CAR TAX is set to double for almost 60 vehicles in just weeks following a major rule change this year.
Rates of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) will rise dramatically for the highest emitting motors, potentially leading to an increase of nearly £3,000.
From April 1, 2025, any car that emits more than 255g/km of CO2 will be required to pay an additional £2,745 to use the road.
This means some drivers could receive a significant hit, making their VED costs jump to a mind-boggling £5,490 for the first year.
The costly car supplement, for those with motors which cost more than £40,000 when new, is also set to rise to £425 per year, up from £410.
This additional fee is taken from the second to the sixth year your car is on the road.
If your vehicle was manufactured between 2001 and 2017, your car tax is determined by the amount of emissions your vehicle produces.
The increases are set to begin from April this year and mean that diesel buyers face an average increase of £1,114 – more than double the £503 rise for petrol drivers.
Hybrid owners will pay between £135 and £327 extra, depending on the specific model they buy.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves made some adjustments to the VED tax bands in her Autumn Budget.
Ms Reeves said she was making the changes to “strengthen incentives to purchase zero-emission and electric cars” by making it more expensive to drive petrol or diesel models.
Under the bands, cars are categorised based on their C02 emissions, measured in grams per kilometre.
Motors such as the Volkswagen Polo will see its car tax increase by £270.
A firm favourite among Brits, the Polo – first released in 1975 – is now in its sixth generation, on sale since 2018.
Green-thinking drivers can get their hands on the 1.0-litre TSI petrol version, with a manual transmission, in Life trim, for £22,150.
But with CO2 emissions of 116g/km, buyers will see the cost of first-year VED increase from £220 to £440 from April 1.
2025 car tax changes
FIRST-year car tax rates are set to go up from April this year.
Vehicle excise duty (VED) is a tax levied on every vehicle using public roads in the UK and is collected by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
For most cars registered prior to April 2017, the amount of VED due depended primarily on the car’s official CO2 emissions.
For cars registered from April 2017 onwards, first-year VED payments are related to CO2 emissions, but subsequent payments are not.
Drivers of relatively fuel-efficient petrol or diesel cars (up to 50g/km CO2) typically pay up to £30 for the year when they first register the vehicle, depending on the car’s official CO2 emissions.
Drivers of less fuel-efficient cars pay more, up to a maximum of £2,605, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.
For the second-year payment onwards, most drivers pay a fixed rate of £180 regardless of the CO2 emissions of their vehicle.
Some drivers may also have to pay a luxury supplement if they drive a car with a ‘list price’ of more than £40,000.
Electric vehicles (EVs) are currently exempt and drivers of EVs pay no VED, but from 2025, EVs first registered on or after 1 April 2017 will be liable to pay the lower rate in the first year (that which currently applies to vehicles with CO2 emissions of 1-50g/km) and the standard rate from the second year of registration onwards.
A similar change applies to zero-emissions vans and motorcycles.
The luxury supplement exemption for EVs is also due to end in 2025.
From the 1st of April 2025, drivers purchasing a new vehicle will have to pay more for their vehicle excise duty (commonly known as first year road tax) for the first year.
The new rules will see the road tax cost double for all new cars emitting CO2 of 76g/km or more, making the highest CO2-producing vehicles the hardest hit by the new prices in cash terms, according to Dick Lovett.
Motorists with vehicles that emit more than 256g/km of CO2 will see their average road tax rise from £2,745 in 2024/25 to £5,490 in 2025/26.
However, the Polo GTI, with its 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine and seven-speed automatic gearbox, puts out 149g/km CO2.
This means buyers will have to fork out an extra £270 in first year VED from next year when the rate doubles to £540.
One car that will see a staggering increase in tax is the Audi A3.
By far the cheapest Audi A3 to tax from 1 April next year will be the brand’s plug-in hybrid variant, the ’40 TFSI e S-Tronic’, which puts out CO2 emissions as low as 7g/km CO2.
However, the sporty RS3 version will cost a staggering £3,300 to tax for 12 months.
List of vehicles in highest car tax bracket
HERE are a list of vehicles that produce more than 255g/km of CO2, placing them in the highest bracket for car tax.
Alfa Romeo Stelvio 2.9 V6 Bi-Turbo.
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.
Aston Martin DB12 4.0 V8.
Aston Martin DBX 4.0 V8.
Aston Martin Vantage 4.0 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 Urus 4.0 V8 BiTurbo.
Lamborghini Revuelto 6.5 V12.
Land Rover Defender 90 5.0 P425 V8.
Land Rover Defender 110 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.
All vehicles that emit more than 76g/km of CO2 will see their road tax double[/caption]
