💶 Vehicle tax and exemption for electric cars
In brief
Vehicle tax is paid one year in advance. The amount and due date are in your tax notice. Zoll does not send an annual payment reminder. Direct debit is easiest, so you never miss a date.
Purely electric cars are exempt from tax for ten years from first registration, at most until 31 December 2035, if they are first registered by 31 December 2030.
Step by step
- Read the noticeThe amount and due date are in the tax notice.
- Set up direct debitWith a SEPA direct debit, Zoll collects the tax on the due date.
- Check deregistrationAfter deregistration you receive a notice and usually a credit back.
- Electric car: check the exemptionCheck in the notice that the exemption is entered.
Deadlines
- The exemption is granted only once per vehicle and passes to the new keeper on a change of keeper.
- For conversions, the exemption applies only to conversions between 18 May 2016 and 31 December 2030 with a general operating permit (Allgemeine Betriebserlaubnis) for the parts.
- Tax amounts by engine capacity and emission class were not fully reproduced here.
- Plug-in hybrids are not purely electric vehicles under § 9 Abs. 2 KraftStG. Whether special rules apply was not checked in full text.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals
Assessment (§ 9 KraftStG)
The annual tax for cars depends on engine capacity per 100 cubic centimetres and CO2 emissions. For vehicles from 1 January 2021, progressive rates of €2.00 to €4.00 per gram of CO2 per kilometre above 95 g/km apply. An electric vehicle is a vehicle driven exclusively by electric motors that are fed wholly or mainly from energy storage devices or emission-free energy converters.
Payment (§ 11 KraftStG)
The tax must be paid one year in advance. If the annual tax exceeds €500, half-yearly payment with a 3 % surcharge is possible, and above €1,000 quarterly payment with 6 % (§ 11 Abs. 2 KraftStG). Amounts are rounded down to whole euros.
Exemption (§ 3d KraftStG)
Keeping electric vehicles is exempt. The exemption applies to first registration between 18 May 2011 and 31 December 2030, for ten years from registration, at most until 31 December 2035. It is granted once per vehicle and passes to the new keeper on a change of keeper. Periods of deregistration and seasonal periods do not affect it.
Legislation
The Bundestag passed the extension on 4 December 2025, the Bundesrat on 19 December 2025 (according to search hits; Federal Ministry of Finance press release of 15 October 2025 only as a search hit). The statute text on gesetze-im-internet.de names the deadlines 31 December 2030 and 31 December 2035.
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