No fuel consumption, no harmful emissions, but an environmental bonus, subsidies and convenient charging options: electric cars already have a lot to offer. One of them: tax benefits. Whether for private use or as a company car – in addition to the purchase premium, the federal government is promoting electric vehicles with tax savings and even tax exemption in order to promote electromobility in germany and the use of alternative energy sources. We have unpacked the tax gift in this guide for you.
Exempt from tax for years.
Electric cars enjoy tax advantages. Strictly speaking, they are not exempt from the tax. But there is a tax-free period for e-cars, during which the owner does not have to pay any tax. You could say: a temporary tax exemption. This is the first gift that drivers of electric vehicles are happy to receive. The amount of the tax is regulated in the Motor Vehicle Tax Act and depends on the date of registration.
the tax-free gift – in L or XL.
To promote electromobility, the government has increased its gift from size L to XL. Vehicles first registered before 17 years of age are exempt from tax. May 2011 five years of exemption from vehicle tax for electric cars, owners of electric cars purchased after 18 years of age must pay the tax. If you were or will be registered in May 2011, you will not have to pay vehicle tax for 10 years. The XL gift is available to anyone who purchases their e-vehicle by 31 December. December 2020 allows. That’s how long the regulation is still valid.
Tax rate for electric cars? Also a gift!
In addition to the tax exemption of currently 10 years, we receive another gift from the state in the matter of electric cars: as a tax advantage over conventional cars such as gasoline or diesel, in the form of a "rebate". Even after the tax-free period has expired, the tax on electric cars makes it cheaper for drivers to drive. You only pay 50 percent of the standard rate of vehicle tax.
Calculating electric car tax: weight is the deciding factor.
If you want to know how big this second tax gift actually is, you have to look up the weight of your e-car. How inexpensive the reduced vehicle tax turns out to be depends solely on the weight of the electric car. The permissible total weight is decisive. The maximum permissible weight is the maximum weight that a car may weigh, including passengers and all other loads. You can find it in the vehicle registration certificate ("Zulassungsbescheinigung teil 1") under point F.1.
Electric car tax under 3.500 kilograms.
If you drive a Stromer, you get half the tax for conventional commercial vehicles for free. Only the other half you have to pay. The annual vehicle tax increases with each additional 200 kilos of weight. The sum is rounded in each case.
Please also note: the rates are staggered. That means for the first 2.000 kilograms, there is a tax rate of 5.625 euros per 200 kilograms, and for the additional kilograms between 2.000 and 3.000 kilograms per 200 kilograms 6.01 euros, from 3.000 until 3.500 kilograms for each additional 200 kilograms each 6.39 euros.
For every 200 kilograms, there’s a tax break of around six euros.
Example calculation for a stromer with 3.000 kilograms.
As an example, let’s calculate the tax for an electric car that has a maximum permissible gross weight of 3.000 kilogram has. Since the tax rate per 200 kilograms is cumulative and also staggered, we first divide the total weight accordingly:
2.000 : 200 = 10 units for the first 2.000 kilograms.
1.000 : 200 = 5 units for the additional kilograms of 2.000 to 3.000 kilograms.
Multiplied by the respective graduated tax rates, this results in:
10 x 5.625 = 56.25 euro, rounded 56 euro.
5 x 6.01 = 30.05 euros, rounded 30 euros.
This makes a total of 86 euros in vehicle tax per year – and at the same time 86 euros in tax benefits compared to an internal combustion engine per year.
Electric car: tax for cars over 3.500 kilograms.
For electric cars with a maximum permissible gross weight exceeding 3.500 kilograms, the same applies as for electric vehicles that weigh less: the respective tax rates for commercial vehicles are taken as a basis and divided by two. Because no matter how heavy an electric vehicle is, the taxes are always only half as high as for conventional commercial vehicles. Because e-cars are emission-free, the comparison is based on the most favorable emission class.
Electric charging station for your home.
Convert and benefit.
You have an internal combustion engine, but want to convert to an electronic drive system? Even then, the tax break for e-cars is an issue. If you buy your car between the age of 18. May 2016 and the 31. If you have already converted or are converting by December 2020, you will also save a considerable amount of money. From the day of conversion, converted electric cars are tax-free for a full 10 years, with a 50 percent rebate thereafter, as with normal electric cars. The registration authority checks whether the converted vehicle meets all the requirements for an electric vehicle.
Tax advantages apply to hybrids?
To extend the range of electric cars, hybrid vehicles and e-cars with internal combustion engines are popular as a variant of pure electric vehicles. This raises the question of whether you can benefit from tax advantages, as with the electric car. The answer is clear: no. Vehicles with two types of drive or an additional internal combustion engine do not qualify as electric cars. And thus the exemption from vehicle tax does not apply to them either.
Company car tax for e-cars as company cars.
Not only private car owners can enjoy tax gifts. Employees who drive an electric car as a company car and use it for private purposes also benefit, as we have already shown in our article dienstwagen: elektro (company car: electric). You only have to pay tax on 0.5 percent of the list price as a non-cash benefit. Even better, if the boss provides a charging station for the company: then commuters in particular can travel more flexibly and more cheaply.
Save even more: with further subsidies.
In addition to gifts such as tax exemption and reduced electric car tax, climate-friendly vehicle owners can look forward to further benefits. For example, the environmental bonus. It was only extended and significantly increased at the end of 2019. From july 2020, the premium for electric cars with a list price below 30.000 euros on 4.000 euro increase. For more expensive electric vehicles, there are 2.500 euro premium. ENTEGA also promotes climate-friendly mobility, for example with a subsidy for charging stations for electric vehicles in the form of a wall charging station (wallbox).
Basically favorable: operating costs in general.
The tax savings are one thing. The other thing is the many other gifts you can unwrap with an electric car. One of the most important factors is certainly climate-friendly mobility, especially if the battery is charged using eco-electricity from the vehicle’s own wall charging station.
But even when you look at the operating costs, it’s often cheaper to drive an electric car than an internal combustion engine. For example, our article on electric car operating costs shows that there are additional financial benefits to be had in the form of fuel savings and maintenance.
electric car tax: one point more for electric cars.
So there is a lot of tax savings to be made if you choose an electric car. In addition to the rather favorable operating costs, climate friendliness and other advantages, the electric vehicles are thus more than just a genuine alternative to conventional burners – all the more so if the positive developments (such as e. B. Increasing e-car range) in terms of e-mobility of the future.
Buy ENTEGA wall charging station now.
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