Vehicle tax for this motorhome comes to:
0,00 €Two figures settle it: the permitted gross weight and the emission class. The first two tonnes are always charged at the higher rate, and only the weight above that moves to the lower one.
A motorhome is the only vehicle in the German system taxed on weight and emission class together. Engine size and CO₂ do not appear anywhere in the calculation. That makes the tax easy to work out once you know two things about the vehicle: the permitted gross weight in field F.2 of the registration certificate Part I, and which emission class the registration authority has recorded for it.
The registration authority (Zulassungsbehoerde) determines the emission class when the vehicle is registered, and the customs administration is bound by that finding. You can read it from field 14.1 of your papers, but you cannot argue it with the customs office. An equipment list or a retrofit does not move a motorhome into a better class on its own.
The rates
Two things happen at once here, and confusing them is the most common mistake. The first 2,000 kg are always charged at the first rate, ten steps of 200 kg. Only the weight above 2,000 kg goes on to the second rate. The whole weight is never multiplied by a single figure.
| Emission class | First 2,000 kg | Every 200 kg above | Ceiling |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 4 or better | €16.00 | €10.00 | €800 |
| S 3, S 2 or S 1 | €24.00 | €10.00 | €1,000 |
| All other classes | €40.00 | €10.00 up to 5,000 kg, then €15.00, and €25.00 above 12,000 kg | none |
A 2,900 kg motorhome in class S 4 is therefore ten steps at €16.00 plus five steps at €10.00, which is €210 a year. A 6,600 kg vehicle in the bottom class is ten steps at €40.00, fifteen steps at €10.00 and eight steps at €15.00, so €670. Note what the missing ceiling in the last row means: a heavy motorhome with a poor class has no upper limit at all.
What common sizes cost
| Permitted gross weight | S 4 or better | S 3, S 2, S 1 | All others |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2,800 kg | €200 | €280 | €440 |
| 3,000 kg | €210 | €290 | €450 |
| 3,500 kg | €240 | €320 | €480 |
| 4,500 kg | €290 | €370 | €530 |
| 5,000 kg | €310 | €390 | €550 |
| 7,500 kg | €440 | €520 | €745 |
The 3,500 kg line is the one most owners land on, because that is the limit for driving on an ordinary car licence obtained after 1998. At that weight a clean vehicle pays €240 and a dirty one double. Across the life of a motorhome, the emission class is worth far more than any difference in weight.
What counts as a motorhome
The definition is not about beds or a kitchen. In tax law a motorhome is a vehicle of class M1 with the special purpose “motorhome” recorded for it, and the registration authority makes that finding. A panel van converted at home is taxed as a motorhome only once the authority has recorded the conversion. Until then it remains whatever its papers say, which for most vans means the weight-based rates for commercial vehicles with no emission class involved at all, and those are usually lower below 3,500 kg.
The word used for these vehicles varies by country. Motorhome, camper van, campervan and RV all describe the same thing here, and the German papers will say Wohnmobil.
Why the same weight costs three different amounts
A 3,500 kg vehicle shows how much the classification is worth. Taxed as an ordinary commercial vehicle it pays €210 a year. Taxed as a motorhome in class S 4 or better it pays €240. Taxed as a motorhome in the bottom class it pays €480, more than twice as much.
Two lessons follow. First, the motorhome rates are not a concession; below 3,500 kg they are slightly worse than the plain commercial-vehicle rates, and it is above that weight, where the commercial scales climb steeply, that being a motorhome starts to pay. Second, the emission class is the lever that actually matters, and it is fixed when the vehicle is registered. Check it before you buy, in field 14.1 of the papers, not afterwards.
Seasonal plates and standing still
A motorhome that travels between April and October has no reason to be taxed in February. A seasonal plate carries an operating period of two to eleven whole months, and the tax drops to one three-hundred-and-sixty-fifth of the annual amount for every day inside it. On a 3,500 kg vehicle in class S 4, a seven-month period turns €240 into roughly €140.
Outside the period the vehicle may not be used on public roads, and it may not be parked on them either. That is a real restriction for owners without a driveway. The alternative, deregistering in autumn and registering again in spring, stops the tax in the same way but costs a fee each time and leaves you without plates.
Paying, and what happens on a sale
The tax starts on the day the vehicle is registered and covers the following twelve months. It is collected by direct debit; the mandate is signed at the registration office and is a condition of registration. Above €500 a year the amount may be split into two instalments for a 3 % surcharge, which on a motorhome in the bottom class is a realistic case: €670 a year becomes two payments with €20.10 added.
When a motorhome changes hands, the seller stays liable until the day the vehicle is re-registered to the buyer. Liability always lasts at least one month, so a vehicle registered and taken off the road again within days still costs a month of tax.
A motorhome first registered abroad is taxed under these same rules from the day it is registered in Germany. What decides the amount is the weight and the emission class recorded in the German papers, not where the vehicle was built or previously registered.
Exemptions worth knowing about
- Showmen’s vehicles: motorhomes above 3,500 kg and luggage vans above 2,500 kg used in a showman’s business are free of tax, as long as they serve that business exclusively.
- A trailer behind the motorhome has its own tax based on weight alone. See the page on trailer tax.
- There is no reduction for low mileage, no discount for age below the thirty years that a historic plate requires, and no equivalent of the electric vehicle exemption. Electric drive would move the vehicle out of these rates entirely, but production motorhomes on a battery are still rare.
Frequently asked questions
In two parts. The first 2,000 kg are always charged at the higher rate, ten steps of €16.00, €24.00 or €40.00 per 200 kg depending on the emission class. Only the weight above 2,000 kg moves to the lower rate, which is €10.00 per 200 kg and rises to €15.00 above 5,000 kg and €25.00 above 12,000 kg in the bottom class. The whole weight is never multiplied by a single rate.
€240 a year in class S 4 or better, €320 in classes S 3, S 2 and S 1, and €480 in the bottom class. That weight is the usual limit for driving on a car licence obtained after 1998, which is why so many motorhomes sit exactly on it. The same vehicle taxed as an ordinary commercial vehicle would pay €210.
It is recorded in field 14.1 of the registration certificate Part I. The registration authority determines the class when the vehicle is registered, and the customs administration is bound by that finding, so it is not something to argue with the customs office. Check it before buying rather than afterwards: across the life of a motorhome it is worth more than any difference in weight.
There is one for the better classes: €800 a year in class S 4 or better and €1,000 in classes S 3, S 2 and S 1. For all other classes there is no ceiling at all, so a heavy vehicle with a poor class can climb well past €1,000.
Only once the registration authority has recorded it as one. In tax law a motorhome is a vehicle of class M1 with the special purpose motorhome entered for it, and beds and a kitchen alone do not make that entry. Until the conversion is recorded, the van is taxed as whatever its papers say, which below 3,500 kg is usually cheaper.
One that rarely applies to private owners: motorhomes above 3,500 kg and luggage vans above 2,500 kg used in a showman’s business are free of tax, provided they serve that business exclusively. There is no reduction for low mileage, none for age below the thirty years a historic plate requires, and no equivalent of the electric vehicle exemption.
Updated 11 September 2026. The rates are in Section 9 (1) no. 2a, the definition of a motorhome in Section 8 no. 1 and no. 1a, the binding effect of the registration authority finding in Section 2 (2) no. 2 and the showman exemption in Section 3 no. 8 of the Kraftfahrzeugsteuergesetz. How the weight steps are applied follows the customs administration explanation of the weight-based scales in Steuerhoehe, both in German. Amounts are our own calculations and do not replace the assessment of your main customs office.