Labour’s new £5,950 VED car tax charge from April 2027

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Labour’s new £5,950 VED car tax charge from April 2027 Labour and Chancellor John Healey is set to introduce new Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) car tax bands on road users within a matter of months. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Add us as preferred source Comments By Luke Chillingsworth , Cars Reporter 07:42, Fri, Oct 30, 2026 Updated: 07:43, Fri, Oct 30, 2026 Motorists face VED increases from April 2027 (Image: Getty) Labour will introduce a new £5,950 car tax charge affecting petrol and diesel drivers in a matter of months as part of annual Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) increases, according to experts at Pete Bardem.

The motoring specialists have calculated VED price hikes for the 2027/28 year after the Treasury confirmed another annual inflationary rise from April next year. The standout increase is around first-year tax fees for brand new cars, with rates rising by hundreds of pounds in a staggering blow. Cars emitting over 255g/km currently pay £5,690 in their first year on the roads, but this is expected to rise by £260 next Spring to hit £5,950.

Fees for the highest-polluting models stood at just £2,745 in early 2025, meaning fees will have now increased by more than £3,000 in just over 48 months. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT First-year rates will also increase across the board, with owners of brand new cars emitting between 22 and 255g/km of CO2 among those facing increases. Fees are expected to increase from the current £4,850 to £5,070 in another £220 hit on motorists’ bank accounts.

Meanwhile, cars emitting 191 to 225g/km will pay £3.575 in year one from April 2027, another rise on the current £3,420 fees. VED price hikes were confirmed in the Treasury's Budget document which was released just hours after John Healey’s speech in the House of Commons on Wednesday. Get motoring news and advice plus selected offers and competitions I would like to receive emails from the Daily Express featuring our latest products, services, offers, and promotions from across the Reach Plc family .

Subscribe Invalid email You agree you are 18 or over. We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. You can unsubscribe at any time. More Info . The report reads: “The government will uprate VED rates for cars, vans and motorcycles in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI) from 1 April 2027.” Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT Richard Hammond reveals ‘uncomfortable truth about electric cars’ - ‘it’s idiotic’ John Healey confirms new 35p per mile change for UK drivers | Express.co.uk Fees will rise by hundreds of pounds next April (Image: Getty) However, motorists will be pleased this is just a standard uprating in line with inflation and nothing much more substantial.

Rachel Reeves doubled first-year tax bands in April 2025, which saw fees soar by thousands of pounds. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT However, any tax rise is sure to be unpopular for motorists, with road users across the country already battling rising running costs, particularly fuel . In his Budget statement, Mr Healey claimed he understood that motorists needed help with their finances. He said: “For millions of people the cost of living and the cost of doing business is the same.

Left out here: Leaves out what changes the picture

The Express blames rising running costs, particularly fuel, but never says the same Budget froze fuel duty for the 16th consecutive year. A reader may think the Budget only added to drivers' costs.

How we know

GB News reported“Fuel duty was kept frozen for the 16th consecutive year by the Labour Chancellor”Drivers face new car tax hikes, HMRC rules and fuel duty updates after Labour's Budget (opens in a new tab)

The home is the office and the van is the family car.” Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) Petrol Diesel Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Add us as preferred source Comments

Read the original article on express.co.uk

What we found (5)

The Daily Express sells a routine inflation uprating of an existing first-year VED rate as Labour's "new £5,950 car tax charge", although its own body calls it "just a standard uprating in line with inflation". It overstates the time over which top-band fees doubled, misstates which cars face the £5,070 rate, and wraps a rise of about 4.6% in words like "staggering blow".

Headline goes beyond the article
Serious
“Labour’s new £5,950 VED car tax charge”
Why this matters
The headline calls £5,950 a "new" Labour car tax charge.
The impression it gives
Labour has created a fresh £5,950 tax that drivers did not pay before.
The context
The body says the top first-year band already costs £5,690 and will rise by £260 under the usual annual RPI uprating. The Express itself calls it a standard inflation rise, and its earlier report says VED is uprated every spring.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“Cars emitting over 255g/km currently pay £5,690 in their first year”
- Elsewhere in the article“this is just a standard uprating in line with inflation and nothing much more substantial”
- Daily Express wrote earlier“VED rates are uprated every spring in line with inflation”John Healey confirms new April 2027 VED car tax changes (opens in a new tab)
Show it in the article
“Labour will introduce a new £5,950 car tax charge affecting petrol and diesel drivers”
Why this matters
In its own voice the Express repeats that Labour "will introduce a new" charge.
The impression it gives
A new tax is being introduced on petrol and diesel drivers.
The context
The Treasury line the article quotes only uprates existing rates in line with RPI. No new charge or band is created.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“The government will uprate VED rates for cars, vans and motorcycles in line with the Retail Prices Index”
Show it in the article
“is set to introduce new Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) car tax bands on road users”
Why this matters
The standfirst says Healey will introduce "new" VED bands.
The impression it gives
The band structure itself is changing.
The context
The bands stay the same. Only the amounts rise with inflation, as the article's own Treasury quote shows.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“another annual inflationary rise from April next year”
Show it in the article
Written straight
Top-band first-year VED to rise from £5,690 to £5,950 in April 2027 under the annual inflation uprating confirmed in the Budget.
Uses figures that mislead
Serious
“brand new cars emitting between 22 and 255g/km of CO2”
Why this matters
The Express says cars emitting from 22 to 255g/km face the increase, then gives that group the £4,850 to £5,070 figure.
The impression it gives
A new car emitting as little as 22g/km now pays £4,850 in first-year tax, rising to £5,070.
The context
The article's own next figures show cars at 191 to 225g/km pay £3,420, rising to £3,575. So the £5,070 rate cannot cover everything from 22 to 255g/km.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“cars emitting 191 to 225g/km will pay £3.575 in year one”
Show it in the article
Uses figures that mislead
Minor
“in just over 48 months”
Why this matters
The Express says top-band fees rose by more than £3,000 "in just over 48 months" from early 2025.
The impression it gives
The rise is spread over four years of steady increases.
The context
Early 2025 to April 2027 is a little over two years. Almost all of the jump came from one change, the April 2025 doubling of first-year bands under Rachel Reeves, which the article reports itself. The April 2027 part is £260.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“Rachel Reeves doubled first-year tax bands in April 2025”
- Elsewhere in the article“expected to rise by £260 next Spring”
Show it in the article
Uses a loaded word
Minor
“in a staggering blow”
Why this matters
The Express calls an inflation-linked rise of £260 on £5,690 "a staggering blow".
The impression it gives
The 2027 rise is exceptional and punishing.
The context
The article itself says the change is a standard inflation uprating and nothing more substantial.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“just a standard uprating in line with inflation”
Show it in the article
“another £220 hit on motorists’ bank accounts”
Why this matters
"Hit on motorists' bank accounts" frames a first-year fee paid only by buyers of brand new cars as a charge on motorists in general.
The impression it gives
Ordinary drivers' finances take a £220 hit.
The context
First-year rates fall only on owners of brand new cars, as the article says.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“owners of brand new cars”
Show it in the article
Leaves out what changes the picture
Minor
What is missing
The Express blames rising running costs, particularly fuel, but never says the same Budget froze fuel duty for the 16th consecutive year. A reader may think the Budget only added to drivers' costs.
How we know
- GB News reported“Fuel duty was kept frozen for the 16th consecutive year by the Labour Chancellor”Drivers face new car tax hikes, HMRC rules and fuel duty updates after Labour's Budget (opens in a new tab)
Show where it belongs

How other outlets reported it

GB NewsDrivers face new car tax hikes, HMRC rules and fuel duty updates after Labour's Budget (opens in a new tab)

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Labour’s new £5,950 VED car tax charge from April 2027

Headline goes beyond the article

Uses figures that mislead

Uses figures that mislead

Uses a loaded word

Leaves out what changes the picture

How other outlets reported it

More from Daily Express