Road tax is the recurring fee you pay to keep a car licensed for Singapore roads. For a typical 1,600cc petrol car it works out to about $743 a year. The amount is set by your car's engine capacity (for petrol and hybrid cars) or its motor power rating (for electric cars), then bumped up by a surcharge once the car passes 10 years old. You renew it every 6 or 12 months through OneMotoring, but only after your insurance and any due inspection are sorted. This guide shows exactly how the number is worked out, how to renew without getting caught by penalties, and where road tax fits in the real cost of running a car here.
Every vehicle used on a public road in Singapore must have valid road tax. It is collected by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and is separate from the COE, the ARF, and registration fees you pay upfront when you buy the car. Road tax is an ongoing cost that keeps recurring for as long as you own the car.
For a standard petrol sedan in the 1,600cc range, road tax is around $743 a year. A small 1,000cc car pays roughly $390, while a 2,000cc continental car is closer to $1,210. The figure scales steeply with engine size, which is by design: larger engines sit in higher bands with a higher per-cc rate.
You can renew road tax for 6 or 12 months at a time. Weekend, Off-Peak and Revised Off-Peak cars can only renew on a 12-month basis.
Petrol and petrol-hybrid cars are taxed on engine capacity, measured in cubic centimetres (cc). LTA splits engine sizes into five bands, each with its own base amount and a per-cc rate that applies to the capacity above the band's floor. The published figures are 6-monthly, and they are multiplied by a factor of 0.782, so you double the result to get the annual road tax.
The band structure means only the capacity inside your band is charged at that band's higher per-cc rate, the same idea as income tax brackets. A 1,599cc car uses the 1,001 to 1,600cc formula, while a 1,601cc car crosses into the next band and starts from a $475 base. That small jump in capacity can add a noticeable amount, so engines are often sized just under a band boundary on purpose.
Worked example for a 1,798cc car. It falls in the 1,601 to 3,000cc band: [$475 + $0.75 x (1,798 - 1,600)] x 0.782 = $487.58 for 6 months, or about $975 a year. A 1,600cc car one band down works out to [$250 + $0.375 x (1,600 - 1,000)] x 0.782 = $371.45 for 6 months, about $743 a year. The per-cc rate rising from band to band is why a 3.0-litre engine pays several times what a 1.5-litre engine pays, not just twice as much.
You do not have to do this arithmetic yourself. LTA's road tax e-service on OneMotoring returns the exact figure for your specific vehicle, including any age surcharge, once you key in the vehicle number. The formulas are useful when you are comparing cars you do not own yet.
| Engine capacity (cc) | 6-monthly road tax formula |
|---|---|
| EC ≤ 600 | $200 x 0.782 |
| 601 to 1,000 | [$200 + $0.125 x (EC − 600)] x 0.782 |
| 1,001 to 1,600 | [$250 + $0.375 x (EC − 1,000)] x 0.782 |
| 1,601 to 3,000 | [$475 + $0.75 x (EC − 1,600)] x 0.782 |
| EC > 3,000 | [$1,525 + $1 x (EC − 3,000)] x 0.782 |
Once a car is more than 10 years old, LTA adds an age surcharge on top of the base road tax. It rises by 10 percentage points each year and caps at 50%. This is one reason running a very old car gets more expensive even before maintenance is counted.
The surcharge is calculated on the base road tax, so a car already in a high engine-capacity band feels it more in dollar terms.
| Vehicle age | Surcharge on road tax |
|---|---|
| More than 10 years | 10% |
| More than 11 years | 20% |
| More than 12 years | 30% |
| More than 13 years | 40% |
| More than 14 years | 50% |
Electric cars do not have an engine capacity, so their road tax is based on the motor's maximum power rating in kilowatts (kW). The structure mirrors the petrol bands: a base amount plus a per-kW rate above each band's floor, the same x 0.782 factor, and a 6-monthly basis. The power rating LTA uses is the maximum rated power on the car's registration details, not the figure a manufacturer might quote for marketing.
On top of that, fully electric cars pay an Additional Flat Component (AFC) of $350 per 6 months, which is $700 a year. The AFC exists because EVs do not pay fuel excise duty, so it recovers part of the usage-based tax that petrol drivers pay at the pump. It was phased in over 2021 to 2022 at lower rates and has been at its full $700-a-year rate since 1 January 2023.
Worked example for a Tesla Model 3 with a 110kW power rating: [$250 + $3.75 x (110 - 30)] x 0.782 = $430.10 per 6 months, or about $860 a year, plus the $700 AFC, for roughly $1,560 a year in total. A higher-powered EV climbs quickly: the per-kW rate of $3.75 in the main band means a 200kW car carries a much larger base before the AFC is even added.
Because the AFC is a flat sum, it weighs more heavily on a small, efficient EV than on a powerful one in percentage terms. It does not scale with how far you drive, so a low-mileage EV owner pays the same $700 as a high-mileage one. That is the trade for not paying duty at the pump.
| Power rating (kW) | 6-monthly road tax formula |
|---|---|
| PR ≤ 7.5 | $200 x 0.782 |
| 7.5 to 30 | [$200 + $2 x (PR − 7.5)] x 0.782 |
| 30 to 230 | [$250 + $3.75 x (PR − 30)] x 0.782 |
| PR > 230 | [$1,525 + $10 x (PR − 230)] x 0.782 |
Motorcycles are taxed on engine capacity in the same way as petrol cars, but with their own bands and much lower rates. The published figures are 6-monthly and carry the same x 0.782 factor, so double the result for the annual amount. Electric motorcycles are taxed on power rating instead, plus a smaller Additional Flat Component of $100 per 6 months ($200 a year) rather than the $700 a car pays.
Worked example for a 400cc motorcycle: [$40 + $0.15 x (400 - 200)] x 0.782 = $54.74 for 6 months, or about $109 a year. A small 150cc bike pays $40 x 0.782 = $31.28 for 6 months, roughly $63 a year. The age surcharge for older bikes works the same way as for cars, rising 10 points a year past the tenth year and capping at 50%.
Late renewal fees are lower for motorcycles too. A bike under 300cc pays $10 within the first month, $30 up to 2.5 months, $50 up to 6 months, and $130 beyond that. A bike of 300cc or more follows the same scale as a small car. If you ride, our guide to the real cost of a motorcycle in Singapore and motorcycle insurance cover the other running costs that sit alongside road tax.
| Engine capacity (cc) | 6-monthly road tax formula |
|---|---|
| EC ≤ 200 | $40 x 0.782 |
| 201 to 1,000 | [$40 + $0.15 x (EC − 200)] x 0.782 |
| EC > 1,000 | [$160 + $0.3 x (EC − 1,000)] x 0.782 |
Petrol-electric and other hybrid cars are taxed by working out the road tax twice: once on the engine capacity and once on the electric motor's power rating. You pay the higher of the two. There is no separate hybrid band.
Diesel and diesel-CNG cars pay a Special Tax instead of the usual road tax, and the rate depends on the car's emission standard. A cleaner Euro V or JPN2009 diesel pays $0.20 per cc for 6 months less $100, with a minimum of $100. A Euro IV diesel pays $0.625 per cc for 6 months less $100, with a minimum of $525. Older pre-Euro IV diesels pay six times the equivalent petrol road tax less $100. Note that from 1 January 2025, LTA no longer registers new diesel or diesel-natural-gas cars.
Road tax does not disappear the moment you stop driving a car. What happens to it depends on whether you sell the car, scrap or export it, or temporarily take it off the road.
When you sell a car, any road tax already paid follows the vehicle to the new owner. You are not refunded the unused months, so the value of that remaining road tax is something to factor into the price you agree. LTA also requires road tax to be valid before a sale or deregistration goes through, so if it has expired you must renew it (and clear any arrears) first.
When you deregister a car, by scrapping or exporting it, LTA automatically refunds the unused portion of road tax to the last registered owner. You do not apply for this separately. The refund is worked out on the remaining period, and it is paid out alongside any PARF or COE rebate due. Our guide to the COE and PARF rebate when you scrap a car sets out how the larger rebate is calculated.
If you are taking a car off the road for a while rather than getting rid of it, a vehicle lay-up pauses the obligation. Once LTA approves the lay-up, you stop paying road tax for the laid-up period and any unused road tax already paid is refunded. Apply before the road tax expires, otherwise you are exposed to arrears and late fees that the lay-up will not wipe out.
Before you can renew, three things must be in order, and LTA asks that you meet them at least one working day in advance:
The fastest way is the OneMotoring digital service online, which lets you pay by credit or debit card or eNETS at any hour; check the OneMotoring site for any scheduled maintenance window before you start. You can also pay at AXS stations and machines, set up GIRO for automatic deductions, or go to a road tax collection centre in person. From 1 February 2025, collection counters at LTA inspection centres no longer accept cash, cheque or cashier's order, so use a card or e-payment.
GIRO is the option that saves the most hassle. Once it is set up, LTA deducts the road tax automatically before each expiry, provided your insurance and inspection are in order, so you never miss a renewal or pay a late fee. It is the closest thing to a set-and-forget for this cost. If your insurance lapses, though, the GIRO deduction fails and the road tax does not renew, so keep both in sync.
Once you renew, there is no physical road tax disc to display. Enforcement is done electronically against your vehicle plate, so the renewal takes effect once payment clears. To plan around it, check the salary calculator to see how the annual cost lands against your take-home pay.
You do not have to wait until the last minute. LTA lets you renew up to a few months before expiry, and it sends a renewal notice about a month ahead. Renewing early is worth doing if your inspection is due, since a failed inspection can eat into the time you have before the tax lapses.
Paying by credit card is convenient, but treat road tax as a bill rather than a way to earn rewards. Most cards exclude government and tax payments from cashback and miles, so you usually earn nothing on the spend even though it clears as a normal transaction. The exception is if you are using a card-based facility that explicitly counts it. GIRO sidesteps the question entirely by deducting straight from your bank account.
If road tax is one of several car costs you are trying to keep on top of, run the full set of recurring figures through the car cost calculator so you see road tax, insurance, fuel and parking together rather than one bill at a time.
If your road tax lapses, LTA charges a late renewal fee on top of the road tax itself, and it grows the longer you wait. For cars, the fee depends on engine capacity and how overdue you are.
| Engine capacity | Within 1 month | 1 to 2.5 months | 2.5 to 3 months | Over 3 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ≤ 1,000cc | $10 | $60 | $80 | $230 |
| 1,001 to 1,600cc | $20 | $70 | $90 | $240 |
| 1,601 to 2,000cc | $30 | $80 | $100 | $250 |
| 2,001 to 3,000cc | $40 | $90 | $110 | $260 |
| ≥ 3,001cc | $50 | $100 | $120 | $270 |
Driving with expired road tax is a separate offence from the late fee. You can be fined up to $2,000, and continuing to use or keep the vehicle can lead to a court summons. If the tax stays unpaid, LTA can escalate to a notice to attend court and, in serious cases, seize the vehicle. The cheap move is to set a reminder, or put road tax on GIRO so it renews itself.
Road tax is real money, but it is a small slice of what a car costs to run. For a 1,600cc petrol sedan, the recurring annual costs typically look like fuel of around $4,000, insurance of roughly $1,200 to $1,800, servicing of about $1,000 to $2,000, and road tax of about $743. That is in the region of $7,000 to $8,500 a year before parking and ERP, and before the much larger upfront cost of the COE and ARF that you effectively spread over the car's life.
Road tax is predictable, which makes it easy to budget for. The variable and larger costs are fuel, insurance, and depreciation. If you are weighing whether a car makes sense at all, road tax is rarely the deciding number. For the full picture, see our guide to the factors that drive the cost of a car in Singapore, and fold the recurring figures into your personal budget before committing.
If you are choosing between a petrol car and an EV, factor in that the EV's lower running costs are partly offset by the $700 AFC and a power-rating road tax that can land higher than a similarly sized petrol car. Run both through your own numbers rather than assuming the EV is always cheaper to keep.
One more thing to plan for: the age surcharge. If you intend to keep a car past its tenth year, build the rising road tax into your budget early, since it climbs every year and tops out at half the base rate. For a high-capacity engine, that 50% cap can add several hundred dollars a year on its own. A cheaper-to-tax small engine ages more gently in this respect, which matters if you are the type to run a car for the full ten-year COE rather than upgrade every few years.
A 1,600cc petrol car pays about $371.45 per 6 months, or roughly $743 a year, before any age surcharge. The exact figure uses the band formula [$250 + $0.375 x (EC - 1,000)] x 0.782. Older cars pay a surcharge on top.
Use the Enquire Road Tax Expiry e-service on the LTA OneMotoring website with your vehicle number. You will also receive a renewal notice before expiry. If your tax is on GIRO, it renews automatically as long as your insurance and inspection are valid.
You need valid motor insurance covering the full renewal period with third-party liability for death and bodily injury, a passed inspection if your car is due for one, and no outstanding fines. LTA asks that these are in place at least one working day before you renew.
It is an offence. You can be fined up to $2,000 and may be summoned to court for keeping an unlicensed vehicle. Separately, LTA charges a late renewal fee that increases the longer the tax stays lapsed, from as little as $10 within the first month.
Yes. EV road tax is based on the motor's power rating in kilowatts rather than engine capacity, plus an Additional Flat Component of $700 a year because EVs do not pay fuel excise duty. A 110kW EV pays around $1,560 a year in total.
Once a car passes 10 years old, LTA adds an age surcharge to the base road tax: 10% in the eleventh year, rising 10 points a year and capping at 50% from the fifteenth year. The surcharge is calculated on the base road tax for the car's engine capacity or power rating.
Yes, most cars can renew for 6 or 12 months. Weekend, Off-Peak and Revised Off-Peak cars can only renew on a 12-month basis. Renewing for 12 months saves you a renewal step but ties up more cash upfront.
Motorcycle road tax is based on engine capacity and is far lower than for cars. A 150cc bike pays about $63 a year and a 400cc bike about $109 a year, both before any age surcharge. Electric motorcycles are taxed on power rating plus a $200-a-year flat component.
Yes. When you deregister a car by scrapping or exporting it, LTA automatically refunds the unused portion of road tax to the last registered owner, paid out with any PARF or COE rebate. You do not need to apply for the refund separately.
Any road tax you have already paid follows the car to the new owner, so you are not refunded the unused months. Factor that remaining value into the sale price. Road tax must also be valid before the sale can be processed, so renew it first if it has expired.
You can renew up to a few months before expiry, and LTA sends a renewal notice about a month ahead. Renewing early is sensible if your car is due for inspection, since a failed inspection can leave you short of time before the tax lapses.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.