UK VAT cut on domestic electricity widens cost gap for EV drivers without home charging
By Eve
The UK government reduced VAT on domestic electricity from 5% to 0% on 1 October, lowering home charging costs to around 7p per kWh or 2p per mile. Analysis by costpermile.co.uk shows drivers with home charging now pay approximately £200 annually for 10,000 miles, while those relying on public rapid chargers at 20% VAT and around 50p per kWh face costs exceeding £2,200 per year. The policy widens the cost disparity by over £2,000 annually between drivers with and without off street parking, despite industry calls to align public charging VAT with domestic rates.
Why it matters
The widening cost gap may deter EV adoption among the millions without driveways, potentially slowing demand for public charging infrastructure. CPOs face pressure to justify higher pricing structures while the VAT disparity remains, complicating business cases for urban and on street charging deployments.
Source
- Original title
- “Andy Burnham's new driveway rule hits UK drivers with ‘£2,060 penalty'”
- Published
- 25 October 2026
- Also covered by
- Google News
In this story
- Topic
- Policy & Market
- Place
- United Kingdom
- Tag
- Andy Burnham
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