Vehicle owner pay the car tax annually to the federal tax authorities.
Since 2021 you pay higher taxes, if your newly registered vehicle requires a lot of fuel. Electric cars, on the other hand, are exempt from vehicle tax until 2025.
To calculate your motor vehicle tax, you will need information on engine capacity and CO2 emissions as well as some other data from the vehicle registration certificate.
Topics in this guide:
Basic knowledge about car tax
What does my car cost in taxes? This is the question many drivers ask before they afford a new vehicle. How the motor vehicle tax is made up depends on the date of first registration. You can read more about this and how to calculate the vehicle tax in the following section.
Facts and figures on vehicle tax
- The car tax is colloquially also called car tax.
- in 2020, the federal government will have 9.53 billion euros in vehicle taxes for cars, motorhomes, quads and co. taken.
- The treasury has lost up to two billion euros in recent years due to incorrect manufacturer information.
- 2021 germany has reformed the vehicle tax with the motor vehicle tax law. Since then, the amount of fuel your car consumes and the amount of carbon dioxide it emits have become more important. However, the changes only apply to vehicles, vehicles registered for the first time after 2020 have got.
- Vehicle tax is usually paid by the vehicle owner. However, exceptions are possible.
Read the next section to find out exactly how the new vehicle tax is calculated.
How to calculate car tax
You will need this information to calculate the tax cost of your car, trailer or quad:
For some motor vehicles, such as mobile homes, trailers or commercial vehicles, the vehicle tax is also based on the weight of the vehicle. All this data can be found in the vehicle registration document.
It is relatively easy to find out how much vehicle tax you will have to pay. You can calculate the vehicle tax for your car namely calculate online free of charge. this is what you can do with the federal government’s vehicle tax calculator for cars, trailers, motorcycles, motorhomes, trucks and more.
Calculate vehicle taxes free of charge online – the type of vehicle determines the input
in the calculator, first enter what type of vehicle you drive. In the case of a passenger car, you must also select the date of first registration. Depending on the type of vehicle, different information is then required. To calculate the vehicle tax for trailers, you must specify whether it is a semi-trailer, rigid drawbar trailer or center-axle trailer. When calculating the vehicle tax for a motorcycle, however, it is sufficient to enter the engine capacity in the calculator. Taxes for motor homes are based on pollutant classes and weight.
Calculate vehicle tax for cars yourself
If you prefer to calculate the new vehicle tax for your car yourself when you register it from 2021, this is the best way to do it:
- E nterest the so-called base amount for your vehicle. This serves as the basis for the vehicle tax bill. for petrol cars they charge two euro per 100 cm3 or part thereof of engine capacity. When calculating the vehicle tax for diesel vehicles, on the other hand, they apply 9.50 euro.
- Add the following values per gram of CO2 emitted per kilometer, depending on the stage:
| 1 | over 95 g/km to 115 g/km | 2.00 euro |
| 2 | over 115 g/km to 135 g/km | 2.20 euro |
| 3 | over 135 g/km to 155 g/km | 2.50 euro |
| 4 | over 155 g/km up to 175 g/km | 2.90 euro |
| 5 | over 175 g/km to 195 g/km | 3,40 euro |
| 6 | over 195 g/km | 4,00 euro |
Do you have your passenger car before 1. January 2021 registered, you can calculate the vehicle tax as follows:
- In the first step you determine your base amount according to cubic capacity for the vehicle tax (as indicated above).
- Then they calculate the levy for CO2 emission with 2 euro per gram per kilometer driven. Depending on the registration date of your vehicle, the following allowances apply:
This is how you save on car tax
The best variant to save car taxes are environmentally friendly vehicles. electric cars are even exempt from vehicle tax until 2025. For hybrid vehicles, taxation is based on the range of the electric drive and emissions of carbon dioxide per kilometer driven. There are tax advantages for electric and hybrid cars for company cars, too. In this guide, you will find details on savings on vehicle tax for electric and hybrid vehicles.
Have your retrofit old vehicle: with cold run regulator and co. If the fuel burns more easily. You often end up in a better emission class as a result. Important: always have such conversion measures carried out and confirmed by a specialist company so that the registration authority recognizes the new emissions class.
Pay the vehicle tax annually, even if their vehicle is registered more than 1.000 euro is. If you choose to pay every three or six months, the premium will increase by three to six percent.
exemption from vehicle tax – for this group of people it is possible
There are three reasons for exemption from vehicle tax:
- you use an electric vehicle. E-cars are exempt from vehicle tax until at least 2025. Reason for this: the federal government wants to make mobility in germany more sustainable and promote the sale of electric cars by offering tax advantages.
- You are severely disabled. Depending on the degree of your handicap, you will receive a vehicle tax exemption or reduction if you are severely disabled.
- you use your vehicle purely for agricultural or forestry purposes. Prerequisite: the vehicle is a tractor, trailer or special purpose vehicle.
Important: in any case, you must apply to the tax office for exemption from vehicle tax.
Questions and answers on the subject of calculating vehicle tax
Who collects the vehicle tax?
For the motor vehicle tax the federal tax authority responsible. The money ends up in the german budget and is mainly used for road repairs.
When is the vehicle tax due??
You pay the vehicle tax annually. This is normally paid in advance debited at the turn of the year. Exception: you have just registered the vehicle. When the vehicle tax is debited for a new registration depends on the date of registration. If this does not coincide with the turn of the year, the federal tax authorities levy the tax on a daily basis pro rata for the rest of the year.
car tax is more than 500 euro? Then, in consultation with the main customs office, it is possible to change when you pay the vehicle tax: quarterly or half-yearly is possible.
Which CO2 value applies when calculating the vehicle tax??
Since 2018, the following applies to the motor vehicle tax CO2 value from the WLTP procedure. This abbreviation stands for worldwide harmonized light duty test procedure. The measurement procedure was introduced by the EU in 2017 and is intended to provide more realistic values. It is based on real driving data from 14 countries. you can enter this CO2 value into the federal government’s tax calculator (see above).
Are classic cars tax free?
No. Even with H license plates, you have to pay vehicle taxes. However, you pay a lower premium than other vehicle owners: namely flat rate of 191.73 euros per year. If your vehicle is a vintage motorcycle, you will only pay the following compensation 46,02 euro.
Who pays the vehicle tax – the vehicle owner or the vehicle operator??
Normally the vehicle owners the vehicle tax. You can also enter another person on the tax form – for example, your daughter. This makes sense, for example, if the vehicle is registered to you but actually belongs to your daughter.
I have deregistered my car – when will I get the tax back??
When you deregister your vehicle with the registration office, this also happens automatically with the tax office and the vehicle insurance company. You will receive the vehicle tax paid in advance within about three weeks back.