Owners of more polluting cars to face £20+ daily charge to drive in London

Cars which don't meet what's technically known as 'Euro 4' emissions standards (typically those registered before 2005) will have to pay the surcharge – known as the T-charge – if they enter the congestion charge zone between 7am and 6pm Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays). To check whether you'll have to pay, use the Transport for London (TfL) emissions surcharge checker tool.

Failure to pay could land you a penalty charge of £130, though it'll be reduced to £65 if you pay within 14 days.

The T-charge will use the same payment system as the congestion charge, allowing you to pay online, by phone or by registering for Auto Pay (a payment system that records the number of charging days a vehicle travels within the charging zone each month and automatically takes payment from your debit or credit card or via direct debit). If the system identifies you as needing to pay the T-charge you'll have to pay that and the congestion charge in the same transaction.

Exemptions to the T-charge are available for some kinds of vehicle, including motorbikes, mopeds and scooters, while discounts are available for some local residents and disabled people – for full info on this, see TfL's T-charge website.

To drive down the cost of motoring see our 50 MoneySaving Motoring tips.