Pay motor vehicle tax

Registration and direct debit

If a vehicle is to be registered in your name, you must submit the completed and signed "SEPA direct debit mandate" form to the relevant office.

If you have the registration or re-registration carried out by a representative (e.g. the car dealership), they will need a power of attorney from you for the registration.

Tax assessment and payment of the tax

After registration, you will automatically receive a tax assessment notice from the main customs office. This contains the tax number, the motor vehicle tax assessed and all the necessary payment instructions.

You must always pay the vehicle tax for one year in advance.

Vehicle deregistration and tax refund

If the tax liability ends, for example because you deregister your vehicle, a new amount is assessed for the last period between the start and deregistration. The excess tax paid in advance will then be refunded to you.

If a vehicle is sold, the tax liability ends for the person selling the vehicle at the time when the prescribed notification of sale is received by the registration authority, at the latest when the new vehicle licence is handed over to the acquiring person. In addition to notification of the acquiring person's address, such notification also includes confirmation of receipt of the vehicle documents (see also the notes in the vehicle registration certificate/registration certificate Part I).

By fulfilling the obligation to register or re-register the vehicle in their name, the acquiring person can act as an exempting agent for the selling person. If the acquiring person does not fulfil this obligation, the previous vehicle owner cannot invoke the fact that the acquiring person is obliged to register or re-register the vehicle in accordance with the agreements made.

The person selling the vehicle bears the full risk of non-termination of the tax liability if they fail to submit the prescribed notification of sale to the registration office themselves.

Change of bank details

If your bank details change, you must notify your main customs office of the new account details as soon as possible. To do this, issue a new SEPA direct debit mandate for the collection of vehicle tax.