Germany Company Car Tax Calculator

When your employer lets you use a company car privately (not just for work), German tax law treats that private use as a taxable non-cash benefit, the geldwerter Vorteil ("benefit-in-kind", BIK). The simplest way to calculate it, the flat-rate 1%-Regelung under § 6 Abs. 1 Nr. 4 EStG, adds 1% of the car's Bruttolistenpreis (German list price including VAT and factory options, NOT what was actually paid) to your taxable income every month, plus an additional add-on if you commute in the car.

Because § 6 Abs. 1 Nr. 4 EStG deliberately taxes the Bruttolistenpreis, the manufacturer's full list price including VAT and factory-fitted options on the day the car was first registered, regardless of any discount, trade-in value, lease deal, or used-car price actually paid. This surprises (and frustrates) a lot of employees: negotiate a big discount off a new car, buy the same model two years old for half the money, or trade in an old vehicle, and your monthly benefit-in-kind doesn't move at all, it's still calculated on that original full list price. The only ways to lower the taxable base are choosing a car with a lower list price in the first place, or switching to the Fahrtenbuch (logbook) method instead.

A fully battery-electric vehicle (BEV) with a list price up to €100.000 uses a 0.25% rate instead of 1%, a quarter of the standard benefit-in-kind. Above €100.000, the rate is 0.5% instead. The commute add-on scales the same way: 0.0075% per km for a qualifying EV under the price cap (versus 0.03% per km for a combustion vehicle), or 0.015% per km above it.

Not automatically at the same rate. In reality, plug-in hybrids only get the reduced 0.5% rate if they meet a minimum all-electric range (currently around 80 km) or a CO2 emissions threshold (under roughly 50 g/km); otherwise they're taxed at the full 1% combustion rate. This calculator's electric-vehicle toggle should only be used for a genuine battery-electric vehicle. Check your specific plug-in hybrid's certified range and emissions, or ask a Steuerberater, before assuming the reduced rate applies.

No, and this is an important simplification: it estimates only the income tax, Solidaritätszuschlag, and church tax cost of the benefit-in-kind. In most real payroll setups, statutory social insurance contributions (health, pension, unemployment, and long-term care insurance) are ALSO charged on a company car's geldwerter Vorteil, since it counts as beitragspflichtiges Arbeitsentgelt. That means your real net cost from having a company car is typically somewhat higher than the figure this calculator shows.

No. The alternative is the Fahrtenbuch (logbook) method: you keep a meticulous, contemporaneous record of every trip (business vs. private) and are taxed only on the actual cost share attributable to private use. It's more paperwork but can be considerably cheaper for high-mileage company cars that are mostly used for business, especially older or lower-list-price vehicles. This calculator only models the flat-rate 1%/0.25%/0.5% method.

This is a simplified estimate, not tax advice. It uses the 2026 flat-rate mechanics and the current €100.000 BEV list-price threshold, but does not model the Fahrtenbuch alternative, plug-in hybrid range/emissions eligibility, or social insurance on the benefit-in-kind. Consult a Steuerberater or your payroll department for your exact figure.