£1 HGV Tax Until June 2027: Check the Tax Class on Your V5C
Most HGVs pay £1 vehicle tax for twelve months from 1 July 2026, but only if the taxation class on the V5C is 1, 2, 16, 23 or 57. The levy still applies. Here is how to check, correct and record it.
By Jamie Dawson · Editor
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Updated 12 Oct 2026
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8 min read
Since 1 July 2026, most heavy goods vehicles taxed in Great Britain have paid £1 in vehicle excise duty instead of the normal annual rate. The reduced rate lasts twelve months, until 30 June 2027, and DVLA applies it automatically when an eligible vehicle is taxed. Whether a lorry qualifies comes down to one field on its V5C registration certificate: the taxation class. If that field is wrong, the £1 rate will not be applied, and the operator will pay the full rate for another year.
What changed, and when
The government announced the measure on 20 May 2026 as part of a package responding to high fuel prices, alongside the scrapping of the planned September fuel duty rise and a cut in red diesel duty. DVLA published its guidance, "Temporary £1 vehicle tax for most heavy goods vehicles (HGV)", on 24 June 2026 and revised it on 3 July 2026 once the rate was live.
The legal basis is section 3 of the Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Act 2026 (chapter 26), headed "Goods vehicles: temporary VED rates". The Act's introductory text on legislation.gov.uk is dated 15 July 2026, and section 3 is stated to be in force at Royal Assent. It applies to vehicle licences, other than trade licences, taken out between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027. For those licences it substitutes £1 for the standard goods vehicle rates in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 11C of Schedule 1 to the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994, including the £1,703 figure in paragraphs 9(3) and 11(3). It also changes the £50 figure in the six-month licence rule in section 3(2) of the 1994 Act to £0 for affected vehicles.
Motor Transport reported on 1 July 2026 that the Treasury expects a typical HGV to save around £600, and the largest vehicles up to £912. Exchequer Secretary Dan Tomlinson was quoted: "There's no extra paperwork, no forms and no bureaucracy".
Which tax classes qualify
DVLA's guidance lists five taxation classes. Everything else, including private HGVs, recovery vehicles, showman's vehicles and light goods vehicles up to 3,500 kg, pays its usual rate.
| Tax class | Description on the V5C | £1 rate applies? |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | HGV | Yes |
| 2 | Trailer HGV | Yes |
| 16 | Small Island vehicle | Yes |
| 23 | Combined Transport | Yes |
| 57 | Special Types | Yes |
| Any other class | For example Private HGV, Recovery Vehicle, Light Goods Vehicle | No |
The guidance uses the word "most" deliberately. An operator with a mixed fleet should check each V5C rather than assume every lorry is in class 1.
How the £1 is applied
There is no application and no form. When an eligible vehicle is taxed between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027, online at gov.uk/vehicle-tax, by phone or at a Post Office that deals with vehicle tax, DVLA charges £1 for the licence period. The rate attaches to the date of taxing, not to the date the licence starts or the date on the reminder.
One practical wrinkle: the V11 reminder may still show the old annual amount. DVLA's guidance says the rate on your vehicle tax reminder may not include the £1 rate, but the correct rate is applied when you tax. Do not treat a reminder quoting several hundred pounds as evidence that the vehicle is ineligible. Tax the vehicle and check the confirmation.
Taxed before 1 July 2026? No refund
Vehicles taxed before 1 July 2026 were charged the rate in force at the time and, in DVLA's words, the keeper "will not be entitled to a refund". The £1 rate can be paid at the next taxing that falls inside the window. An operator who taxed a lorry for twelve months on 15 June 2026 will pay the full rate until June 2027 and will then pay £1 for the following twelve months, because June 2027 is still inside the window.
The HGV levy is still payable
The £1 rate reduces vehicle excise duty only. The HGV road user levy is unchanged. DVLA's guidance says that if a vehicle is subject to the levy, it will continue to be charged at the current levy rate alongside the £1 rate of VED, and that this is applied automatically at renewal.
The levy applies to goods vehicles of 12,000 kg and over. UK-registered vehicles pay it yearly or six-monthly with their vehicle tax, so a lorry over 12 tonnes will see a total well above £1 on its tax confirmation. Zero-emission HGVs (battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell, not hybrids) are exempt. The Department for Transport's levy table, updated 1 April 2026, sets the annual rates by weight band and Euro standard. It is published for the non-UK levy service, but it is the reference point for what the levy element of a UK renewal looks like.
| Band | Revenue weight | Euro 6 or later (annual) | Euro 5 or older (annual) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 12,000 to 31,000 kg | £161 | £209 |
| B | 31,001 to 38,000 kg | £387 | £503 |
| C | 38,001 kg and over | £619 | £804 |
Reading the tax class on your V5C
The taxation class is printed on the V5C with the other vehicle particulars (make, body type, revenue weight and so on). It is the class DVLA uses to calculate duty, and it is the only thing that decides whether the £1 rate applies. Our guide to every section of the V5C explains the layout of the current red certificate.
If the V5C is not to hand, there are two ways to see what DVLA holds. Any keeper can use the free vehicle enquiry service to see the tax status and expiry date, though not the full tax class; see what DVLA lets you check free online. Fleet operators in the DVLA Fleet Scheme, which needs at least 50 vehicles registered to a single address, can use the fleet vehicle information service to see which vehicles need taxing and when. DVLA's £1 guidance points fleet operators to that service.
If the V5C itself is missing, apply for a replacement before the renewal date. You can still tax without the V5C using the V11 reference or a V62, but you cannot check or correct the class without the certificate.
If the tax class is wrong
A lorry that has been re-bodied, down-plated, moved into private use or registered by a dealer in the wrong class may show a class that no longer fits. Tax class is not corrected by writing on the V5C and posting it; gov.uk's guidance on changing vehicle details says tax class is changed by updating your vehicle tax. There are two routes, depending on whether the tax is about to run out.
Tax due to run out (you have a V11 or "last chance" letter). Take the V5C in your name, the V11, evidence of a current annual test (for lorries, the latest test certificate or the V112G exemption form) and payment to a Post Office that deals with vehicle tax. If you have changed what the vehicle is used for, its body type or its structure, you must apply by post to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BF instead.
Tax not due to run out. Complete form V70, "Application to change a vehicle's tax class", and post it to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BF with the V5C marked up with the change, a cheque or postal order for any extra duty, evidence of a current test where one is needed and, for lorries, a plating or weight certificate if required. If you do not have the V5C, send a V62 with the £25 fee.
In both cases DVLA confirms the change, issues an updated V5C and refunds any overpaid duty. You can keep using the vehicle while the application is processed. A reissued V5C carries a new document reference number; our guide to why the V5C reference number changes explains what that means for online taxing. Do not pay a third-party site to "check" or "apply for" the £1 rate; there is nothing to apply for, and fee-charging tax sites add nothing.
What the £1 year means for your operator licence file
An operator licence undertaking is that vehicles will be kept fit and serviceable and operated lawfully, and an untaxed vehicle is an unlawful one. The £1 rate does not change that. What it does change is the paper trail: tax confirmations for the next year will show £1 (plus levy), V11 reminders will quote a different figure, and some vehicles may have been re-classed to qualify. A DVSA traffic examiner or a traffic commissioner's clerk will expect the file to make sense. Keep the V5C, the tax confirmation and the levy element together for each vehicle, and keep them for at least as long as the tax period plus the fifteen months the operator records guide recommends for licence material. Six-monthly taxing produces two confirmations a year; file both.
Records you must keep
- ✓The current V5C for each vehicle, showing the taxation class, revenue weight and keeper details.
- ✓The DVLA tax confirmation (email, screen capture or Post Office receipt) for every taxing between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027, showing the £1 charged and the licence period.
- ✓The HGV levy element shown on the same confirmation for vehicles of 12,000 kg and over.
- ✓Any V11 reminder quoting the old rate, annotated with the date you taxed and the amount actually paid.
- ✓Copies of any V70 or Post Office tax class change, the supporting plating or test certificate, DVLA's confirmation and the reissued V5C.
- ✓For fleet scheme members, a dated export from the fleet vehicle information service showing tax due dates.
- ✓A note in the maintenance or compliance file of any vehicle still on the full rate and the date it next becomes eligible.
Frequently asked questions
Does the £1 rate apply to trailers?
Tax class 2, Trailer HGV, is one of the five eligible classes. It covers tractive units and rigid vehicles taxed to draw trailers, not trailers themselves, which are not separately taxed in Great Britain.
My reminder says £1,200. Is my lorry ineligible?
Not necessarily. DVLA's guidance says the reminder may not show the £1 rate. Check the taxation class on the V5C. If it is 1, 2, 16, 23 or 57, tax the vehicle and the correct rate is applied at that point.
Can I claim back tax I paid in June 2026?
No. DVLA's guidance states that vehicles taxed before 1 July 2026 were charged the rate at the time and the keeper will not be entitled to a refund. You pay £1 at the next taxing within the window.
Does the £1 rate cover the HGV levy?
No. The levy for vehicles of 12,000 kg and over continues at the current rate and is collected with the £1 VED at renewal. Zero-emission HGVs are exempt from the levy.
What happens after 30 June 2027?
As of 12 October 2026, the Act provides for the £1 rate only for licences taken out up to 30 June 2027. Vehicles taxed from 1 July 2027 return to the Schedule 1 rates unless Parliament legislates again. A twelve-month licence taken out on 30 June 2027 is still inside the window.
Is this a Great Britain or UK measure?
The Act applies to vehicle licences generally and DVLA's guidance does not distinguish between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. DVLA registers and taxes vehicles across the UK. We have not seen separate Northern Ireland guidance.