Car Tax Rates 2019

This page explains some of the confusion around Car Tax rates & bands for 2019. If you buy a new car you will pay an amount depending on the Co2 Emissions. The higher the Co2 emmissions per 100 g the higher the Car Tax cost. This is at point of sale. The cost is shown in the first table (below). This applies to all vehicles including 7‐Seaters, Hybrid cars, Electric Cars, MPVs, sidecars or Motorhomes registered after April 2017.

In Summary:

Cars Regsitered before March 2001 are charged according to engine size;
Cars registered up to April 2017 are charged according to a Band (A to M);
Cars registered after April 2017 are charged according to a Co2 Group.

How to Pay

You can pay Car Tax annually, monthly, every 6 months or by standing order every 6 months (which is slightly cheaper than paying the one off 6 month charge). There is also a small charge for splitting payments monthly. The costs outlined below are for a Cars first year (from being registered). After the first year you pay a slightly different amount which is detailed in the second table (below).

What to Pay

Costs are outlined below. If your car does not meet the Real Driving Emissions 2 (RDE2) standard you will pay more. Check with the garage if you are unsure.

Cars Registered from April 2017

The table below outlines the first payment (when you buy a car):

Co2 Emissions (G/km)	Diesel Cars (TC49) that meet RDE2 standard & Petrol (TC48)	Other Diesel (TC49)	Alternative Fuel (TC59)
£0	£0	£0	£0
1‐50	£10	£25	£0
51‐75	£25	£110	£15
76‐90	£110	£130	£100
91‐100	£130	£150	£120
101‐110	£150	£170	£140
111‐130	£170	£210	£160
131‐150	£210	£530	£200
151‐170	£530	£855	£520
171‐190	£855	£1,280	£845
191‐225	£1,280	£1,815	£1,270
226‐255	£1,815	£2,135	£1,805
Over 255	£2,135	£2,135	£2,125

2nd Year Tax Payments Onwards

After you’ve paid for your first year you will have to pay a yearly fee based on what type of vehicle you own. This is shown below:

Fuel Type	Annual Fee	Monthly Fee	6-Month Fee	Direct Debit 6-Month Fee
Petrol or Diesel	£145	£12.69	£79.75	£76.13
Electric	£0	N/A	£0	N/A
Alternative	£135	£11.81	£74.25	£70.88

Cars costing over 40K

For cars with a list price of over £40,000 (such as your Audi Q7) you will have to pay another £320 yearly for 5 years.

Cars Registered before April 2017

For cars registered before April 2017 Car Tax is charged according what Co2 emmission (g/km) band it falls into. You have to pay this every year. Car Tax bands range from A to M (13 bands). This is shown in the following table. Costs range from zero to over £550.00. Figures below are for Petrol (TC48) & Diesel (TC49) vehicles.

Band	Co2 (g/km)	Annual Fee	Monthly DD	6-Month Fee	6-Month DD Fee
A	Up to 100	£0	£0	N/A	N/A
B	101‐110	£20	£1.75	N/A	N/A
C	111‐120	£30	£2.63	N/A	N/A
D	121‐130	£125	£10.94	£68.75	£65.63
E	131‐140	£145	£12.69	£79.75	£76.13
F	141‐150	£160	£14	£88	£84
G	151‐165	£200	£17.50	£110	£105
H	166‐175	£235	£20.56	£129.25	£123.38
I	176‐185	£260	£22.75	£143	£136.50
J	186‐200	£300	£26.25	£165	£157.50
K*	201‐225	£325	£28.44	£178.75	£170.63
L	226‐255	£555	£48.56	£303.25	£291.38
M	Over 255	£570	£49.88	£313.50	£299.25

* If you have a car registered before 23 March 2006 with a CO2 figure over 225g/km you will be charged the K tax band. For alternative fuel cars classed (TC59) the price is a few pounds different (not much).

Cars Registered Before 2001

If you own a car registered before 2001 you have to pay a fee depending on whether your car is above or below 1549cc. If your car engine size is below 1549cc you will pay £160 a year and if it is over 1549cc you will pay £265 a year. As above, you will have the choice to pay monthly (£14 or £23.19), every 6 months (£88 or £145.75) or by standing 6‐Monthly Direct Debit (£84 or £139.13).

Other Car Tax Rates

As well as the above there are different rates for bigger vehicles such as light good vehicles (TC39), Euro 4 (TC36) vehicles and Euro 5 (TC36). Prices vary here from £140 to £260. Motorcycles (TC17) costs vary from £19 a year under 150cc to £91 a year (over 600 cc). Tricycle (TC50) have their own banding but it is exactly the same as the motorcycle charges above. All payments, as above, can be paid yearly, twice a year or monthly.

Summary

Whilst Motormum has tried to simplify the Car Tax process above it can still be difficult to pin down what Car Tax you will have to pay when you buy a certain car. I know this is important when trying to budget. Despite the different charges & rates there are a few underlying principles in common:

The bigger the engine the more you will pay!
The more expensive the car the more you will pay!
The higher the Co2 emissions the more you will pay!.

Even when buying an Electric Car (when you think you will be Car Tax free) there is a £320 a year charge if the list price is over £40,000. This includes pure electric cars and hybrid (Petrol & Electric Vehicles).