Traffic light lowers VAT on gas: This is how much households save in concrete terms

Created: 08/18/2022, 16:01

By: Patricia Huber

Chancellor Scholz announced on Thursday that VAT on gas would be reduced.

As a result, consumers save up to 433 euros, as calculations show.

Berlin – From October, the gas surcharge will be added to the increased gas prices as a cost burden.

The federal government therefore wants to reduce VAT on all gas consumption and thus provide financial relief.

For a limited time, it should only be seven percent instead of 19 percent, as Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) announced on Thursday in Berlin.

The Chancellor also confirmed the announcement of further relief.

Gas surcharge: VAT reduction until the end of the additional burden

The federal government had initially planned to completely exempt only the gas levy from VAT, but this is not possible due to EU regulations.

Instead, the VAT should now be lowered for gas consumption as a whole for as long as the gas surcharge applies - according to the current status, until the end of March 2024.

But how exactly do these tax cuts affect consumers?

The comparison portal Check24 has made a sample calculation for this.

This shows how much different model households with different annual consumptions save as a result of the lower VAT.

The following table shows the level of the gas price and the gas levy with 19 percent and 7 percent VAT, as well as the overall relief from the tax reduction.

A single household with an annual consumption of 5,000 kWh has to pay 119 euros less due to the reduction in VAT.

For a family of four, it's already 433 euros less.

Gas surcharge: According to Scholz, the reduction in VAT relieves consumers enormously

In his press statement, Chancellor Olaf Scholz explained: "With this step, we are relieving gas customers to a much greater extent overall than the additional burden caused by the gas surcharge."

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Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) also considers the tax cut to be the right step.

He is also urging that the announced reduction in VAT on gas really be passed on.

"I expect companies to pass this reduction on to consumers one-to-one," said Habeck on Thursday in Berlin.