Budget 2026 for motorhome and campervan owners: what changes and what it costs

Published 28 October 2026, the day of the Budget. Every rate and date below was read the same day in the Budget 2026 document, HMRC's rates tables and GOV.UK, and each is linked in the sources at the foot of the page. Where we have done the maths ourselves, we say so and show the assumptions.

Budget 2026 for motorhome owners: the key points

• Fuel duty frozen until 1 July 2027. The 5p rise planned for January 2027 is cancelled and the main rate stays at 52.95p a litre for petrol and diesel until 30 June 2027 (Budget 2026, paras 3.13 and 6.211; OOTLAR Annex A).
• Then up 7.64p a litre on 1 July 2027, to 60.59p. With VAT that is about 9.2p a litre: £8.25 more to fill a 90-litre motorhome tank, or about £100 a year for a 6,000-mile owner at 25mpg (our calculation, below).
• Road tax rises with RPI from 1 April 2027 for cars, vans and motorcycles (para 6.201). On HMRC's 2027-28 table for private and light goods vehicles, the class most motorhomes up to 3,500kg are taxed in, £375 becomes £390 and £230 becomes £240 (our reading; DVLA confirms in April).
• No £1 road tax for heavy motorhomes. The temporary £1 HGV rate (1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027) covers tax classes 1, 2, 16, 23 and 57 only. A motorhome over 3,500kg is private heavy goods (TC10) and keeps paying £177.
• eVED from 1 April 2028: 3p a mile for electric cars and 1.5p for plug-in hybrids. The draft eVED legislation, published on 13 July 2026, excludes special purpose vehicles, and the first type on that list is the motor caravan.
• Converted cars stay in. An electric or plug-in hybrid car that was a car when first registered stays an eVED vehicle after any later modification (draft clause 6A(3)), so a home-converted electric people carrier would still pay per mile.
• Not in the Budget: the document does not mention caravans, motorhomes or MOT fees, and insurance premium tax stays at 12% for 2027-28 (OOTLAR Annex A). The red diesel cut to 1 July 2027 is aimed at farming, rail freight and other off-road users (para 3.15).

What happens to fuel duty, and what does it cost to fill a motorhome?

The 5p-a-litre fuel duty cut, first made in March 2022, was due to start unwinding in January 2027. The Budget cancels that and extends the cut "for a further six months to 1 July 2027", and defers the planned RPI increase to the same date (para 6.211). HMRC's rates annex sets the main rate for unleaded petrol and diesel at 52.95p a litre from 15 June 2026 to 30 June 2027, and 60.59p from 1 July 2027. The Treasury says diesel was above £2 a litre in October 2026 (para 3.13).

Motorhome tanks vary. On Fiat Ducato-based motorhomes, Weinsberg lists a 60-litre tank as standard on its CaraCore 650 MF with a 90-litre tank as an option, so we have used both. The figures assume the duty change is passed on in full at the pump with 20% VAT on top, which retailers are not obliged to do.

Over a year the mileage and fuel economy matter more than the tank. The table below assumes 6,000 miles a year and shows three fuel economy figures, because a 3,500kg coachbuilt and a compact campervan are very different. Use your own mpg from the trip computer or fuel receipts.

Working: litres = miles divided by mpg, times 4.54609 litres per gallon. 6,000 miles at 25mpg is 240 gallons, or 1,091 litres; 1,091 litres at 9.168p is £100.03. The Treasury's own estimate for the whole Parliament is a saving of £230 for the average car driver and £472 for the average light goods driver, against the previous government's plans (para 3.13).

Will motorhome road tax go up in April 2027?

Yes, for most motorhomes, by a small amount. The Budget says the government "will uprate VED rates for cars, vans and motorcycles in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI) from 1 April 2027" (para 6.201). GOV.UK taxes a motorhome by its revenue weight: 3,500kg or under is private or light goods (TC11) at £230 a year for engines not over 1549cc and £375 over, and over 3,500kg is private heavy goods (TC10) at £177. Our motorhome road tax checker reads the weight from the registration and shows which applies.

HMRC's Annex A lists the 2027-28 rates for "cars and vans registered before 1 March 2001" at £240 and £390. GOV.UK charges TC11 motorhomes exactly the 2026-27 figures from that table today (£230 and £375), which is why we expect £240 and £390 from April. DVLA publishes the confirmed tables nearer the time; we will update this page when it does.

Do motorhomes over 3,500kg get the £1 HGV road tax?

No. Since 1 July 2026 most lorries pay £1 for a 12-month licence taken out between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027, and the Budget confirms that "HGV road tax holiday" runs to 1 July 2027. DVLA's guidance limits it to tax classes 1 (HGV), 2 (trailer HGV), 16 (small island), 23 (combined transport) and 57 (special types). A heavy motorhome is taxed as private heavy goods, which is not on that list, so it stays at £177 a year. The Budget also announces legislation so that, from 28 October 2026, a £1 rate obtained for more than 12 months can be recovered from the keeper as a civil debt (para 6.200).

Will electric motorhomes and campervans pay the new pay-per-mile tax (eVED)?

Electric Vehicle Excise Duty starts on 1 April 2028 at 3p a mile for battery electric and hydrogen cars and 1.5p a mile for plug-in hybrids, rising with CPI from 2029-30 (eVED tax information note). You will give an odometer reading and estimate the coming year's miles when you tax the vehicle, and the Budget adds a mileage estimation tool at launch, an opt-in "eVED Connect" service that reads the car's own connectivity, and automatic refunds by 2030, including when you sell the car (para 2.38).

The draft legislation, published on 13 July 2026 and still the current text on GOV.UK after the Budget, applies eVED to a "light passenger vehicle" that is electric or a plug-in hybrid and "is not a special purpose vehicle". Special purpose vehicles are the types listed in point 5 of Annex I, Part A to Regulation (EU) 2018/858, and the first entry there is "5.1 Motor caravan": a category M vehicle with seats and a table, sleeping accommodation, cooking facilities and storage, rigidly fixed. So an electric or plug-in motorhome type approved as a motor caravan is outside eVED. Electric vans are outside it too, because a light passenger vehicle is one "designed and constructed primarily for the carriage of passengers" (draft clause 6A(2)(a)), and the tax information note describes the measure as applying to cars.

One case the draft does not settle: an electric van converted into a camper after it was first registered. It was not an eVED vehicle when new, and clause 6A(3) only fixes the status of vehicles that were. Whether a later conversion can bring a van into eVED is not addressed in the draft, so treat any seller's claim either way with caution until HMRC or DVLA publishes guidance; we will update this page when they do.

One more electric change: from 1 November 2026 the law will make clear that public and workplace charge points are charged at the 20% VAT rate (para 6.205). How a vehicle is classified is explained in DVLA campervan conversion reclassification.

What about touring caravans, red diesel and campsites?

• Touring caravans. A tourer has no road tax and no MOT, and the Budget changes neither. The fuel duty freeze to 1 July 2027 applies to the tow car's fuel.
• Red diesel. The 3.7p-a-litre cut is extended to 1 July 2027 for "agriculture, rail freight and other fuel-intensive red diesel users" (para 3.15), after which red diesel duty returns to its pre-March 2022 rate and rises with RPI (para 6.212). Nothing changes for road fuel in a motorhome.
• Overnight stays. The Budget confirms plans to legislate so every Strategic Authority in England can introduce an Overnight Visitor Levy (para 4.60). It does not say whether campsite pitches would be covered or at what rate, and nothing has been introduced yet.
• Site operators. Qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure properties in England get bigger Small Business Rates Relief thresholds from 1 April 2027 (100% relief up to £18,000 rateable value, tapering to £21,000), and bill rises capped at CPI for 2027-28 and 2028-29 (paras 6.190 and 6.191). Whether a particular site qualifies is for the council to decide.

Does the Budget change what a used motorhome is worth?

Our view, not a forecast: nothing in the Budget targets motorhomes, and the costs that do move are small next to the price of the vehicle. A £15 road tax rise and about £100 a year of extra diesel from July 2027 are not the numbers that decide a £30,000 purchase. The things that do are the ones no Budget changes: outstanding finance, an insurance write-off, a stolen marker or a mileage that does not add up. Those cost thousands, and they are on the registers before you travel to view.

If you are buying, run the free DVLA and MOT summary first, then the £4.99 history check, then pay for an inspection only if it is still in the running; how to check a used motorhome before buying sets out the order. If you are selling, see the best way to sell a motorhome and our depreciation calculator.