Car tax 2026: new April 2026 UK road rule changes may hit your vehicle with £5,690 tax – check who’s affected
Some everyday cars are about to cost thousands more in tax, and yours could be on the list 💸
- From April 2026, first-year car tax tops £5,690 for the most polluting vehicles
- Luxury cars, sports cars, SUVs, and some pick-ups fall into the highest tax band
- CO₂-heavy cars pay thousands, while average petrol/diesel cars pay £560–£1,360
- Rising VED is also making some mid-2000s and everyday cars uneconomic to keep
- EVs will face VED for the first time, with a pay-per-mile scheme also planned for 2028
Buying a new car in 2026 could come with a shock bigger than the first insurance bill.
From April, owners of nearly 60 petrol and diesel models will be hit with a £5,690 car tax charge in their first year on the road, as Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) rates rise again.
The bill applies to some of the UK’s most powerful and polluting vehicles, but critics warn the rules don’t just target supercars and luxury SUVs.
Similar tax bands are already making many older cars uneconomic to keep, and experts say the policy is quietly reshaping what motorists buy, keep, or scrap. Here’s what’s changing, why the charge is so high, and which cars are affected.
What’s changing with car tax in April 2026?
The biggest headline is the rise in first-year VED, sometimes called the “showroom tax” because it’s paid when a brand-new car is first registered.
From April 2026, the highest first-year VED rate will increase from £5,490 to £5,690, with around 59 car models then falling into this top tax band. The charge applies only in the first year of ownership for new cars
This follows an increase introduced in April 2025, when the Government doubled the top rate from £2,745 to £5,490 almost overnight. The aim is to discourage sales of the most polluting vehicles by making them significantly more expensive to buy.
Which cars face the £5,690 first-year tax bill?
The top rate applies to vehicles producing more than 255g/km of CO₂. That threshold captures a wide range of cars, including high-performance saloons and sports cars, large luxury SUVs, and pick-ups and off-roaders with powerful engines.
Brands affected include Audi, BMW, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Land Rover, Bentley, Ferrari, and Lamborghini. The 59 models attracting the £5,690 charge are:
- Alfa Romeo Stelvio 2.9 V6 Bi-Turbo
- Aston Martin DB12 4.0 V8
- Aston Martin DBX 4.0 V8
- Aston Martin Vantage 4.0 V8
- Audi R8 5.2 FSI V10
- Audi RS6 4.0 TFSI V8
- Audi RS7 4.0 TFSI V8
- Audi RSQ8 4.0 TFSI V8
- Audi S8 4.0 TFSI V8
- Audi SQ7 4.0 TFSI V8
- Audi SQ8 4.0 TFSI V8
- Bentley Bentayga 4.0 V8
- Bentley Continental 4.0 V8
- Bentley Continental 6.0 W12
- Bentley Flying Spur 4.0 V8
- BMW Alpina XB7 4.4 V8
- BMW M8 4.4 V8
- BMW X5 M 4.4 V8
- BMW X6 M 4.4 V8
- BMW X7 M 4.4 V8
- Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 6.2 V8
- Ferrari Purosangue 6.5 V12
- Ferrari Roma 3.8T V8
- Ford Mustang 5.0 V8
- Ford Ranger 2.0 TD EcoBlue
- Ford Ranger 3.0 EcoBlue
- Ford Ranger 3.0 V6
- INEOS Grenadier 3.0P
- Jaguar F-Pace 5.0 P575 V8
- Jeep Wrangler 2.0 GME
- Lamborghini Huracan 5.2 V10
- Lamborghini Revuelto 6.5 V12
- Lamborghini Urus 4.0 V8 BiTurbo
- Land Rover Defender 110 5.0 P425 V8
- Land Rover Defender 90 5.0 P425 V8
- Lotus Emira 3.5 V6
- Maserati Levante 3.0 V6
- Maserati Levante 3.8 V8
- Maserati MC20 3.0 V6
- McLaren GT 4.0T V8
- Mercedes-Benz AMG GT 4.0 V8
- Mercedes-Benz G400D
- Mercedes-Benz G63
- Mercedes-Benz GLC63
- Mercedes-Benz GLE63
- Mercedes-Benz GLS63h
- Mercedes-Benz SL55
- Porsche 718 Cayman 4.0 GT4
- Porsche 911 3.7T 992 Turbo
- Porsche Cayenne 4.0T V8
- Porsche Macan 2.9T V6
- Range Rover 4.4 P530 V8
- Range Rover 4.4 P615 V8
- Range Rover Sport 4.4P V8
- Rolls-Royce Cullinan 6.75 V12
- Rolls-Royce Ghost 6.75 V12
- Toyota Hilux 2.8D
- Toyota Land Cruiser 2.8D
- Volkswagen Amarok 3.0 TDI
How first-year VED works (and why it jumps so fast)
First-year VED is based entirely on CO₂ emissions, not the price of the car. From April 2026, zero-emission cars pay £10, while cars emitting 1g/km of CO₂ jump to £110. The charge then rises in bands all the way up to £5,690.
To put that into context, an average petrol car (around 143g/km) will pay about £560, while an average diesel car (around 164g/km) will pay roughly £1,360. After the first year, vehicles move onto the standard annual rate.
What about road tax after the first year?
The standard annual VED rate rises from £195 to £200 in April 2026, for cars already on the road, or once a new car enters its second year.
This is far lower than the first-year charge, but it still represents another incremental increase for motorists already facing higher fuel, insurance and repair costs.
What about electric cars?
From April 2026, electric vehicles (EVs) will no longer be exempt from VED. They will be taxed for the first time, although at much lower rates than petrol or diesel cars.
Looking further ahead, the Government has also confirmed a pay-per-mile road pricing scheme from April 2028, which is expected to affect both EVs and conventional cars.
Why critics say the rules go further than ‘luxury cars’
The new policies are often framed as a crackdown on thirsty supercars and oversized SUVs. But motoring specialists warn similar VED structures are already making ordinary older cars effectively worthless.
According to reports, some mid-2000s family cars now face annual tax bills so high they exceed the vehicle’s resale value. That has led to usable cars being scrapped or exported prematurely, even models that are close to becoming modern classics.
Vehicles such as larger-engined Ford Mondeos, Audi TTs, Vauxhall Zafira VXRs and even certain VW Golfs can end up in the most expensive tax bands, despite being far from exotic.