The Federal Council approves tax exemption for electric cars and the right to charging points.

After the Bundestag, the Bundesrat has also approved the extension of the ten-year tax exemption for electric vehicles in its most recent session. Pure electric vehicles that were first registered between May 18, 2011 and December 31, 2025 will remain exempt from vehicle tax. Previously, the exemption only applied to registrations or conversions until the end of 2020. However, the exemption is limited until December 31, 2030, "to create an incentive for the early purchase of an electric vehicle," as the chamber of states argued.

The law aims to help ensure that by 2030, seven to ten million electric vehicles are registered in Germany and that CO2 emissions continue to decrease—preferably by 40 to 42 percent, according to the official justification.

Combustion Engines: Graduated According to CO2 Emissions and Allowance

For combustion engines, the vehicle tax will be more closely aligned with the pollutant emissions of the vehicles in the future. Depending on the level of emissions, it will increase incrementally from two to four euros per gram of carbon dioxide per kilometer. The displacement taxation remains unchanged as the second tariff component. However, in the future, a new tax allowance of 30 euros will apply to low-emission cars up to a threshold of 95 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer. If only a displacement tax is payable, car owners only have to pay the amount exceeding 30 euros. This relief applies to cars registered from mid-June 2020 and is limited until the end of 2024. If the tax benefit has not yet expired by a change of ownership, it will be granted to the new owner.

Claim to Charging Stations for Tenants and Owners

In the latest session, the Bundesrat also approved the reform of the Home Ownership Act, which the Bundestag passed in early September. This also gave the green light for the facilitated installation of private charging stations for electric cars. Homeowners and tenants will have the right to install a charging station in the garage or on the property of the house in the future. Until now, installation often failed due to the lack of consent from co-owners or landlords. The Bundesrat had already pointed out this problem in the past—most recently in October 2019. Now the Bundestag has adopted this demand from the states in its legislative decision.