Several criteria are decisive for the taxation of passenger cars, depending on the date of first registration:

• Type of drive such as gasoline, diesel, Wankel engine
• Engine capacity (cm³)
• Emission key or emission class (Euro standard)
• Carbon dioxide emissions of your vehicle (CO2 value).

Commercial vehicles and motor homes are primarily subject to weight-based taxation.

Motor vehicle trailers are also taxed according to weight.

For motorcycles, the tax is based on the engine capacity.

You can calculate the expected amount of motor vehicle tax for your vehicle using the Motor Vehicle Tax Calculator of the Federal Ministry of Finance.

If you do not pay the motor vehicle tax, for example, due to a lack of sufficient funds in your account, the main customs office is obliged to initiate enforcement measures against you.

Change notifications

• You must notify the registration authority of any changes in the vehicle owner's data or technical modifications made to your vehicle.
• If the taxpayer's name or bank details have changed, you must notify your relevant main customs office.
• The notification can be made informally in text form, for example by post, fax or De-Mail, and must be signed by the current account holder,
• It must contain details of the vehicle registration number and the IBAN of the payer, and the mandate reference number and tax number should also be included.
• You can also make the change of a bank account online. To do this, you must register in the Citizen and Business Customer Portal of the Customs Administration.
• If the payer of the motor vehicle tax has changed, a new SEPA direct debit mandate must always be issued at your responsible main customs office (form 032021 Motor Vehicle Tax: SEPA Direct Debit Mandate for SEPA Basic Direct Debit). An informal change notification is not sufficient in this case.

If you have any questions regarding your tax assessment, please contact the office indicated in your tax assessment.