Introduction
For years, one of the quiet bonuses of going electric was a blank space on your tax disc: zero-emission vehicles paid no vehicle excise duty (VED) at all. That era ended on 1 April 2025.
The Finance Act 2025 removed the VED exemption for zero-emission vehicles, and from that date electric cars and vans became liable for road tax exactly like their petrol and diesel counterparts. The change was a step up from £0 a year, but it doesn't reverse the running-cost case for an electric campervan — it removes one of the small bonuses.
This guide sets out exactly what electric van owners pay in 2026–27, how the rates changed, the grants that still exist, what company van users need to know, and the electric vehicle road tax (eVED) the government has planned for 2028.
The 1 April 2025 Change in Plain English
What Happened
The Finance Act 2025 amended the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 so that zero-emission vehicles are no longer automatically exempt from VED. The exemption was inserted in April 2025, ending the era of tax-free EVs.
The policy logic is straightforward: as electric cars and vans went from a niche to a mainstream share of new registrations, keeping them tax-free meant a growing hole in road-funding revenue and a widening incentive gap compared with efficient petrol and diesel vehicles.
What It Means for Vans
Most electric vans now pay the standard annual rate for light goods vehicles — the same rate as a petrol or diesel van of the same class. There is no electric-van-specific penalty and no electric-van-specific discount: you're simply taxed as a van.
The 2026–27 Rates
Vehicle tax rates changed again from 1 April 2026 (under the Finance Act 2026), so make sure you're looking at the current figures:
| Vehicle | 2025/26 rate | 2026/27 rate |
|---|---|---|
| Electric car (first year) | £0 first year, £195/yr after | £10 first year, £200/yr after |
| Electric car, expensive supplement (years 2–6, list price over £40k in 25/26 / £50k from 26/27) | £425/yr | £440/yr |
| Electric van (standard light goods vehicle rate) | £345/yr | £360/yr |
| Electric motorcycle | Lowest rate for class | Lowest rate for class |
Key points:
- Electric vans pay £360 per year for the 2026/27 tax year (up from £345 in 2025/26), matching the standard rate for light goods vehicles
- The expensive car supplement does NOT apply to vans — it's a car-only surcharge. An electric van's road tax is the flat LGV rate regardless of its list price
- First-year rates: there's still a small first-year discount for some zero-emission vehicles, but the long-standing "£0 forever" assumption is gone
- If your electric van is registered pre-2001 or in specific Euro-class brackets, check your exact rate on GOV.UK — a few older zero-emission vehicles fall into lower historical bands
What About 3.5–4.25-Tonne Electric Vans?
If you've built a heavier electric camper (within the 4.25-tonne licence allowance), your vehicle may be classified as a goods vehicle in a different tax class, with a different rate. The rules for goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes sit in a separate part of the VED schedule. Always check your specific vehicle on GOV.UK's check vehicle tax tool — it shows the exact rate for your registration and tax class.
The Plug-In Van Grant: Still Here in 2026
The one genuinely good-news headline for buyers: the Plug-in Van Grant (PiVG) continues to run through 2026/27, backed by a £120 million top-up confirmed in February 2025.
The grant covers 35% of the purchase price, capped at:
- £2,500 for vans under 2.5 tonnes
- £5,000 for vans between 2.5 and 4.25 tonnes
Eligible vehicles must produce under 50 g/km CO2 and have a minimum range of 60 miles — every current production electric van clears that easily. The grant applies when you buy a new electric van, and it's deducted from the price by the dealer.
For a campervan builder, that £5,000 on a 4.25-tonne-class van (like a Kia PV5) is a meaningful discount — it effectively offsets a good chunk of the conversion cost. Check the current terms on GOV.UK before you commit, because grant levels can change at short notice.
Company Van Users: The Tax That Favours Electric
If you run your van through a business (a common structure for full-time van lifers), the electric advantage is actually stronger than it was when VED was free:
- Van benefit charge: zero-emission vans have a nil van benefit charge for the 2026/27 tax year, against the standard van rate of £4,170. For a 20%-band employee that's roughly £834 of tax saved per year; for a 40%-band director it's £1,668
- Van fuel benefit charge: electricity is not classified as fuel for benefit-in-kind purposes, so charging an electric van at work or at a public charge point does not generate a van fuel benefit charge — a charge that applies to diesel and petrol vans
This means the tax system still materially favours electric vans in the business context, even after the VED change.
Running Cost Reality Check
Tax is one line in the budget. Here's how the electric cost picture compares for a typical campervan doing 10,000 miles a year:
| Cost | Electric | Diesel |
|---|---|---|
| Road tax (2026/27) | £360 | £360 |
| Energy/fuel per 10,000 miles | £400–£700 (home overnight vs public rapid) | £1,400–£1,800 |
| Service | Minimal | £300–£500/yr |
| Benefit-in-kind (business) | £0 | £4,170 |
The VED change adds £360 a year to the electric side — but the fuel, maintenance and benefit-in-kind savings typically dwarf that. The decision to go electric was never really about the tax disc; it's about the running costs and the driving experience.
What's Coming: The Electric Vehicle Road Tax (eVED)
The Labour government announced in its Autumn Budget that a mileage-based charge for electric vehicles — the electric vehicle excise duty (eVED) — is planned from April 2028.
The headline shape:
- A per-mile charge on zero-emission cars and vans
- Designed to replace the flat VED contribution as EVs scale up and fuel-duty revenue from petrol and diesel declines
- Final rates and structure have not yet been legislated
For van lifers planning a long-term electric build, eVED is a reason to keep an eye on policy — but it's not a reason to change your plans now. No rates are set, no legislation is on the statute book, and any implementation is at least two years away. The flat £360/year rate applies for the foreseeable future.
Final Thoughts
The April 2025 VED change was the end of the free-tax era for electric vans, but it wasn't the end of the electric advantage. At £360 a year, road tax for an electric campervan is a rounding error next to the savings in fuel, maintenance and (for business users) benefit-in-kind charges. Combined with the £5,000 plug-in van grant on heavier vans, the overall cost picture for electric van life remains genuinely strong.
The one thing to watch is the 2028 eVED mileage charge. If you're building a van you intend to keep for years, factor in that per-mile charging is coming — but treat it as a future planning consideration, not a reason to avoid electric today.
