Driving law changes launching in 2026 will impact millions - Car tax hikes, digital licences, fuel charges and more

To help motorists adjust to the new driving law changes being introduced over the next 12 months, GB News has collated the most important rules you need to know.

Car tax

Motorists will see Vehicle Excise Duty prices rise in the new financial year in April, following a confirmation from Chancellor Rachel Reeves in the Budget.

VED rates for cars, vans, motorcycles and heavy goods vehicles will be uprated by the Government in line with the Retail Price Index from April 1, 2026.

The Expensive Car Supplement will also be increased to £50,000 for zero emission vehicles only. While this will take effect from April 1, 2026, they will apply to all EVs registered from April 1, 2025.

Reeves also launched the Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) scheme, which will see motorists charged three pence per mile for EVs and 1.5p per mile for hybrids. These rules will be introduced from 2028.

Digital driving licence

Millions of motorists are set to benefit from a new Government scheme in the upcoming year that could see them access their driving licence on their phones.

A Government spokesperson told GB News: "The GOV.UK Wallet will be launched soon, with the first credential being a Digital Veteran Card."

It noted that the initial digital driving licence will be launched "later this year" in 2025, although this is now expected to be 2026.

Labour hopes that all credentials issued by the UK Government will be available in the GOV.UK Wallet by the end of 2027.

Fuel duty

Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed in the recent Budget that fuel duty would remain frozen, much to the surprise of many experts.

The Government said it would extend the five pence per litre fuel duty cut for a further five months after the Budget in late November.

The cut will be reversed in three stages, namely one pence on September 1, 2026, two pence on December 1, 2026, and a further two pence on March 1, 2027.

This will return the rate to pre-March 2022 levels, while the Government will not uprate fuel duty rates in line with the Retail Price Index from April 2027.

Congestion Charge

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has given the green light to new driving law changes that will see the price of the Congestion Charge rise from £15 to £18.

The measures are being introduced on January 2 to ensure traffic levels continue to fall in the centre of the capital, while also incentivising the switch to cleaner travel.

Despite this, electric cars will lose the Cleaner Vehicle Discount (CVD), and will instead receive a 25 per cent discount. Electric vans, HGVs and quadricycles will save 50 per cent if registered with Auto Pay.

Mr Khan said: "While the Congestion Charge has been a huge success since its introduction, we must ensure it stays fit for purpose, and sticking to the status quo would see around 2,200 more vehicles using the congestion charging zone on an average weekday next year."

Fuel Finder

Labour has confirmed that the Fuel Finder tool would be introduced in 2026 in a bid to help petrol and diesel drivers save every time they visit the fuel station.

The tool will display the average fuel prices of all filling stations across the UK, helping drivers locate the cheapest unleaded and diesel costs in their vicinity.

Data from the Government suggests that the average car owner will save an average of around £40 a year, while households could benefit by saving almost £90.

Self-driving cars

Several leading businesses have already confirmed their intentions to launch autonomous vehicle trials in the UK, including Chinese giant Baidu, in partnership with Uber and Lyft.

The sector, which is expected to create around 38,000 new jobs and be worth £42billion by 2035, has been backed by the current Labour and previous Conservative administrations.

It has been confirmed that taxi, private hire and bus-like services of self-driving vehicles will hit the road from spring 2026 after Labour fast-tracked pilots of the scheme.