Car tax changes 2018: what you need to know.

From 1 April 2018 the first-year VED tax rate for new diesel cars will go up by one band. The standard rate after the first-year will remain the standard rate, currently £140.

The change explained

Every new car will fall into a tax band dependant on its CO₂ emissions and each band has a first-year rate which was overhauled last year, from 1^st April 2017.

Now, from 1^st April 2018, the government has introduced a new tier for diesel vehicles that do not meet the latest Euro 6 emissions standards. At present no new diesels conform to the RDE standards, so the extra fee will apply to all new diesels sold.

Read about the 2017 VED Tax changes >

What does this mean for you?

A diesel vehicle will cost more to tax in the first year than a petrol, however the difference for a vehicle in the lower bands is minimal in the overall cost of purchasing a new car. See below the difference in cost between petrol and diesel in the Audi range:

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Audi A1 Sportback 1.2 litre

• Band A / 91-100 g/km
• Petrol £125
• Diesel £145
• Difference in first-year VED = £20

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Audi A3 Sportback 1.5 litre

• Band B / 101-110 g/km
• Petrol £145
• Diesel £165
• Difference in first-year VED = £20

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Audi A4 Saloon 2.0 litre

• Band C-D / 111-130 g/km
• Petrol £165
• Diesel £205
• Difference in first-year VED = £40

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Audi Q2 1.4 litre

• Band C-D / 111-130 g/km
• Petrol £165
• Diesel £205
• Difference in first-year VED = £40

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Audi TT Coupé 2.0 litre

• Band E-F / 131-150 g/km
• Petrol £205
• Diesel £515
• Difference in first-year VED = £310

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Audi Q5 3.0 litre

• Band G-H / 151-170 g/km
• Petrol £515
• Diesel £830
• Difference in first-year VED = £315

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Audi Q7 4.0 litre

• Band H-J / 171-190 g/km
• Petrol £830
• Diesel £1,240
• Difference in first-year VED = £410

Electric vehicles

From April 2017, only zero-emission vehicles, such as electric cars, now qualify for the lowest band and are therefore tax-free. From the second year onwards, zero-emission vehicles that cost less than £40,000 new remain free to tax. The A3 Sportback e-tron and Q7 e-tron PHEV vehicles falls in the 1-50 g/km band, with a first-year cost increase of £15 for diesel and a standard rate of £140 for proceeding years.

Here are the next VED tax rates from April 2018: