Is My Car Taxed? How to Check Car Tax and What It Costs

Is my car taxed? To find out, enter the registration in a free car tax check: you'll see whether it's Taxed, Untaxed or declared off the road (SORN), and the date the tax runs out. You can also check car tax on GOV.UK. Car tax, officially called Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), never transfers with a car, so it's worth checking whenever you buy one.

Is my car taxed? How to check

1. Find the registration number. That's all you need. You don't need the V5C logbook to check tax.
2. Enter it in our car tax check. It shows the tax status and due date from DVLA's records, along with the MOT status and expiry.
3. Or use GOV.UK. The official Check if a vehicle is taxed service shows the same tax and SORN information.
4. Just taxed it? GOV.UK says records can take up to 2 working days to update, so don't panic if the new status isn't showing yet.

The check is free and works for any car on DVLA's records, so you can use it on a car you're thinking of buying as well as your own. Our free car check also shows the MOT history and other DVLA details.

What Taxed, Untaxed and SORN mean

Untaxed is common on cars for sale at dealers, because the previous keeper's tax is cancelled when they sell. It simply means whoever buys the car must tax it before driving it. Exempt cars, such as historic vehicles, still have to be taxed even though they pay nothing, so they normally show as Taxed.

Car tax doesn't transfer when you buy a car

When a car changes hands, the tax stays behind. The seller tells DVLA about the sale and gets an automatic refund for any full months left. You, the buyer, must tax the car before you drive it, even on the way home.

To tax a car you've just bought, use the 12-digit reference number on the green new keeper slip from the V5C. If the seller can't give you the slip, you can't tax the car as the new keeper and will need to apply for a new V5C, which costs £25.

Tax status is just one of the checks to make on a car you're buying. A full car history check covers the risks DVLA's record doesn't show, such as outstanding finance and insurance write-offs, and our used car buying checklist walks through the rest.

How to tax a car

You can tax a car online on GOV.UK, by phone on DVLA's 24-hour line (0300 123 4321), or at a Post Office that deals with vehicle tax. You'll need one of these reference numbers:

If the car needs an MOT, it must be valid when the tax starts. DVLA checks the MOT record, and after a pass it can take up to 2 days to update, so you may not be able to tax the car immediately after its test. If the MOT has run out, book an MOT first.

You can pay by debit or credit card, or by Direct Debit yearly, every six months or monthly, but you can't set up a Direct Debit over the phone. Paying in instalments costs a little more: on the £200 standard rate, 12 monthly Direct Debit payments total £210, and a single six-month payment is £110 (£105 by Direct Debit).

Car tax rates 2026/27

What you pay depends on when the car was first registered. These are the rates on GOV.UK's vehicle tax rate tables for licences from April 2026.

Cars registered on or after 1 April 2017

In the first year, the rate depends on CO2 emissions:

From the second year onwards, every car in this group pays the standard rate of £200 a year. Cars with a list price over £40,000, or over £50,000 for electric cars, also pay the expensive car supplement of £440 a year (£640 in total) for five years from the second time they're taxed. Zero-emission cars registered before 1 April 2025 don't pay the supplement.

Cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017

These cars pay by CO2 band, whatever their fuel. Prices are for a single 12-month payment.

Band K also includes cars over 225g/km that were registered before 23 March 2006.

Cars registered before 1 March 2001

These pay by engine size: £230 a year up to 1,549cc, and £375 a year above that.

Worked examples

• A 2014 petrol hatchback emitting 119g/km is in band C, so it costs £35 a year.
• A 2020 diesel estate with a £32,000 list price pays the standard rate of £200 a year.
• An electric car first registered in May 2025 with a £55,000 list price paid £10 in its first year, then pays £640 a year at 2026/27 rates for the next five years.

Looking further ahead, the government has announced a pay-per-mile charge for electric and plug-in hybrid cars from 1 April 2028: 3p a mile for fully electric cars and 1.5p for plug-in hybrids, paid alongside VED. It doesn't affect what you pay in 2026/27.

What happens if your car isn't taxed?

DVLA's enforcement policy sets out what an untaxed car can cost you:

An unclaimed car can be sold at auction, broken for parts or crushed after a statutory period of 7 to 14 days. A forgotten renewal is all it takes to start this process, and that's exactly what a reminder prevents.

SORN rules: taking a car off the road

A Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) lets you stop taxing and insuring a car you're not using. The car must be kept off public roads, for example in a garage, on a drive or on private land.

• It doesn't need renewing. A SORN lasts until you tax the car again, sell it, scrap it or permanently export it.
• Driving is very limited. You can only drive a SORN car on a public road to or from a pre-booked MOT or other testing appointment.
• You get a refund for any full months of tax left when you make the SORN.
• How to apply: online with the 11-digit V5C reference or the 16-digit reference on your tax reminder, by phone on 0300 123 4321, or by post using form V890.

How car tax refunds work

Refunds are automatic when you tell DVLA you've sold, scrapped, exported or made a SORN for a car, or that it's been written off. If it's stolen, you apply for the refund separately.

You only get back full months, counted from the date DVLA gets your information. The refund is paid by cheque to the name and address on the V5C, so make sure they're up to date. Card fees, the 5% Direct Debit surcharge and the 10% surcharge on a single six-month payment aren't refunded.

Who doesn't have to pay car tax?

• Historic vehicles: from 1 April 2026, cars built before 1 January 1986 are exempt; if the build date isn't known, cars registered before 8 January 1986 qualify. The cut-off moves forward each April, so it's a rolling 40-year rule. You must apply to move the car into the historic tax class.
• Disabled people: you get a full exemption if you receive a qualifying benefit, such as the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance, the enhanced rate mobility component of Personal Independence Payment or Adult Disability Payment, War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement or Armed Forces Independence Payment. The standard rate mobility component of PIP or Adult Disability Payment gets you 50% off. It covers one vehicle, registered in your name or your nominated driver's.
• Electric cars no longer qualify. They've paid VED since 1 April 2025.

Exempt cars must still be taxed, even though the tax costs £0.

Next steps: check your tax date and set a reminder

Check your car's tax status now, and note the date it runs out. If you've just bought a car, tax it before you drive it, and see our guide to checking MOT history for the other due date that matters.

The easiest way to avoid an £80 penalty is to never miss a renewal. The Car Check app sends tax and MOT reminders before each due date, for every car in your garage.