If your business pays for fuel and a car is also used privately, you can reclaim all the VAT on that fuel and pay a flat fuel scale charge instead of splitting every mile. Enter the car's CO2 figure and your VAT period to see the charge, the VAT it adds to your return and whether mileage records would leave you better off.
HMRC road fuel scale charge tables
Optional: compare with mileage records for this car
A fuel scale charge is a flat amount of output VAT for each car whose fuel your business pays for and which is also used privately. In return you can reclaim all the VAT on that road fuel without splitting business and private mileage. The charge depends on only two things: the car's CO2 emissions and the length of your VAT period, which is 1, 3 or 12 months. How much fuel the car actually burns, or how many private miles it covers, makes no difference.
The table shows HMRC's charges, in pounds per car, for VAT periods starting on or after 1 May 2026, with the CO2 band in g/km and a column each for annual, quarterly and monthly VAT periods. The figures include VAT, and the VAT you owe is one sixth of the charge, because the VAT fraction at the 20% standard rate is 20 divided by 120. HMRC says that if you opt to use the fuel scale charges, the tables and their notes have the force of law.
| CO2 band | Annual | Quarter | Month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 120 or less | £657 | £163 | £54 |
| 125 | £983 | £246 | £81 |
| 130 | £1,051 | £261 | £86 |
| 135 | £1,114 | £278 | £92 |
| 140 | £1,182 | £294 | £98 |
| 145 | £1,245 | £311 | £103 |
| 150 | £1,314 | £328 | £109 |
| 155 | £1,377 | £344 | £114 |
| 160 | £1,445 | £361 | £119 |
| 165 | £1,508 | £377 | £125 |
| 170 | £1,576 | £393 | £130 |
| 175 | £1,640 | £409 | £136 |
| 180 | £1,708 | £426 | £142 |
| 185 | £1,771 | £442 | £146 |
| 190 | £1,839 | £459 | £152 |
| 195 | £1,902 | £475 | £158 |
| 200 | £1,971 | £492 | £163 |
| 205 | £2,034 | £509 | £169 |
| 210 | £2,102 | £524 | £174 |
| 215 | £2,165 | £541 | £180 |
| 220 | £2,233 | £557 | £185 |
| 225 or more | £2,297 | £574 | £190 |
For cars registered after 2001, the CO2 emissions figure is on the vehicle registration certificate. If it isn't a multiple of 5, round it down to the nearest multiple of 5: a car with 143 g/km uses the 140 row, and one with 124 g/km uses the 120 or less row. A bi-fuel car with two figures uses the lower one.
Cars too old to have a CO2 figure use their engine size instead. An engine of 1,400cc or less goes in band 140, one over 1,400cc and up to 2,000cc goes in band 175, and anything bigger goes in the top band. GOV.UK's notes don't mention an engine of exactly 2,000cc, but the legislation behind the table, Schedule 2 to the 2013 valuation order, puts it in band 175, and so does the calculator.
HMRC updated the charges from 1 May 2025 and again from 1 May 2026. The current table took effect from 1 May 2026, but you only switch to it from the start of your first VAT period beginning on or after that date. A quarter that ran from 1 April to 30 June 2026 still used the previous table, which was slightly higher: £297 for a band 140 car against £294 now. The calculator picks the right table from the first day of your VAT period, for periods starting from 1 May 2025.
VAT Notice 700/64 gives four ways to deal with VAT on road fuel your business pays for:
If you choose the scale charge, you must use it for every car in which business fuel is made available for private use. You can't pay it for some cars and use mileage records for others, although a car that isn't available for private use doesn't need a charge. If you claim no input tax on any road fuel, you don't account for output tax on private use either, and that choice covers all the road fuel the business buys, for cars and commercial vehicles alike. HMRC warns that when total mileage is very low, the scale charge can cost more VAT than you get back.
If you don't want the scale charge but still want some VAT back, you need detailed mileage records that split business and private journeys. HMRC's own example: total mileage is 4,290, of which 3,165 miles are business, and the fuel cost £368. The business share is £368 × (3,165 ÷ 4,290) = £271.49. The input tax is that amount times the VAT fraction, one sixth at 20%, so £45.25. There's no VAT to reclaim on the private share of £96.51.
The optional boxes in the calculator run this comparison for one car. On the scale charge route you reclaim VAT on all the fuel and then pay the scale charge VAT. On the mileage route you reclaim VAT on the business share only. With HMRC's figures and a band 140 car on a quarterly return, the scale charge route leaves £61.33 minus £49.00, just £12.33, so mileage records win by £32.92.
The VAT on the scale charge is output tax, so it goes in box 1 with the VAT on your sales. HMRC's guide to filling in the return lists fuel used for private motoring where VAT is accounted for using a scale charge as one of the examples for box 1. The VAT-exclusive value goes in box 6, which also names fuel scale charges. For a band 140 car on a quarterly return starting from 1 May 2026, that's £49.00 in box 1 and £245.00 in box 6.
If you change car during a VAT period and the new one is in a different band, apportion the two scale charges, or simply account for VAT on the higher one. When a car is used for only part of the period, work out the percentage of the period you had it and apply that to the charge, which is what the share box in the calculator does. For every car on the scale charge, keep records of how many cars it applies to, the CO2 band of each and, for cars too old to have a CO2 figure, the engine size, plus the date of any change of car.
The scale charge is the business's VAT adjustment. It has nothing to do with the Income Tax an employee pays on a company car. GOV.UK tells employees that if their employer pays for fuel used for personal journeys, they pay tax on it separately. For that side, see the company car tax calculator or the P11D company car calculator.
The scale charge is a way of accounting for VAT on road fuel. For the electricity used to charge an electric car, VAT Notice 700/64 says the business works out the business and private split from mileage records, and the normal input tax rules apply. If an employee charges a car at home, the supply of electricity is made to the employee, so the employer can't reclaim that VAT.
Check the VAT on any price with the VAT calculator, see whether the flat rate VAT calculator suits your business, or work out tax-free mileage payments with the mileage allowance calculator. Our business mileage guide covers HMRC's rates when you drive your own car.
A flat amount of output VAT a business pays for each car whose fuel it funds and which is also used privately. It lets you reclaim all the VAT on the road fuel without splitting business and private mileage. The charge depends on the car's CO2 emissions and the length of your VAT period.
Round the car's CO2 figure down to a multiple of 5, find that row in HMRC's table for your VAT period and take the 1, 3 or 12 month figure. The figure includes VAT, and the VAT you pay is one sixth of it.
The VAT goes in box 1 as output tax and the VAT-exclusive value goes in box 6. For a band 140 car on a quarter starting from 1 May 2026, that's £49.00 in box 1 and £245.00 in box 6.
The current table took effect from 1 May 2026. You use it from the start of your first VAT period beginning on or after that date, so a quarter that began in April 2026 still used the previous table.
It depends on how much fuel the car uses and how much of the driving is private. The scale charge suits cars with high fuel bills and a lot of private use. With low mileage, HMRC notes that the scale charge can cost more VAT than you reclaim.
Yes. If you opt in, you must use it for all cars in which business fuel is made available for private use. A car that isn't available for private use doesn't need a scale charge.
