Updated 21 September 2026
You're comparing an electric van with a diesel one, and someone tells you the EV "saves on road tax". It doesn't. Here's the van road tax Singapore owners pay in 2026: S$426 a year for a diesel van, S$340 for petrol and S$530 for an electric van, all for vans of up to 3.5 tonnes maximum laden weight. For lorries, the answer flips with the calendar.
Every figure below comes from LTA's current rate table, doubled from the six-monthly rate to a yearly bill. We'll show you what a van, a 10ft lorry and a 14ft lorry pay by weight class, why electric costs more on the van side, and why a grant usually matters more than the road tax gap.
Key takeaways
- Goods vehicle road tax follows maximum laden weight (MLW), not engine size or deck length.
- A light goods van (LGV) pays S$426 a year on diesel and S$530 on electricity, a S$104 gap.
- An electric lorry in the 3.5-7 t band pays S$624 in 2026 against S$656 for diesel. From 2027 it pays more.
- Grants dwarf the gap: CVES Band A is worth S$15k on a qualifying van; HVZES pays S$15k on a mid-weight electric lorry registered from 3 September 2026 (LTA, 2026).
- Vehicles over 10 years old pay a surcharge that climbs from 10% to 50% (OneMotoring, 2026).
How is road tax calculated for a van or lorry?
Road tax for a goods vehicle in Singapore is set by its maximum laden weight, the heaviest it's allowed to weigh when fully loaded. Engine capacity, the figure that drives car road tax, plays no part (LTA, 2026).
Weight also sets the vehicle's class. A Light Goods Vehicle has an MLW up to 3,500 kg; a Heavy Goods Vehicle runs from 3,501 kg to 16,000 kg (OneMotoring, 2026). A 10ft or 14ft lorry can land in either class, depending on how it's built and registered.
Then fuel matters. Diesel and diesel-hybrid goods vehicles pay the highest base rate. Petrol and petrol-hybrid pay less. Electric goods vehicles pay the petrol base rate plus an extra charge, the Additional Flat Component (AFC), which we'll come to.
You renew road tax every 6 or 12 months, so each figure below is two payments.
If you're still working out which licence class a vehicle needs, our guide to what a Class 3 licence covers for light goods vehicles sits on the same weight lines.
Van road tax Singapore rates for 2026
For a van registered as a Light Goods Vehicle, there's only one weight band to worry about: up to 3.5 tonnes MLW. The fuel decides the bill.
| Van (MLW up to 3.5 t) | Every 6 months | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Diesel or diesel hybrid | S$213 | S$426 |
| Petrol or petrol hybrid | S$170 | S$340 |
| Electric (S$170 base + S$95 AFC) | S$265 | S$530 |
Read that bottom row twice. An electric van pays S$104 a year more than a diesel van and S$190 more than a petrol one. Over five years at the current rates (LTA, 2026), the diesel van's road tax totals S$2,130 and the electric van's S$2,650.
That's a real line in a fleet budget, and it runs against the idea that electric always costs less to own. On electric van road tax, the honest answer is that you pay a little more.
Road tax is only one row of running cost, though. Electricity versus diesel, servicing and resale all move the total, which is why we'd never pick a van on road tax alone. Our five-year running cost of an electric van against diesel puts the rows side by side.
How much road tax does a 10ft or 14ft lorry pay?
Lorries above 3.5 tonnes MLW move into the Heavy Goods Vehicle bands. Deck length isn't in the formula at all, so a 10ft and a 14ft lorry registered in the same weight band pay the same road tax.
| MLW band | Diesel or diesel hybrid, per year | Petrol or petrol hybrid, per year |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 3.5 t (light goods) | S$426 | S$340 |
| Over 3.5 t, up to 7 t | S$656 | S$524 |
| Over 7 t, up to 11 t | S$724 | S$578 |
| Over 11 t, up to 16 t | S$978 | S$782 |
The jump that catches owners is the first one. Cross 3.5 tonnes MLW and a diesel truck's road tax rises from S$426 to S$656 a year, a S$230 step, before you've added a single pallet. If your loads never need the extra rating, a lighter registration is money back every year.
Weight classes by lorry size, with the heights and decks that go with them, are laid out in our explainer on lorry sizes from 10ft to 24ft.
Why does an electric van pay more road tax?
Because diesel pays twice and electricity pays once. LTA taxes a diesel van's usage through fuel excise duty when it refuels. An electric van never refuels, so LTA collects its share of usage tax through road tax instead.
LTA calls that extra charge the Additional Flat Component. LTA's reasoning, on its tax structure page, is simple: an EV burns no fuel, so its usage is taxed through road tax instead (LTA, 2026). For an electric LGV, that's S$95 every six months on top of the S$170 base.
So the AFC isn't a penalty for going electric. It's the road-tax twin of the fuel duty a diesel van pays when it refuels. Seen that way, the S$104 yearly gap between an electric and a diesel van is a small premium on a vehicle that pays no fuel duty at all.
Electric lorries: cheaper in 2026, dearer from 2027
Heavy electric goods vehicles got their own AFC schedule, and it steps up over three years. The base rate matches petrol. The AFC is S$50 every six months in 2026, S$75 in 2027 and S$125 from 1 January 2028.
| Electric lorry, per year | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 onwards | Diesel equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Over 3.5 t, up to 7 t | S$624 | S$674 | S$774 | S$656 |
| Over 7 t, up to 11 t | S$678 | S$728 | S$828 | S$724 |
That's the thesis of this article in one table. In 2026, a mid-weight electric lorry pays S$32 less road tax than its diesel twin. In 2027 it pays S$18 more. From 2028 the gap widens to S$118 a year.
Anyone who tells you "electric is cheaper on road tax" is right for a lorry this year and wrong for a van every year.
One exception protects early adopters. If your electric lorry was registered in 2025 or earlier, LTA waives its AFC for all of 2026, 2027 and 2028 (LTA, 2026). If you already run one, you pay only the base rate until the end of 2028.
Does a grant cancel out the higher road tax?
By a wide margin, for any vehicle that qualifies. Grants are paid once, in thousands; the road tax gap is paid yearly, in tens or low hundreds.
Vans. The Commercial Vehicle Emissions Scheme (CVES) pays S$15k to a light goods van that lands in Band A, for vans registered between April 2025 and the end of March 2027 (LTA, 2026). Against a S$104 yearly road tax gap, that incentive covers more than 140 years of the difference. Band C works the other way: a S$20k surcharge.
Which band a specific van lands in depends on its emissions, including those from the electricity it uses, so ask for the band in writing before you buy.
Lorries. The Heavy Vehicle Zero Emissions Scheme (HVZES) changed on 3 September 2026. Electric lorries registered since then, on a COE won in September 2026 or later, now earn by weight. A truck between 3,501 kg and 7,000 kg MLW gets S$15k, paid as three S$5k tranches; one above 7,000 kg still gets S$40k (LTA, 2026).
"The adoption of EHVs will be reduced, possibly even quite drastically, as the majority of EHVs now are in the 3,501 to 7,000 kg range."
— Ryan Woon, chief executive of EcoSwift, quoted by The Business Times, 2 September 2026
Our read: the grant now splits at 7,000 kg MLW, and the gap between the two sides is S$25k. So before you compare grant figures for any electric lorry, ask which side of 7,000 kg the unit will be registered on. Weight isn't free, though. Above 7 tonnes the road tax rises too, and anything over 5,000 kg MLW needs a vehicle parking certificate or a lodgement.
What would a small fleet pay? A worked example
Take one example set-up: three vans of up to 3.5 tonnes and one 14ft lorry registered in the over-3.5-to-7-tonne band. Here's the yearly road tax on each fuel, using only LTA's rates.
| Fleet of 3 vans + 1 lorry (over 3.5 t, up to 7 t) | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 onwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| All diesel | S$1,934 | S$1,934 | S$1,934 |
| All electric | S$2,214 | S$2,264 | S$2,364 |
| Difference | S$280 | S$330 | S$430 |
The electric fleet pays S$280 more in 2026, and the gap grows to S$430 a year from 2028 as the heavy-vehicle AFC steps up. Now set that against the grants. Three vans that each qualify for CVES Band A would bring S$45k; the lorry, registered after 3 September 2026 in the lighter heavy band, adds S$15k under HVZES (LTA, 2026). That's S$60k once, against a road tax premium of a few hundred dollars a year.
Honestly, the road tax line almost never decides this choice. Where the vehicles charge, how far they run each day and what the resale looks like will. Use this table to kill the myth, then make the real decision on running cost.
Older vans pay a surcharge after 10 years
Keep a van long enough and its road tax grows. LTA adds a yearly surcharge to vehicles more than 10 years old (OneMotoring, 2026).
| Age of vehicle | Surcharge on road tax | Diesel van, per year |
|---|---|---|
| More than 10 years | 10% | S$468.60 |
| More than 11 years | 20% | S$511.20 |
| More than 12 years | 30% | S$553.80 |
| More than 13 years | 40% | S$596.40 |
| More than 14 years | 50% | S$639 |
At 15 years, a diesel van pays half again its original road tax. The surcharge alone won't force a sale, but it belongs in the keep-or-replace sum alongside repairs and COE.
Heavy lorries cannot renew road tax without a VPC
Weight doesn't just set the rate. For any vehicle with an MLW above 5,000 kg, OneMotoring lists a valid Vehicle Parking Certificate (VPC) among the road tax renewal prerequisites. From 15 September 2026, an overnight parking lodgement with LTA can stand in for the VPC (LTA, 2026).
So a 14ft lorry registered at 7 tonnes carries two recurring obligations: the road tax and a legal overnight parking arrangement. A 14ft registered at 5,000 kg or under carries only the first. Put both on the same calendar, because a lapsed VPC or lodgement blocks the road tax renewal behind it. Which 10ft and 14ft lorries cross that line is covered in our guide to whether your lorry needs a vehicle parking certificate.
Why do AI answers get lorry road tax wrong?
Because the web feeds them figures without a weight band, and some of those figures match no LTA band at all. Ask an AI assistant what a 14ft lorry pays and you may get one of them.
The fix is a habit, not a calculator. Never accept a road tax figure without its MLW band attached, ours included. LTA's 2026 table gives S$656 as the road tax for lorry owners in the 3.5-7 t diesel band and S$426 in the light goods band; you can check your own vehicle in a minute on OneMotoring by its registration number.
A five-minute road tax check before you buy
- Ask for the registered MLW of the exact unit, not the brochure's rating.
- Find the band: up to 3.5 t, over 3.5 t to 7 t, over 7 t to 11 t.
- Read the yearly rate for the fuel from the tables above.
- For electric, add the year: the heavy-vehicle AFC rises in 2027 and again in 2028.
- Set the grant beside it: CVES band for vans, HVZES band for lorries, both in writing.
- Above 5,000 kg MLW, line up a VPC or a lodgement before registration.
Class 3 drivers face a separate weight limit on the licence side. See Class 3 versus Class 4 lorry licence rules before you settle on a heavier rating.
Choosing the weight class that fits your work
The cheapest road tax isn't the goal; the right weight class is. A heavier class means more road tax, may bring a VPC and may call for a higher licence. A lighter one may not legally carry your loads. Match the class to the work, then compare.
ABLINK's live range lists 20 goods vans, 14 of them electric, plus eight 10ft and eight 14ft lorries, seven of them electric. When you shortlist one, ask for the MLW it will be registered at. That one figure sets the road tax, the grant band and the parking rule. Browse the live range of new vans and lorries for the latest prices, then ask the team for the weight rating of each unit before you compare.
Frequently asked questions
How much is road tax for a van in Singapore?
A van registered as a Light Goods Vehicle, with a maximum laden weight up to 3.5 tonnes, pays S$426 a year on diesel, S$340 on petrol and S$530 on electricity in 2026. LTA sets these six-monthly as S$213, S$170, and S$170 plus a S$95 Additional Flat Component.
Is an electric van cheaper to road tax than diesel?
No. An electric LGV pays S$530 a year against S$426 for diesel, because of the Additional Flat Component that replaces fuel duty. A van qualifying for CVES Band A receives S$15k (LTA, 2026), which outweighs the S$104 yearly difference many times over.
How much is the road tax for a 14ft lorry?
The registered weight decides, not the deck. The road tax for a 14ft lorry on diesel is S$656 a year if its MLW is over 3.5 and up to 7 tonnes, and S$724 over 7 up to 11 tonnes. An electric one in the lighter band pays S$624 in 2026 and S$674 in 2027.
How is road tax calculated for a van or lorry?
By maximum laden weight band and fuel type. LTA publishes a six-monthly rate for each band: up to 3.5 tonnes, over 3.5 to 7, over 7 to 11, and over 11 to 16 tonnes. Electric goods vehicles add an Additional Flat Component to the petrol base rate.
Do old vans pay more road tax?
Yes. Vehicles more than 10 years old pay a yearly surcharge of 10% (OneMotoring, 2026), rising by 10 percentage points each year to 50% for vehicles more than 14 years old. A diesel van's S$426 becomes S$639 at that top rate.
Do I need a VPC to renew road tax on a lorry?
Only for a heavy vehicle. A lorry with a maximum laden weight above 5,000 kg needs a valid Vehicle Parking Certificate, or from 15 September 2026 an overnight parking lodgement with LTA, before its road tax can be renewed. Lighter lorries and vans don't.
Disclaimer: this guide summarises the van road tax Singapore rates and incentives published by LTA as at 21 September 2026. Figures are yearly totals of LTA's six-monthly rates and exclude surcharges unless stated. Rates, grant bands and eligibility can change; confirm your vehicle's registered maximum laden weight and current road tax on OneMotoring before you buy. Vehicle prices appear on the live ABLINK listings.
