Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 section 3

Vehicle excise duty rates for buses

Section 3 sets out the annual vehicle excise duty rates applicable to buses, based on their seating capacity, and defines what qualifies as a bus for these purposes.

• Buses are taxed at rates that increase with seating capacity, expressed as multiples of the basic goods vehicle rate (100%, 133%, 200%, or 300%)
• A bus must be a public service vehicle and must not be an excepted vehicle such as a community bus, a vehicle with fewer than nine seats, or a vehicle used under certain educational or community permits
• The basic goods vehicle rate used as the benchmark is the rate for a rigid goods vehicle with a revenue weight between 3,500 kg and 7,500 kg
• Calculated rates are rounded to the nearest £10; where the remainder on dividing by ten is exactly £5, the rate is rounded up