So it turns out that the 2013 budget wasn’t so painful for car owners after all. Nothing major on the cards, just the usual shuffling of the Vehicle Excise Duty rates (otherwise known as car tax or road tax) and an announcement about fuel duty that had already been leaked to the press.
VED Band Rates For 2013/14
The structure of the VED bands remains the same. Some boffins in a laboratory rate your car for its carbon dioxide emissions and that rating decides which band it fits into in the table below.
The rates are largely unchanged, the increase being tied to inflation and the Retail Price Index (RPI). Coincidentally, every increase is in multiples of £5 or £10 .
It’s only at the top end that the rates get particularly painful, especially for new buyers in the first year, but the thinking goes that if you can afford to buy and run a car that emits so much CO2 then you’ll barely notice the sting when you pay for your tax disc.
| VED Band | CO2 Emissions (g/km) | 2012/13 Standard Rate | 2012/13 First Year Rate | 2013/14 Standard Rate | 2013/14 First Year Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Up to 100 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| B | 101 - 110 | £20 | £0 | £20 | £0 |
| C | 111 - 120 | £30 | £0 | £30 | £0 |
| D | 121 - 130 | £100 | £0 | £105 | £0 |
| E | 131 - 140 | £120 | £120 | £125 | £115 |
| F | 141 - 150 | £135 | £135 | £140 | £130 |
| G | 151 - 165 | £170 | £170 | £175 | £165 |
| H | 166 - 175 | £195 | £275 | £200 | £265 |
| I | 176 - 185 | £215 | £325 | £220 | £315 |
| J | 186 - 200 | £250 | £460 | £260 | £445 |
| K | 201 - 225 | £270 | £600 | £280 | £580 |
| L | 226 - 255 | £460 | £815 | £475 | £790 |
| M | over 255 | £475 | £1030 | £490 | £1065 |
Cars Registered Before March 2001
The rules are still the same for older cars that were registered before the current CO2-based system was introduced in March 2001. The amount you pay is decided by the size of your engine – 1,549cc and under or 1,550cc and over.
| Engine Capacity | 2012/2013 Tax Rate | 2013/2014 Tax Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1,549cc or less | £135 per year | £140 per year |
| Over 1,549cc | £215 per year | £220 per year |
So yes, you can still tax a twelve year-old supercar for less than half of what it costs for its cleaner, modern equivalent.
Fuel Duty For 2013/14
The fuel duty change concerns the increase that is supposed to come into effect every year, dubbed the Fuel Duty Escalator, that raises fuel duty in line with inflation plus another penny per litre. With the economy just about clinging on for dear life the powers-that-be in Number 11 have repeatedly postponed this increase. A 1.89 pence/litre rise in duty was due to come into effect in September 2013.
George Osborne has finally seen sense and cancelled the increase completely rather than push it back yet again. Of course, don’t go thinking that the Fuel Duty Escalator is gone for good. It’s still lurking out there and will undoubtedly make a repeat visit next year.
This means that fuel duty rates are held at 57.95 pence for a litre of either unleaded or diesel. If you’re running your car on LPG then you’ll be paying 31.61 pence for each kilogram.
