The Historic Vehicle taxation class is now a ‘rolling’ system once again, meaning that a vehicle that’s 40 or more years old can be reclassified as ‘historic’ and eligible for free car tax (VED). In this instance, it applies to the vehicle’s production date rather than the date of first registration – an important point to bear in mind if you can prove that your particular car sat unregistered for a year or two before hitting the road for the first time.

The rolling system updates occur each April. For example, April 2019 saw all vehicles built prior to 1 January, 1979, become eligible for Historic Vehicle car tax. This means all 1978-produced vehicles could be reclassified. April 2020 will see it update to pre-1980 vehicles. So yes, your vehicle will be exempt from April as it was built before 1980.