual tax charges of £425 and £270 for older models.
• Cars in the new top band M include gas-guzzling 4x4s such as the 4.2-litre Range Rover and Toyota Land Cruisers along with high-performance sports cars such as Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Porsches. Drivers of such models face a £950 charge in the first year only followed by a £455 annual charge from 2010-11.

It is important to note that cars registered before March 2001 do not qualify for the graded car tax. Instead such vehicles fall into two categories for 2008/9 VED – engines under 1549cc (£120) and above 1549cc (£180).

More Information

• Introduction, fuel duty postponement
• Road tax bands (Vehicle excise duty)
• Carbon emissions for cars