Source: BUS Sachsen-Anhalt (Linie6Plus)

Paying vehicle tax

Description

If a motor vehicle has been registered for you as a private individual or for a company, you generally have to pay motor vehicle tax for this vehicle from the day of registration.

The following vehicles are subject to motor vehicle tax:

Passenger cars,
motorcycles (motorcycles),
motorhomes,
motor vehicle trailers,
Commercial vehicles, for example
- trucks,
- tractors,
- buses;
Light vehicles (three-wheeled and light four-wheeled motorcycles), for example
- quads,
- buggies,
- trikes.

The amount of tax you have to pay depends on various criteria, including

the type of vehicle,
the date of first registration
the type of drive, i.e. the engine of your vehicle,
cubic capacity in cm³, i.e. the displacement of the engine,
carbon dioxide test value, i.e. the CO2 test value in g/km,
whether the vehicle has a seasonal license plate,
for commercial vehicles, motorhomes and trailers, the weight of the vehicle;

You can calculate the estimated amount of vehicle tax for your vehicle using the vehicle tax calculator from the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF).

As the owner of the vehicle, you are a tax debtor and must pay the vehicle tax. If you do not pay the vehicle tax, for example because you do not have sufficient funds in your account, the main customs office will take measures to collect the money from you. This also includes enforcement measures.

Under certain circumstances, you may have to pay less vehicle tax or none at all. This applies, for example, to

People with severe disabilities,
foreign vehicles,
purely electric vehicles and
cars that produce particularly low emissions.

Prerequisites

Your vehicle, for which you have to pay vehicle tax, was registered in Germany.
You are not exempt from vehicle tax.
You are not in arrears with the payment of vehicle tax, including ancillary tax payments, for another vehicle.

Required documents

Form for issuing a SEPA direct debit mandate (form 032021)

Deadlines

You must pay the vehicle tax by the due date specified in your vehicle tax assessment notice at the latest.
You must pay vehicle tax for as long as your vehicle is registered in Germany, but for at least one month.
As soon as you deregister or reregister the vehicle with the registration authority, you no longer have to pay vehicle tax.

Legal remedy

Objection: You will find detailed information on how to lodge an objection in your tax assessment notice.
You can also lodge an objection online in the ZollPortal.
Legal action before the tax court, usually after the objection procedure.

Procedure

When you register a vehicle with the registration authority, you must also submit the SEPA direct debit mandate form at the same time. Proceed as follows:

You can download the form ″SEPA direct debit mandate for the collection of motor vehicle tax″ from the customs website as well as from the website of your registration office and present it to the registration office already filled out and printed out when you register your vehicle.
By doing so, you give your consent for the vehicle tax to be debited from your account.
You can also obtain and complete the form on site at the registration office.
Once your vehicle has been registered, your registration authority will send all the necessary data and the SEPA direct debit mandate to the responsible main customs office.
Your vehicle tax assessment will be issued on the basis of this data.
Your tax assessment will be sent to you by post.
If you have agreed to this, you can also call up the notice online in the customs portal.
In your vehicle tax assessment notice, you will find the amount of tax under "Assessment".
The ″Request for payment″ section indicates this:
- the amount,
- the date on which the amount will be debited from your specified account.
This amount will be debited from the specified account on the same date in subsequent years.
As a rule, you will not receive another tax assessment notice or another payment request.
As a rule, you pay the vehicle tax in advance for the duration of a year.
If the annual tax is more than EUR 500.00, you can also pay the tax in shorter periods.
If you have any questions about your tax assessment notice, please contact the office specified in your tax assessment notice.

You must notify your main customs office of the following changes to the account holder:

Change of name,
change of address and
change of bank details.

If you want to change the SEPA direct debit mandate for an already registered vehicle online:

Go to the website of the Directorate General of Customs.
You must register before using the online service for the first time.
- If you are a private individual, create a citizen account using your ELSTER account or ID card.
- If you are a company, create a business account with your ELSTER account or add it to an existing business customer account in the customs portal.
You will need
- Your vehicle tax assessment notice and
- your owner data
If you have already created an account in the customs portal, log in with ELSTER or your ID card.
Select whether you want to submit the application as a private individual or for a company.
Under "Vehicle tax", select the "Change data for SEPA direct debit procedure" section.
Under "Manage bank data", select the "Change SEPA mandate" function. You can now issue a new SEPA mandate, change the existing mandate or reactivate your SEPA mandate.

If you wish to submit a change to the SEPA Direct Debit Mandate by post, fax or De-Mail:

Compose an informal letter with the following details:
- License plate number of your vehicle,
- Mandate reference number from your vehicle tax assessment notice,
- IBAN of the person making the payment;
The letter must be signed by the person who is the holder of the current account.
Send the letter to your main customs office.

If you wish to notify a new account holder by post, fax or De-Mail:

Download the form ″SEPA direct debit mandate for the collection of motor vehicle tax″ from the customs website and complete it.
Print out the form.
The person holding the account must sign the form.
Send the form to your responsible main customs office.