Vehicle tax what do you need

We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services. You can change your cookie settings at any time. Start now. Go to a Post Office that deals with vehicle tax. You need to take either:. You will not need these payment details if your vehicle is exempt from tax. It can take up to 2 days for MOT information to be updated, so you might not be able to tax your vehicle immediately after it passes its test.

In Northern Ireland you also need an insurance certificate or cover note. These must be paper copies. Home Identity Vehicle Tax. Tax your vehicle. How to tax your vehicle Whether you have a car, a motorbike or even a truck, we make it easy for you to pay your vehicle tax.

Find your nearest branch Use our branch finder tool to find where you can tax your vehicle. Sorry the postcode you entered does not seem to be valid. Please check and enter it again. Choose a service Close. Use our branch finder tool to find where you can tax your vehicle. Show more branches. Going off-road? Which documents do I need to renew my tax?

How do I tax my new car? Do I still need a tax disc for my car? No — tax discs were phased out in October Can I still renew my vehicle tax at the Post Office? Car tax rates rose again in April , with owners of hybrids, diesels and petrol cars all paying more.

Below we lay out everything you need to know about the different vehicle tax rates and rules, and what you'll be paying. Looking to buy a car? Head straight to our new and used car reviews. These rules apply to all cars that were first registered after 1 April Below we explain the post rules in more detail, or you can skip straight to the table of car tax rates.

Wondering if you should buy an electric car? The worst we've seen are impractical and unreliable, but the best have a decent range and are enjoyable to drive. Find out which electric cars we recommend by checking our round-up of the best electric cars. The rate of car tax you'll pay is based on the date the car was first registered, which is why this is important.

The first registration date does not alter with subsequent owners. For instance, a car bought new and registered on 1 July , and then sold to someone else on 1 August , will always have a first registration date of 1 July You can find the first registration date in your car's V5C document your proof of ownership document. But to save you digging that out, the easiest way to check is to go to the DVLA's 'get vehicle information' service and enter your registration. This free service will reveal the car's first registration date along with other useful information, such as when the MOT is due to expire and the car's European emission status eg Euro 6.

There are three main rates for cars that were registered as new after 1 April The table below shows the current car tax rates. These rates apply to cars first registered on or after 1 April Electric cars and hydrogen fuel-cell cars such as the Hyundai Nexo are zero-emission vehicles, which are currently exempt from paying any form of car tax.

Electric cars registered before April are also exempt from car tax. However, it was announced in the Budget that owners of zero-emission cars bought before 31 March would no longer have to pay that supplementary rate. Unusually, this exemption from the supplement also applies to existing owners. The rates are slightly different for owners of alternative-fuel cars. These are vehicles that don't run purely on diesel or petrol, and include:. New RDE tests came into force in September , but not all new cars had to comply with these new testing procedures until 1 September Find out more about official tests, and how our tests compare, by going to how we test mpg and emissions.

The rules are not being back dated; they only affect those buying a new diesel car that was first registered on or after 1 April Any cars first registered as new after 1 March , but before 1 April , continue to be taxed at their previous, respective rates. These are based on official CO2 emissions. The amount of CO2 your car produces puts it into one of 13 bands, which are assigned letters A to M. Cars in band A emit the least amount of CO2, and are currently exempt from paying any car tax throughout the life of the car.

The rates below show the current rates, assuming you choose to make a single payment for the year. For cars registered from 1 April , this exemption no longer applies. These rates apply to cars first registered before April The rates also tend to increase year on year in line with RPI the retail price index , and have been updated to show the latest April tax-year rates.

Annual rate after first year assumes single month payment. You can choose to set up a direct debit to pay monthly, or pay a single payment every six months. But if you choose either of these options, you will end up paying more compared with a single payment for 12 months. Alternative-fuel cars are those that don't run purely on diesel or petrol, such as hybrids.

These car tax rates apply to cars registered from 1 March A rolling year car tax exemption for classic vehicles applies from 1 April It means any vehicle built 40 or more years ago will be exempt from car tax on an automatic rolling basis on 1 April each year. If you're deciding between a petrol or a diesel car, our petrol or diesel calculator will tell you which will cost you less. To show how the post-April car tax system compares with the previous one, we've compared rates on a selection of cars with CO2 levels ranging from low to high.