As of: February 4, 2024, 3:26 p.m
By: Marco Blanco Ucles
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Vehicle tax is due annually.
Vehicle owners can easily calculate in advance what amount they have to pay based on some data.
“The motor vehicle tax is a traffic tax that is levied on participation in legal and commercial transactions; revenue and administrative sovereignty lies with the federal government.
The customs administration is responsible for the administration of vehicle tax.” This is how the Federal Ministry of Finance describes vehicle tax on its homepage.
Contrary to what is often assumed, the income from the tax is not earmarked for the construction and maintenance of the road network, but rather serves as general budget revenue to cover all expenses.
The good thing: You can calculate the vehicle tax yourself quickly and easily, so you can take the costs into account in your private budget at an early stage.
If you're afraid of complicated tax calculation programs, you don't have to worry about vehicle tax.
Numerous homepages offer the calculation free of charge, including the Federal Ministry of Finance directly on its homepage.
We'll explain to you how to find out your total in just a few steps.
Four criteria determine the amount of vehicle tax
First, you must specify the type of vehicle affected.
For cars, a distinction is made between six different first registration dates:
First registration until November 4, 2008
First registration between November 5, 2008 and June 30, 2009
First registration between July 1, 2009 and December 31, 2011
First registration between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2013
First registration between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2020
First registration from January 1, 2021
How much is my vehicle tax?
Everyone can quickly answer this question for themselves.
© Steinach/IMAGO
In addition to cars, there are of course other types of vehicles that can be selected in the tax calculation: trailers, purely electric vehicles, motorcycles, light vehicles, commercial vehicles, classic cars and mobile homes.
The fact that tractors may soon be subject to vehicle taxes was one of the reasons why farmers recently went to the barricades.
After selecting the type of vehicle, we continue with the type of drive.
There are only two options: Otto/Wankel and diesel.
As a rule, owners with diesel engines have to expect higher vehicle tax expenses.
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Half of it is now done, the last two steps follow.
First of all, as the vehicle owner, you must specify the size of your engine displacement in cubic centimeters (ccm).
What is then missing is the CO₂ value of your vehicle, which is usually measured in grams per kilometer.
Within a few seconds, the website will spit out the amount you should expect to pay for this year's vehicle tax - very simple and straightforward.
Vehicle tax can only be deducted for company cars
You can only deduct vehicle tax in one case - if you drive a company car.
Since the vehicle tax regulations change from time to time, it is worth taking a regular look at an information website like the
ADAC
.
Among other things, it says that vehicle tax has increased in recent years, especially on SUVs and sports cars that consume a lot of fuel.
Electric cars are still exempt from vehicle tax.