car tax: what exactly is it?? We explain what the car tax costs, how it is paid, who is exempt from car tax and what happens if you don’t pay the car tax.
The amount of the car tax can be an argument for or against a certain model when buying a car. We answer the most important questions about the car tax.
- What is vehicle tax and why does it exist??
- Who has to pay the car tax?
- Who is exempt from the car tax?
- How is the car tax made up??
- How to calculate the car tax?
- Who collects the vehicle tax?
- When do I have to pay the car tax how?
- What if I have not paid the vehicle tax??
- Vehicle deregistered: when to pay back the vehicle tax?
- How can I save car tax?
General questions about car tax
In germany there are more than 60 million registered vehicles. This results in a large sum of tax money. How the car tax works, you can find out here.
What is the vehicle tax and why does it exist??
The vehicle tax is a federal tax, which all owners of motor vehicles must pay annually. The revenue finances road construction, among other things. The background is the polluter pays principle: vehicle owners are obliged to pay for the damage they have caused to roads and the environment.
Who has to pay the car tax?
- Owners of domestic vehicles
- Foreign vehicle owners in germany
- Unlawful use of vehicles (for example, driving an unregistered car on a public road)
- All vehicles with red license plates (dealer license plates) and vintage license plates (registered test drives are excluded)
Normally the owner of the vehicle has to pay the tax. But on the tax form you can specify another payer. For insurance reasons, for example, parents are often registered as vehicle owners. However, the vehicle is really used by the child. In such a case, the child can be designated as the vehicle tax payer.
Who is exempt from vehicle tax?
Severely disabled persons are exempt from vehicle tax or receive a tax reduction of 50 percent. Find out more here. Also owners of electric vehicles, which were registered until 31.12.vehicles registered in 2020 are exempt from vehicle tax for 5 years.
If you don’t want to calculate the car tax by hand, there is a free calculator on the internet. © istock/photobuay
calculate car tax
For each vehicle the car tax is calculated individually. This is to guarantee a fair taxation.
How is the vehicle tax composed??
The amount of the car tax is earmarked for a specific purpose. This means that vehicles that emit more pollutants are taxed more heavily. For example, owners of diesel vehicles have to pay a higher vehicle tax.
- CO2 emission: this is stated in the vehicle registration certificate under V.7. (there is no information about this in the old vehicle registration certificate).
- Engine type: this is stated in the vehicle registration certificate under P.3 (point 5 on the old vehicle registration certificate).
- Size of the displacement: this is stated in the new registration certificate part I under P.1 (item 8 in the old vehicle registration document).
- Date of first registrationthis is stated in the new registration certificate part I under point B (point 32 in the old vehicle registration certificate).
In the vehicle registration you will find the data you need. © allianz direct
Important are also the pollutant classes: you classify if a car is low emission or not.
– Low-emission vehicles are divided into emission classes euro 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6. Euro 6 has the lowest emission level and euro 1 the highest.
– non-polluting vehicles (euro 0) are divided whether the use is allowed or forbidden in case of an ozone alert.
- Euro 3 and better (limits up to 2.5 t)6.75 euro for gasoline, 15.44 euro for diesel
- Euro 2: 7,36 euro for petrol, 16,05 euro for diesel
- Euro 1: 15,13 euro for petrol, 27,35 euro for diesel
- Euro 0 (without ozone ban)21.07 euros for gasoline, 33.29 euros for diesel
- Euro 0 (rest)25.36 euros for gasoline vehicles, 37.58 euros for diesel vehicles
- part 1 is based on the engine type and the size of the engine capacity: for every 100 cm³ of engine capacity or part thereof, gasoline cars pay 2 euros, diesel cars 9.50 euros.
- Part 2 considers the pollutant emission. The first registration date is important. Cars registered before 1. vehicles registered on January 2012 are allowed to emit slightly more pollutants. Since 2014, the current limit for new registrations has been 95 grams per kilometer. Each additional gram costs the owner two euros more in vehicle tax.
Example: you are the owner of a diesel vehicle with a displacement of 1.968 cc. According to factor 1 you have to pay for diesel cars 9,50 euro per 100 cm³ of started cubic capacity. in your case 20 times 9,50 euro. This is 190 euro car tax after factor 1.
factor 2 is still missing: your vehicle was registered in 2010. At that time, the limit value for pollutant emissions was 120 g/km carbon dioxide. however, your vehicle emits 154 g/km (34 grams too much). you have to pay 2 euro more for each additional gram. factor 2 results in a cost of 68 euro.
the vehicle tax for your car is 190 euro plus 68 euro: 258 euro per year.
How to calculate the car tax?
With our car tax calculator you can calculate the amount of your car tax for diesel and gasoline vehicles. For electric vehicles, motorcycles, light vehicles, commercial vehicles, classic cars and motor homes, you can use the vehicle tax calculator of the German Federal Ministry of Finance.
Vehicle tax for motorcycle
For motorcycle tax, only the engine capacity is important. For every 25 cm³ or part thereof, 1,84 euro will be charged. light motorcycles with a displacement below 125 cm³, whose power is below 11 kw, are exempt from vehicle tax.
Vehicle tax for trucks
- Up to 2000 kg share of the total mass: 11,25 € tax per 200 kg total weight
- 2000 to 3000 kg share of total mass: €12.02 tax per 200 kg total weight
- 3000 to 5000 kg total weight: 12,78 € tax per 200 kg total weight
All trucks over 3.5 tons must pay additional surcharges based on emission and noise classes.
Vehicle tax for trailers
Also the car tax for trailers is based on the permissible total weight. per 200 kg you will be charged 7,46 euro. But there is a maximum limit of 373 euro. only trailers subject to registration can be taxed.
Vehicle tax for motorhome
For motorhomes, the vehicle tax is levied according to the total permissible weight and the special S-pollutant classes.
An individual vehicle tax is calculated for each vehicle. © istock/wutwhanfoto
pay car tax
You can decide if you want your car tax to be debited or if you want to transfer it annually yourself.
Who collects the car tax?
since february 2014 the car tax is collected by customs. Previously, the local tax office was responsible.
When do i have to pay the car tax how?
After you have registered your car, you will receive a one-time tax assessment by mail after about two weeks. Keep it safe. In the past, you received a notice every year, but this is no longer the case.
You have to pay the car tax one year in advance. If you register your car in september for example, you always have to pay your car tax in september.
You can specify when registering your car whether your car tax should be collected automatically. You deposit your account data and agree to a SEPA direct debit mandate. The amount is debited from your account annually. If you have a car with seasonal registration, the tax will only be debited for this period.
If you have not specified that the tax should be debited automatically, you must make sure that you transfer the money on time. Note that customs no longer sends out reminder letters.
What if I haven’t paid my car tax??
You receive a reminder from the customs office. This can happen if you have too little money in your account and the amount could not be debited or if you have not transferred it yet. Sometimes there can be costs. If you still haven’t transferred the money after the second reminder, the public order office will be called in.
The public order office threatens you to immobilize the vehicle. If you do not react, the officials will remove the valid stickers from your vehicle. Your car is no longer registered for use on public roads. As long as you have not paid your car tax, you cannot register a new car.
Vehicle deregistered: when is the vehicle tax refunded??
When you deregister your vehicle, you will receive the prepaid vehicle tax back from customs after about three weeks. Send a form for the application to your responsible main customs office.
How can I save on car taxes??
To save on car tax, it is worth switching to a car with lower emissions. gasoline cars are cheaper than diesel cars. There is also the possibility of converting your vehicle so that it emits fewer pollutants. But you should check if it is worth it financially.
Reduce maintenance costs with cheap insurance
How much does your car tax cost now?? You can easily calculate the car tax for your diesel or gasoline vehicle yourself. If it is too expensive for you, you can think about a conversion or a new car. You may even receive a new environmental sticker.
But it is less complicated to change to a cheaper car insurance! You can find out which maintenance costs you also have to take into account for your car in our guidebook.
Calculate car insurance
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