UK CBAM starts 1 January 2027. Find out if it catches your imports, and what it will cost.
If you import steel, aluminium, cement, fertiliser or hydrogen goods worth £50,000 or more a year, you will have to register with HMRC and pay the new carbon border charge. Answer a few questions to see if you are in scope, get your registration and return dates, and get an estimated cost with the workings shown.
Charging starts. No report-only phase, unlike the EU.
Rolling threshold on the value of CBAM goods imported.
Sectors: steel, aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen.
First return and payment, covering all of 2027.
Are you in scope, and roughly what will it cost?
Answer a few questions. This screens your import value against the £50,000 threshold and gives an illustrative cost band. The paid report turns this into your personalised, dated version with sources.
CBAM Rulebook Status
What is confirmed vs still in consultation. As at 12 Jul 2026.
Start date 1 Jan 2027
Five sectors (steel, aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen)
Glass and ceramics excluded at launch
£50,000 registration threshold
Register by 31 Jan 2028, first return 31 May 2028
Final commodity-code (CN) list
Per-good default emissions values
Quarterly CBAM rate (illustrative example)
2028 quarterly return deadlines
Each status carries a text label, not colour alone. We update this board as the rules land. Sources on the sources page.
Scope + cost worksheet
Free screening against the £50,000 threshold. Not tax advice.
CBAM covers goods from five sectors, by commodity code.
Scope is set by specific commodity (CN) codes, not a blanket sector sweep. Aluminium scrap (heading 7602) and ferrous waste and scrap (heading 7204) are named exclusions. The definitive CN list is set by secondary legislation and is still being finalised, so treat the families below as indicative.
Iron & steel
Iron and steel and articles of iron or steel. Excludes scrap (7204) and certain finished consumer articles.
Aluminium
Aluminium and articles of aluminium. Excludes scrap (7602) and certain finished articles.
Cement
Cement clinkers, Portland and other cements, plus related headings.
Fertiliser
Nitric acid, ammonia, nitrates and mineral or nitrogen fertilisers.
Hydrogen
Hydrogen. Electricity is not in scope; glass and ceramics are excluded at launch.
Answer, screen, plan.
Tell us what you import
Your sector, goods family, rough annual value or tonnage, and country of origin. No account, no upload of commercial data beyond what you type.
We test you against the rules
The £50,000 threshold on both limbs, your goods against the CN families, your exact registration and return dates, and an estimated cost with the method shown.
Get a dated, sourced PDF
Your in-scope answer, key dates as a countdown checklist, the estimated cost band, a supplier-data checklist, and a status box of what is confirmed vs pending, each with a gov.uk source.
Actual supplier data usually beats the default value.
You can calculate the charge two ways: with a government default emissions value for the good, or with your supplier's actual, independently verified emissions. A default carries a mark-up so it is not cheaper than verified data, so where your overseas producer is cleaner than the default, actual data can materially lower the bill. The catch is lead time: you need the data before the accounting period. The report gives you the exact checklist of what to ask your suppliers for now, so you are not stuck on the default when the first period opens on 1 January 2027.
Get your UK CBAM readiness report
A personalised, dated PDF: your in-scope answer, your exact dates, an estimated cost with the method shown, and the supplier data to start collecting now.
UK CBAM, answered plainly
When does the UK CBAM start?
It takes effect and starts charging from 1 January 2027. Unlike the EU, which ran a report-only period first, the UK has no transitional reporting-only phase: the charge applies from day one of the first accounting period.
Which sectors and goods does it cover?
Five sectors: aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen, and iron and steel. Glass and ceramics are excluded at launch and electricity is not in scope. Scope is set by specific commodity (CN) codes; aluminium scrap and ferrous waste and scrap are named exclusions. The definitive CN list is set by secondary legislation.
What is the £50,000 threshold and how is it measured?
You must register once the value of the CBAM goods you import meets or exceeds £50,000. It is a rolling test with two limbs: a 30-day forward look (on any day, do you expect to import £50,000 or more of CBAM goods over the next 30 days) and a 12-month backward look on the first of each month. It is measured on the value of the goods, not on the emissions or the charge.
Who has to register and pay?
The liable person is the one importing the CBAM goods for commercial purposes, in practice the person in whose name the customs declaration is made (or their representative). That person registers, files returns and pays.
When must I register?
Ordinarily within 30 days of becoming liable. During the first year there is an easement: businesses have until 31 January 2028 to register.
When is my first return and payment due?
31 May 2028, covering the first accounting period of 1 January to 31 December 2027. From 2028, accounting periods become quarterly, with the exact 2028 deadlines being finalised in secondary legislation.
How is the charge calculated?
Embodied emissions (tCO2e) multiplied by the sector rate for the quarter (£ per tCO2e), minus relief for any qualifying overseas carbon price already paid. You may use a published default emissions value or your supplier's actual verified data.
What is the CBAM rate, and is it known yet?
It is set and published quarterly from 1 January 2027, based on the average UK ETS auction price for the preceding quarter, adjusted down for the free-allowance share in that sector. An illustrative example rate is expected in Autumn 2026 ahead of the first live quarterly rate. Until then, our estimator uses a clearly labelled illustrative figure, not an official one.
Can I reduce the charge?
Two ways: use your supplier's actual, independently verified emissions instead of the default value (defaults carry a mark-up, so a cleaner producer usually pays less on actual data), and claim overseas carbon price relief where a qualifying carbon price has already been paid abroad, with documentary evidence.
Is the UK CBAM the same as the EU CBAM?
No. They are different regimes with different thresholds, a different rate basis, and different timing. The UK has no transitional reporting-only phase, sets its rate from the UK ETS price, and uses its own £50,000 threshold. If you import into both, you are dealing with two separate sets of rules.