HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced updated VAT rates for UK motorists driving older petrol and diesel vehicles. The tax authority brought in revised VAT road fuel scale charges last month on May 1, which will stay in place until April 30, 2027, affecting thousands of drivers.
Road fuel scale charges are fixed sums approved by HMRC that are added to a VAT return to cover the private use of fuel in a company vehicle. These rates, which HMRC updates annually, apply to vehicles according to CO2 emissions and represent fixed amounts regardless of how much private mileage you accumulate.
The charges are recorded by entering them in Box 1 of your VAT return. HMRC stated motorists must calculate the appropriate road fuel charge based on their vehicle's CO2 emissions and the duration of their VAT accounting period, which will be either one, three or 12 months.
The rates rise in bands of 5g per kilometre of CO2 emissions, with VAT-inclusive charges spanning from £657 for vehicles releasing 120g or less of CO2 per km, up to £2,297 for vehicles releasing 225g/km over a 12-month period. Motorists can account for the charges on an annual, quarterly or monthly basis, reports the Express.
However, for motorists with older petrol and diesel vehicles that lack a CO2 emissions figure, you'll need to determine the CO2 band using your vehicle's engine size instead to calculate the charge. According to ETA Insurance, this will typically apply to motorists with vehicles registered before 2001.
The insurance firm stated: "Motorists who drive cars that were first registered before 2001 are unlikely to be aware of how much CO2 their vehicle emits.
"A car's V5 document (sometimes referred to as the logbook) details the amount of CO2 the vehicle emits per kilometre, but this is not the case for vehicles registered before March 1, 2001."
Explaining how to calculate the CO2 emissions figure for older vehicles, HMRC said: "If your car is too old to have a CO2 emissions figure, you should identify the CO2 band based on its engine size. If its cylinder capacity is:
- 1,400 or less, use CO2 band 140
- more than 1,400cc but less than 2,000cc, use CO2 band 175
- more than 2,000 cc, use CO2 band 225 or more
"To do this, work out how much of the accounting period you used each car for, and record this as a percentage of the accounting period. Apply this percentage to each road fuel scale charge to get a total figure."
Motorists can reclaim the VAT in full and pay the road fuel scale charge, reclaim no VAT whatsoever, or monitor the split between business and personal mileage to partially recover some VAT.
Listed are the new VAT road fuel scale charges from May 1, 2026, to April 30, 2027, for a 12 month, three month and one month accounting period, as confirmed by HMRC.
CO₂ Emissions: 120g/km or less
- 12 Month Period: £657.00
- 3 Month Period: £163.00
- 1 Month Period: £54.00
CO₂ Emissions: 125g/km – 150g/km
- 125g/km: £983.00 (12 months) | £246.00 (3 months) | £81.00 (1 month)
- 130g/km: £1,051.00 (12 months) | £261.00 (3 months) | £86.00 (1 month)
- 135g/km: £1,114.00 (12 months) | £278.00 (3 months) | £92.00 (1 month)
- 140g/km: £1,182.00 (12 months) | £294.00 (3 months) | £98.00 (1 month)
- 145g/km: £1,245.00 (12 months) | £311.00 (3 months) | £103.00 (1 month)
- 150g/km: £1,314.00 (12 months) | £328.00 (3 months) | £109.00 (1 month)
Article continues below
CO₂ Emissions: 155g/km – 180g/km
- 155g/km: £1,377.00 (12 months) | £344.00 (3 months) | £114.00 (1 month)
- 160g/km: £1,445.00 (12 months) | £361.00 (3 months) | £119.00 (1 month)
- 165g/km: £1,508.00 (12 months) | £377.00 (3 months) | £125.00 (1 month)
- 170g/km: £1,576.00 (12 months) | £393.00 (3 months) | £130.00 (1 month)
- 175g/km: £1,640.00 (12 months) | £409.00 (3 months) | £136.00 (1 month)
- 180g/km: £1,708.00 (12 months) | £426.00 (3 months) | £142.00 (1 month)
CO₂ Emissions: 185g/km – 220g/km
- 185g/km: £1,771.00 (12 months) | £442.00 (3 months) | £146.00 (1 month)
- 190g/km: £1,839.00 (12 months) | £459.00 (3 months) | £152.00 (1 month)
- 195g/km: £1,902.00 (12 months) | £475.00 (3 months) | £158.00 (1 month)
- 200g/km: £1,971.00 (12 months) | £492.00 (3 months | £163.00 (1 month)
- 205g/km: £2,034.00 (12 months) | £509.00 (3 months) | £169.00 (1 month)
- 210g/km: £2,102.00 (12 months) | £524.00 (3 months) | £174.00 (1 month)
- 215g/km: £2,165.00 (12 months) | £541.00 (3 months) | £180.00 (1 month)
- 220g/km: £2,233.00 (12 months) | £557.00 (3 months) | £185.00 (1 month)
CO₂ Emissions: 225g/km or more
- 12 Month Period: £2,297.00
- 3 Month Period: £574.00
- 1 Month Period: £190.00