What is the electric car tax? Drivers hit with new costs from April

The extension of road tax to EVs is intended to make the tax system fairer but critics worry it will discourage people from buying zero-emissions vehicles - (Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)

As of April 2025, electric vehicles will no longer be exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty, often known as road tax. The change had been announced in the Autumn Budget of 2022 by the chancellor of the day, Jeremy Hunt.

Mr Hunt had said: “And, because the OBR forecasts half of all new vehicles will be electric by 2025, to make our motoring-tax system fairer, I have decided that, from April 2025, electric vehicles will no longer be exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty.