If you want to buy an electric vehicle, one of the things
you want to focus on is how much you have to pay for it, but also where you can
charge it. Battery life is another important concern and a thing to focus on.
But one of the things that people tend to overlook is definitely the road tax.
You do need to pay road tax in some cases, and it’s one of the things you
should think about when you buy an EV. Here’s what you need to know about road
tax.
Do you have to pay road tax now?
Paying road tax right now is not necessary, but things will
change soon. In the UK, a new bill implemented the road tax system that will
start with April 1st 2025. From that date onward, you will have to
pay road tax if you are driving an electric vehicle. Until this point, EVs were
not required to pay road tax at all, but things are changing due to a variety
of reasons.
With that in mind, aside from the road tax, if a car exceeds
the 40000 GBP price, it will also have an expensive car tax supplement added to
that. The focus here is on trying to ensure a fair road tax system, while also
showing that there are more and more EV cars on the roads right now. So having
a system like this makes sense, even if it caught most EV owners offguard. But
it’s certainly something that we need to expect, and it certainly delivers an
exceptional value.
What is the EV road tax?
The EV road tax is an annual payment that owners of electric
vehicles need to pay. Whether you use the vehicle or just park it in the UK,
you still need to pay the road tax. The government is using it as a way to help
improve the road infrastructure and maintain it at the right levels, while also
generating revenue. One thing to note here is that road tax is always
calculated based on emission levels.
While most EV cars have 0 emissions, they still have to pay
road tax however. The idea is to ensure fairness for everyone on the road,
while also as we said, generating revenue that will help with the road
maintenance and cover costs related to the road infrastructure. While it’s not
something that was received warmly, this new bill is already published and it
will end up coming in 2025.
Is it really necessary to have an EV road tax?
Obviously, this is a topic of debate. The main focus for the
road tax is to help bring revenue from cars that could potentially be harmful
for the people on the road and which would generate a lot of pollution. EVs are
not like that, yet they will still end up being taxed just for the fact they
are on the road, even if you’re not using the vehicle to begin with.
How much will you have to pay as road tax?
In 2025 you will pay 10 GBP a year, which is the lowest
rate. But from the second year onward, the price will be 180 GBP per year. In
addition, the zero emission cards that were registered between April 2017 and
31 March 2025 will have to pay the standard rate. And as we said earlier, the
expensive car supplement exemption will end starting with 2025. That means you
will have to pay extra if your car is over the 40000 GBP threshold.
If you have zero and also low emission cars registered
between March 2001 and 30 March 2017 will move from Band A to Band B, and they
will cost you 20 GBP a year. Since the road upkeep has become higher and higher
over the past few years, it’s extremely challenging to keep up with those
costs, and that’s why the government is taking this approach.
Can you be exempt from paying the road tax?
There’s no way to be exempt from paying the road tax
starting with April 2025. Until this point, people tried to circumvent things
and charge their vehicle from public or private chargepoints. Some even had the
battery not connected to any power source when the vehicle was moving, or they
used hydrogen fuel cells. But with this new change, all of those things won’t
matter, and it’s something to think about.
What about hybrid vehicles?
The road tax is also based on the CO2 tailpipe emissions of
each vehicle. If the vehicle has a low set of emissions, the road tax is
lowered. One thing to note here is that hybrid vehicles are emitting less CO2
when compared to a diesel or petrol vehicle.
They rely on electric power, at least partially. The registration date for hybrid vehicles will
also play a role when it comes to hybrid vehicles, since older vehicles will
have a different road tax when compared to the newer ones.
Annual payments for the EV owners
Aside from this road tax, you will also need to think about
electricity costs and car insurance. Plus, there are other things like car
maintenance as well. Even if the vehicle has way less moving parts, you still
have to undergo regular maintenance to ensure that the vehicle is running the
way it should. Fluid top-ups, replacing braking pads, changing tires, all of
these have their own share of challenges and it’s something to take into
consideration.
Conclusion
Adding road tax is something that the UK government has
considered for quite some time in regards to EVs. However, this was expected,
since the upkeep of national roads has become higher and higher, and there are
also more EVs on the road. So this was a long time coming, even if it still is
a shock for a lot of EV owners. With that in mind, these taxes are still lower
than what a fossil fuel vehicle needs to pay, since it’s all emissions based.