Almost all vehicles, whether you ship a car or you arrange a vehicle transport UK from abroad or more often you buy a vehicle from abroad and import a vehicle in the UK , you need to have the vehicle road taxed in order to drive on UK roads – including electric vehicles (EVs).
Understanding car tax in the UK, especially when you ship a car from abroad, can be a confusing process.
Road tax (or Vehicle Excise Duty – VED – to use its official name) has changed substantially over the years and this can make it difficult to understand how much you need to pay each year or each time you Ship a car or import a car from Japan where most of the abroad purchases take place.
To complicate matters further, road tax rates are automatically adjusted by the Government in line with country inflation.
The most recent change was implemented on 1 April 2024, with rates increased for the 2024/25 financial year.
There are important rules you need to understand when it comes to buying or selling a vehicle and especially when you ship a car from abroad as the first import taxation is very different form a regular UK vehicle taxation.
UK car tax bands explained
Vehicle tax bands are based either on engine size, especially if you ship a car from abroad to the UK or you import a Japanese vehicle in the UK or any other import from any other country, or the tax is based on a fuel type and carbon dioxide (CO2 emissions), depending on when the vehicle was first registered.
Cars first registered on or after 1 April 2017 are taxed against one of three VED bands – zero, standard or premium.
For cars registered between 1 March 2001 to 31 March 2017, the rates are split into different CO2 bands – the lower the tailpipe emissions, the lower the vehicle tax.
In order to tax a vehicle, suitable car insurance cover must be in place, while the vehicle must also have a valid MOT if it is over three years old (four years in Northern Ireland). Both are checked electronically when you apply for car tax.
Electric car drivers currently do not need to pay anything to tax their vehicle, and the annual VED is provided free of charge. In 2025, that will change and almost two million drivers will be hit by the new tax DVLA car rates from April 2025
However still some vehicles are exempt from vehicle tax, although you’ll still need to apply for it:
- Vehicles used by a disabled person
- Disabled passenger vehicles
- Mobility scooters, powered wheelchairs and invalid carriages
- Historic vehicles built more than 40 years before 1 January of the current year
- Electric vehicles
- Mowing machines
- Steam vehicles
- Vehicles used just for agriculture, horticulture, and forestry
If you want to know more about vehicle tax when you ship a car from abroad and you register a vehicle for the first time don’t hesitate to contact our expert UK Vehicle Registration Department at Trans Global Logistics UK Limited.
Trans Global Logistics UK Limited , International Shipping & Logistics Company with 30 years of experience, will be able to offers several services for your Vehicle Transport / Customs Clearance / Import and UK Vehicle Registration to confidently support your shipment in either Import or Export for any type of equipment.
Contact us at Trans Global Logistics UK Limited
Email– bizdev@tglog.co.uk – Phone 07833 410 281 www.tglog.co.uk