Electric car vehicle tax: How to save money
Car owner and vehicle owners who register a battery-powered vehicle for the first time by 31 December 2025 will not pay tax for ten years. This tax exemption is valid until 31.12.2030. If you buy an e-car today, you will therefore no longer be able to make full use of the ten years.
The E-car subsidy and tax exemption applies to pure e-cars as well as passenger cars that you retroactively convert to e-cars. Even if you change vehicle owner, the tax exemption will remain in place until 2030. Which one Electric car comparison depends on your requirements and driving habits.
Full hybrids and plug-in hybrids do not benefit from this tax advantage. For Hybrid vehicles the regular motor vehicle tax is due. It is calculated on the basis of the key numbers HSN/TSN calculated.
Vehicle tax e-car: Determine costs
How much does an electric car cost in taxes?
In the case of combustion engines, the type of drive, engine capacity and pollutant emissions, among other things, are decisive for the amount of vehicle tax. In the case of an electric car, you only pay tax on the permissible total weight (GVW). Depending on the weight class, a fixed amount is charged for every 200 kilograms of total weight or part thereof:
- Vehicles up to 2,000 kg: 5.62 euros per 200 kg
- Vehicles between 2,001 and 3,000 kg: 6.01 euros per 200 kg
- Vehicles from 3,000 kg: 6.39 euros per 200 kg
You always round up the calculated tax amount. For example, if you determine 36.32 euros, you pay 37 euros in vehicle tax for the e-vehicle.
Calculation example: Vehicle tax for your BMW i3
Suppose you want to determine the vehicle tax for your BMW i3 with a permissible total weight of 1,350 kilograms. The calculation path looks like this:
1,350 kg ÷ 200 kg = 7
7 × 5.62 euros = 39.34 euros
- E-car insurance: We offer tailor-made insurance services for your vehicle. With up to 10 percent discount for electric cars .
- Sell GHG Quota: In cooperation with our partner ADAC e.V., we offer you an attractive GHG premium.
- Allianz E-Charge App & Charging Card\: With the EnBW mobility+ app and the Allianz e-Charge charging card, you can charge electricity easily and cheaply on the go – at over 500,000 charging points in the EnBW HyperNetwork.
Round up the amount of 39.34 euros. The e-car costs you 40 euros per year in vehicle tax.
Hybrid vehicles: No discount, but less tax than combustion engines
For cars with hybrid engines, there is neither a tax exemption nor tax benefits. This also applies to electric cars with range extenders. Special units are installed in them, which Reach of the car. However, since hybrid vehicles emit fewer pollutants than combustion engines, the vehicle tax is usually cheaper for them. Especially with a low-emission plug-in hybrid, you achieve a significant tax advantage compared to pure combustion engines.
If you want to calculate the vehicle tax for your plug-in hybrid or full hybrid, CO2emissions and engine capacity are decisive. If emissions exceed the Exemption limit of 95 grams CO2 per kilometre, you pay two euros for each additional gram.
In hybrid cars, the CO2emissions often below this limit. Accordingly, the tax is calculated only on the basis of the engine capacity. For the gasoline-powered engine of your hybrid, you pay two euros per 100 cubic centimeters (cc) of displacement. The rare combination of electric and diesel engine costs 9.50 euros per 100 cc.
Tax differences between full hybrid and plug-in hybrid are small. Depending on the model, the vehicle tax for a full hybrid can be slightly higher than taxes for a plug-in hybrid, as the larger combustion engine emits more CO2 .
Calculate vehicle tax for hybrid vehicles
In most cases, you pay a significantly lower tax rate for partially electric cars than for pure combustion engines. If you are thinking about purchasing a hybrid car, you can determine the 2024 vehicle tax in advance.
A calculation example: Your Toyota Prius Hybrid 1.8 with 1,798 cc displacement records a CO2emissions of 92 g/km. This means that the vehicle is below the limit value. Only the engine capacity is relevant for vehicle tax.
1,798 cc ÷ 100 cc = 17.98
17.98 × 2 euros = 35.96 euros
Round up the amount of 35.96 euros. The hybrid car costs you 36 euros in vehicle tax per year.
Can I deduct car insurance for e-cars from my taxes?
Whether you can privately deduct insurance costs for your e-car from your tax depends on how it is used.
- If you drive the e-car mainly privately, you as an employee can only deduct motor vehicle liability insurance from your taxes.
- Pensioners have to pay their tax return with their Electric car for seniors and senior citizens.
- Self-employed people, on the other hand, are even allowed to Fully comprehensive or partially comprehensive deduct from your taxes.
In the income tax return, employees can write off a maximum of 1,900 euros per year as special expenses under "other pension expenses". For the self-employed, it is a maximum of 2,800 euros. Often this allowance is already reached with health insurance. In this case, specifying the car insurance does not bring any further tax savings.
In the case of e-cars used for professional purposes, the contributions to motor vehicle liability insurance are covered by income-related expenses. The amount up to which these are tax-deductible varies from taxpayer to taxpayer.
Via the customer portal My Alliance by the way, you can download all certificates, invoices and proofs of your deposited insurances for Your tax return Simply request and download online.
Save with the E-car insurance: With Allianz, you can get a discount of up to 10 percent for electric cars.
The discount on the multi-award-winning insurance cover is included in the Comfort and Premium product lines. Also in the Hybrid insurance we offer you attractive conditions.
If you choose a comprehensive insurance policy in comfort or premium, you will benefit not only from extensive motor liability benefits, but also from, for example:
- Tailor-made services specifically for electric vehicles
- All-round protection for the battery
- Co-insurance of the charging cable in the event of theft and animal bite
Commercial leasing: How to save electric car tax
In companies that convert their company car fleet to electric drive, employees benefit from tax advantages.
If you also use your battery-powered company car privately, declare 0.25 percent of the gross list price as a non-cash benefit on your tax return, up from 0.5 percent until December 31, 2019. This regulation applies to purely electric company vehicles with a list price of up to 60,000 euros and a first registration between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2030. For electric vehicles with a list price of over 60,000 euros, declare 0.5 percent of the gross list price as a non-cash benefit.
Company cars with hybrid drive are still taxed at 0.5 percent of the gross list price. However, the electric range must be at least 60 kilometres (from 2025: 80 kilometres), it is a plug-in hybrid and the car must not exceed 50 grams of CO2 per kilometre according to the WLTP standard. By comparison, if you use a conventional combustion engine as a company car, enter one percent of the gross list price.