Jurisdiction: UK
Commencement: 1st April 2021
Amends: Finance Acts 1996 – 2021
The Finance Acts confirm and detail environmental taxes and duties.
Businesses are affected by the charges for waste disposal to landfill, energy use and carbon emissions.
Rates payable:
Light passenger vehicles registered before 1st April 2017 (vehicles other than higher rate diesel vehicles)
| C02 emissions | Rate (£) | ||
| Exceeding g/km | Not exceeding g/km | Reduced rate (£) | Standard rate (£) |
| 100 | 110 | 10 | 20 |
| 110 | 120 | 20 | 30 |
| 120 | 130 | 120 | 130 |
| 130 | 140 | 145 | 155 |
| 140 | 150 | 160 | 170 |
| 150 | 165 | 200 | 210 |
| 165 | 175 | 240 | 250 |
| 175 | 185 | 265 | 275 |
| 185 | 200 | 305 | 315 |
| 200 | 225 | 330 | 340 |
| 225 | 255 | 575 | 585 |
| 255 | – | 590 | 600 |
Graduated rates for light passenger vehicles registered on or after 1st April 2017 (vehicles other than higher rate diesel vehicles)
| C02 emissions | Rate (£) | ||
| Exceeding g/km | Not exceeding g/km | Reduced rate (£) | Standard rate (£) |
| 0 | 50 | 0 | 10 |
| 50 | 75 | 15 | 25 |
| 75 | 90 | 105 | 115 |
| 90 | 100 | 130 | 140 |
| 100 | 110 | 150 | 160 |
| 110 | 130 | 170 | 180 |
| 130 | 150 | 210 | 220 |
| 150 | 170 | 545 | 555 |
| 170 | 190 | 885 | 895 |
| 190 | 225 | 1335 | 1345 |
| 225 | 255 | 1900 | 1910 |
| 255 | – | 2235 | 2245 |
Higher rate diesel vehicles that do not meet Euro 6 emission standards
| C02 emissions | ||
| Exceeding g/km | Not exceeding g/km | Rate (£) |
| 0 | 50 | 25 |
| 50 | 75 | 115 |
| 75 | 90 | 140 |
| 90 | 100 | 160 |
| 100 | 110 | 180 |
| 110 | 130 | 220 |
| 130 | 150 | 555 |
| 150 | 170 | 895 |
| 170 | 190 | 1345 |
| 190 | 225 | 1910 |
| 225 | 255 | 2245 |
| 255 | – | 2245 |
Two different rates of landfill tax exist (standard and lower), for the disposal of relevant waste made at authorised landfill sites in England and Northern Ireland. Rates for the relevant year can be found below.
Rates for disposal made on or after 1st April 2021 are:
- Landfill tax standard rate: £96.70 per tonne.
- Landfill tax reduced rate: £3.10 per tonne.
Inert or inactive waste, e.g. rocks or soil, is subject to the reduced rate.
From 1st April 2018, the landfill disposal tax replaced the UK landfill tax in Wales. For further information and rates, please see The Landfill Disposal Tax (Tax Rates) (Wales) Regulations 2018.
For landfill tax rates in Scotland, please see the Landfill Tax (Scotland) Act 2014 for further information.
Climate change levy rates that apply from 1st April 2021-2023
| Taxable commodity supplied | Rate at which levy if supply is not a reduced-rate supply |
| Electricity | £0.00775 per kilowatt hour |
| Gas supplied by a gas utility or any gas supplied in a gaseous state that is of a kind supplied by a gas utility | £0.00568 per kilowatt hour |
| Any petroleum gas, or other gaseous hydrocarbon, supplied in a liquid state | £0.02175 per kilogram |
| Any other taxable commodity | £0.04449 per kilogram |
Climate change levy rates that apply from 1st April 2023
| Taxable commodity supplied | Rate at which levy if supply is not a reduced-rate supply |
| Electricity | £0.00755 per kilowatt hour |
| Gas supplied by a gas utility or any gas supplied in a gaseous state that is of a kind supplied by a gas utility | £0.00672 per kilowatt hour |
| Any petroleum gas, or other gaseous hydrocarbon, supplied in a liquid state | £0.02175 per kilogram |
| Any other taxable commodity | £0.05258 per kilogram |
Aggregate levy is a tax on sand, gravel and rock that has either been:
- dug from the ground;
- dredged from the sea in UK waters;or
- imported.
If your business exploits aggregate in the UK (i.e. a quarry operator), you must tell HMRC how much aggregate you have produced or sold.
Certain materials are excluded from the tax. A full list of exempted materials can be found here.
The current levy is £2.00 per tonne for sand, gravel or rock.
The carbon emissions tax is repealed as the UK did not leave the EU in a ‘no-deal’ scenario and is therefore not required.
Part 2 of the Act introduced a plastic packaging tax which will be payable from 1st April 2022. For more information relating to the tax see Finance Act 2021 Part 2
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