News

Older cars with these number plates face £600 car tax bill.uk

Motorists getting behind the wheel of a vehicle built in any of these years will have to pay hundreds of pounds to use the roads.

Renault Laguna 2000 Sedan moves along the road.

Cars built over 20 years ago are affected by new VED rates (Image: Getty)

Older vehicles with certain number plates are paying up to £600 per year to use the roads under recent Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) updates. Back in April, VED fees were updated, with almost every petrol and diesel driver in the UK set to feel the pain of higher rates.

Although headline changes were around the massive increase in first-year VED rates and the introduction of electric car bills, older cars were also in the firing line. Under VED rules, classic models registered before 1985 are completely exempt from car tax fees and are not liable for charges. Cars between 1985 and 2001 pay their own VED rates based on the size of the engine installed in their vehicle.

Cars parked atstreet of glasgow scotland england UK

VED car tax fees increased for almost all road users (Image: Getty)

However, cars after 2001 are taxed based on CO2 emissions with those holding the keys to the most polluting vehicles paying hundreds of pounds per year to use the road.

Experts at Cars2Buy stressed there was a major difference in VED rates with CO2 levels proving key to determining costs.

Cars2Buy explained: “Cars registered between 2001 and 2017 will continue to be taxed based on their CO2 emissions, with rates ranging from £20 to £600 per year depending on the vehicle’s environmental impact.”

It means road users with number plates ranging from ‘01’ to ‘17’ could be hit with eye-watering costs at their next tax renewal.The current number plate system issues different numbers ot cars manufactured in the second half of a year.

This means any vehicles with a number between ‘51’ and ‘67’ are also set to feel the sting. In comparison, newer vehicles registered after 2017 will pay a standard VED fee which currently sits at just £195 per year.

The RAC added: “VED road tax rates for cars first registered after March 2001 and before April 2017 are split across 13 bands depending on the CO2 emissions of the vehicle. In basic terms, the lower the CO2, the lower the tax band.

“Since 2025 VED rule changes, cars with CO2 emissions below 100g/km no longer qualify for free road tax. This means you now have to pay £20 a year for VED if your car emits up to 100g/km of CO2.

“Road tax for petrol and diesel cars registered after March 2001 and before April 2017 are broadly the same.”

Full list of affected number plates

  • 01/51
  • 02/52
  • 03/53
  • 04/54
  • 05/55
  • 06/56
  • 07/57
  • 08/58
  • 09/59
  • 10/60
  • 11/61
  • 12/62
  • 13/63
  • 14/64
  • 15/65
  • 16/66
  • 17/67

LEAVE A RESPONSE

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *