Pay-per-mile EV tax from 2028: what eVED will cost
The short answer
- 3p a mile from 1 April 2028 for electric cars, 1.5p for plug-in hybrids: £240 a year at 8,000 miles
- Less than fuel duty: a 45 mpg petrol car pays £428 over the same miles
- £200 a year vehicle tax on top since April 2025, plus £440 a year if the list price was over £50,000
From 1 April 2028 electric cars will pay 3p a mile in Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED), and plug-in hybrids 1.5p, on top of the £200 a year vehicle tax they have paid since April 2025. At 8,000 miles a year that is £240, less than the £428 of fuel duty a 45 mpg petrol car pays over the same miles.
What eVED is and when it starts
A pay-per-mile charge from 1 April 2028: 3p a mile for electric cars and 1.5p for plug-in hybrids, paid with your vehicle tax.
Read the detail
Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) is a pay-per-mile charge on electric cars, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen cars, added to vehicle tax from 1 April 2028. The rate is 3p a mile for electric and hydrogen cars and 1.5p for plug-in hybrids, rising with inflation (CPI) from 2029 to 2030.
You pay it when you first renew your vehicle tax after April 2028. You give the car's odometer reading and estimate your miles for the coming year, then pay up front or spread the cost across the year; the next year's reading settles the difference. The government intends to check the readings against MOT mileage records. The government expects it to apply to about 5.6 million vehicles in its first year. It applies to cars only, not vans.
The government's reason is fuel duty: petrol and diesel drivers pay it at the pump, electric drivers pay nothing like it, and the receipts fall as more people switch.
What eVED costs by mileage
£240 a year at 8,000 miles for an electric car, £120 for a plug-in hybrid.
| Miles a year | Electric car, 3p a mile | Plug-in hybrid, 1.5p a mile | Electric car, a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4,000 miles | £120 | £60 | £10 |
| 6,000 miles | £180 | £90 | £15 |
| 8,000 miles | £240 | £120 | £20 |
| 10,000 miles | £300 | £150 | £25 |
| 12,000 miles | £360 | £180 | £30 |
| 15,000 miles | £450 | £225 | £38 |
| 20,000 miles | £600 | £300 | £50 |
Read the detail
At 3p a mile, an electric car doing 8,000 miles a year pays £240 in eVED, about £20 a month. A plug-in hybrid doing the same miles pays £120.
At the 2028 rates, before any inflation rise from 2029 to 2030. eVED comes on top of the standard vehicle tax below.
How it compares with fuel duty
Less than fuel duty for almost any petrol car. A 45 mpg car pays £428 of duty over 8,000 miles against £240 of eVED.
| Miles a year | eVED, electric car | Fuel duty, 35 mpg | Fuel duty, 45 mpg | Fuel duty, 55 mpg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,000 miles | £120 | £275 | £214 | £175 |
| 6,000 miles | £180 | £413 | £321 | £263 |
| 8,000 miles | £240 | £550 | £428 | £350 |
| 10,000 miles | £300 | £688 | £535 | £438 |
| 12,000 miles | £360 | £825 | £642 | £525 |
| 15,000 miles | £450 | £1,032 | £802 | £656 |
| 20,000 miles | £600 | £1,376 | £1,070 | £875 |
Read the detail
Fuel duty is 52.95p a litre on petrol and diesel, with VAT charged on top of it. A petrol car doing 45 mpg pays about 5.3p a mile in fuel duty, so over 8,000 miles it pays £428, against £240 of eVED for an electric car. A petrol car would need to do about 80 mpg to pay less fuel duty per mile than eVED.
Fuel duty from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero weekly road fuel prices for the week of 28 September 2026, at 52.95p a litre and 4.546 litres to a UK gallon, before the VAT charged on it. The mpg figures are examples.
The fuel itself is the bigger difference. Petrol at 173.46p a litre costs a 45 mpg car about 17.5p a mile, while charging at home on an off-peak EV tariff costs about 2.2p a mile for a car doing 3.5 miles per kWh. Even with eVED, an electric car charged at home costs 5.2p a mile in electricity and eVED together. Our EV cost calculator adds it all up for your car.
Road tax on electric cars since April 2025
£10 in the first year, then £200 a year, the same standard rate as petrol and diesel cars.
| Electric car | Vehicle tax |
|---|---|
| New, first tax payment | £10 |
| Registered from 1 April 2017, every year after the first | £200 a year |
| Registered from 1 April 2017, list price over £50,000 | £640 a year for 5 years, then £200 |
| Registered 1 March 2001 to 31 March 2017 | £20 a year |
Read the detail
Electric cars have paid vehicle tax since 1 April 2025. A new electric car pays £10 for its first year, then £200 a year, the same standard rate as petrol, diesel and hybrid cars, or £210 if you pay by 12 monthly direct debits.
GOV.UK vehicle tax rates for cars, single 12 month payment. Cars registered between 2001 and March 2017 are taxed by CO2 band, and an electric car sits in band A.
The expensive car supplement
£440 a year for 5 years on an electric car listed over £50,000 and registered from 1 April 2025.
Read the detail
A car with a list price over the threshold pays an extra £440 a year for 5 years from its second tax payment, making £640 a year in all. For an electric car registered from 1 April 2025 the threshold is £50,000; for petrol, diesel and hybrid cars it is £40,000. Electric cars registered before 1 April 2025 do not pay it.
The list price is the published price before the car was first registered, before any discount, so a dealer discount or the Electric Car Grant does not take a car under the threshold. The Electric Car Grant itself only applies to cars listed at £37,000 or less, well under it.
Total road tax for an electric car from 2028
£440 a year at 8,000 miles: £200 vehicle tax and £240 eVED.
| Miles a year | List price £50,000 or less | List price over £50,000, first 5 years |
|---|---|---|
| 4,000 miles | £320 | £760 |
| 6,000 miles | £380 | £820 |
| 8,000 miles | £440 | £880 |
| 10,000 miles | £500 | £940 |
| 12,000 miles | £560 | £1,000 |
| 15,000 miles | £650 | £1,090 |
| 20,000 miles | £800 | £1,240 |
Read the detail
From April 2028 an electric car doing 8,000 miles a year pays £440 a year: £200 vehicle tax and £240 eVED. A car listed over £50,000 pays £880 for its first 5 years of standard tax.
For comparison, a petrol car doing 8,000 miles at 45 mpg pays £200 vehicle tax and £428 fuel duty, £628 in all, before the VAT on the duty.
Frequently asked questions
How much will the pay-per-mile EV tax cost?
3p a mile for an electric car from 1 April 2028: £240 a year at 8,000 miles, £300 at 10,000 miles. Plug-in hybrids pay 1.5p a mile.
When does eVED start?
On 1 April 2028. You pay it when you first renew your vehicle tax after that date, giving an odometer reading and an estimate of the miles you will drive.
Is eVED more than fuel duty?
No, for most cars. Fuel duty on a 45 mpg petrol car is about 5.3p a mile before VAT, against 3p of eVED. Only a petrol car doing about 80 mpg would pay the same.
Do electric cars pay road tax now?
Yes, since 1 April 2025: £10 in the first year, then £200 a year, plus £440 a year for 5 years if the list price was over £50,000.
Does eVED apply to plug-in hybrids?
Yes, at half the rate, 1.5p a mile, because they also burn petrol or diesel and pay fuel duty on it.
Data sources
HM Treasury, HMRC and DVLA on GOV.UK for the tax rates; DESNZ for fuel duty and pump prices.
Show every source
- HM Treasury and HMRC, Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) policy paper, 13 July 2026: 3p a mile for electric cars and 1.5p for plug-in hybrids from 1 April 2028.
- GOV.UK, vehicle tax rates (updated 9 September 2026): £200 a year from the second payment, £10 first payment for a zero emission car, £440 expensive car supplement.
- Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, weekly road fuel prices, week of 28 September 2026: petrol 173.46p and diesel 197.58p a litre, duty 52.95p a litre.
- Department for Transport, Electric Car Grant launched (15 July 2025), eligible cars and the extension to 2030 (3 December 2025).
- Octopus Energy, Intelligent Octopus Go: off-peak rate 7.6p per kWh from 11:30pm to 5:30am, checked 3 October 2026.