Machines up to 125 cc are free of tax, provided they also stay at or below 11 kW.
Vehicle tax for this motorcycle comes to:
0,00 €One figure decides a motorcycle: engine size. Emission standard, CO₂, power and weight change nothing about the amount, though power decides whether the machine has to be registered at all.
A motorcycle is the simplest vehicle in the German tax system. Only one number from the papers matters: engine displacement. Emission standard, CO₂, power output, weight and age change nothing. The rate is €1.84 for every started 25 cc, and the amount finally collected is rounded down to whole euros.
Engine displacement sits in field P.1 of your registration certificate Part I (Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I). Rated power in kW is in field P.2. The calculator needs the first, and the second decides whether your bike needs registering at all.
What a bike pays per year
Started 25 cc count in full, so a 649 cc engine is billed as twenty-six units, exactly like a 650 cc one. The left column is the annual tax the law arrives at, the right column is what actually leaves your account after the rounding.
| Engine size | Annual tax | Charged |
|---|---|---|
| 125 cc, above 11 kW | €9.20 | €9 |
| 200 cc | €14.72 | €14 |
| 300 cc | €22.08 | €22 |
| 500 cc | €36.80 | €36 |
| 650 cc | €47.84 | €47 |
| 800 cc | €58.88 | €58 |
| 1,000 cc | €73.60 | €73 |
| 1,300 cc | €95.68 | €95 |
For a machine whose displacement is not in the list, divide by 25, round the result up to the next whole number, multiply by €1.84 and drop the cents. An 1,800 cc tourer works out at seventy-two steps, so €132.48 a year and €132 charged. That is why the tax is rarely the deciding cost of running a motorcycle in Germany. Insurance usually is.
When a two-wheeler pays nothing
German law does not exempt motorcycles because of their engine size. It exempts them because they need no registration in the first place, and a vehicle that needs no registration raises no vehicle tax. Two groups qualify:
- Light motorcycles, meaning rated power of no more than 11 kW together with a displacement above 50 cc and no more than 125 cc.
- Mopeds and scooters with a design speed of no more than 45 km/h.
Both conditions of the first group have to be met at once, and this is where the common rule of thumb goes wrong. A 125 cc machine producing more than 11 kW is not a light motorcycle. It has to be registered and it is taxed like anything else, at five units of €1.84, so €9.20 a year, collected as €9. The calculator on this page works from displacement alone, so it will report a 125 cc bike as exempt. Check field P.2 before you trust that answer.
Seasonal plates are worth more than the tax table
Most riders do not use the bike in January. A seasonal plate (Saisonkennzeichen) fixes an operating period of two to eleven whole months on the plate itself. You pay one three-hundred-and-sixty-fifth of the annual tax for each day inside that period and nothing for the rest of the year. A 1,000 cc machine registered from April to October pays roughly the seven-twelfths of €73.60 that the days work out to, instead of the full amount.
Two conditions come with it. Outside the operating period the bike may not be used on public roads at all, and that includes standing parked on the street rather than on private ground. And the insurance follows the same period, so a ride in February is uninsured as well as untaxed.
An old bike can be cheaper on a historic plate
A motorcycle at least thirty years old, largely original and in good condition, can be granted a historic vehicle plate, the H-Kennzeichen, on the strength of an expert report. Motorcycles on that plate pay a flat €46.02 a year, collected as €46, whatever the engine size.
The break-even point is exact. At 625 cc the normal calculation gives twenty-five units of €1.84, which is €46.00, two cents under the flat rate. Only from 626 cc onwards does the ordinary tax overtake it. So the historic plate saves money on larger machines and costs money on smaller ones, and a 500 cc classic is cheaper on its ordinary plate. The rules and the restrictions that come with the plate are set out on the page about classic vehicle tax.
Working out a seasonal period in figures
The daily rate is the annual tax divided by 365, and the 29th of February never counts. A 1,000 cc machine on a plate running from April to October covers 214 days, so the tax is 214 three-hundred-and-sixty-fifths of €73.60, which is €43.15 and is collected as €43. The same bike registered all year pays €73. A period from March to September, also seven months, gives 214 days as well and the same €43.
Deregistering the bike for the winter and registering it again in spring stops the tax in the same way, but it costs a fee at the registration office each time and leaves you without plates in between. For a bike used every summer the seasonal plate is the simpler arrangement, and the period can be changed later if your riding season shifts.
Bringing a motorcycle to Germany
A bike registered in another country and genuinely visiting Germany is not taxed here. Once you register it in Germany, it is taxed from that day like any German machine, on displacement alone. Where it was first registered, and when, makes no difference to a motorcycle, because unlike a car it has no registration-date brackets at all. Field P.1 of the new German papers decides everything.
Paying, changing, stopping
- The tax runs from the day of registration for twelve months ahead and is collected by direct debit. There is no annual paperwork once the mandate is in place.
- Take the bike off the road and the liability ends, but it always lasts at least one month.
- Sell the bike and your liability ends when it is re-registered to the buyer, so make sure that actually happens.
- A trailer pulled behind a motorcycle is free of tax, because single-axle trailers behind motorcycles do not need to be registered.
Frequently asked questions
€1.84 for every started 25 cc of engine displacement. A 500 cc machine pays €36 a year, a 650 cc one €47, a litre bike €73 and a 1,300 cc tourer €95. Divide your displacement by 25, round up to the next whole number, multiply by €1.84 and drop the cents.
Only if it also stays at or below 11 kW. Both conditions have to be met at once, because the exemption works by making the machine free of registration rather than free of tax. A 125 cc bike producing more than 11 kW must be registered and pays €9.20 a year, collected as €9. Check field P.2 of your papers before assuming otherwise.
No. Displacement is the only figure in the calculation. Emission standard, CO₂, power output, weight and the age of the machine make no difference to the amount, which is why a 1980s bike and a new one of the same capacity pay exactly the same.
It charges one three-hundred-and-sixty-fifth of the annual tax for each day inside the operating period, which runs for two to eleven whole months. A 1,000 cc machine on a plate from April to October covers 214 days and pays €43 instead of €73. Outside the period the bike may not be used on public roads or parked on them, and the insurance follows the same period.
From 626 cc upwards. The flat rate for classic motorcycles is €46.02 a year, and at 625 cc the ordinary calculation gives €46.00, two cents below it. Above that the ordinary tax overtakes the flat rate, so a large classic saves money on a historic plate and a 500 cc classic does not.
Updated 11 September 2026. The rate per 25 cc is Section 9 (1) no. 1, the flat rate for historic motorcycles Section 9 (4), the rounding Section 11 (5) and the minimum period Section 5 (1) of the Kraftfahrzeugsteuergesetz. Light motorcycles and mopeds are defined in Section 2 and exempted from registration by Section 3 (3) of the FZV, both in German. Amounts are our own calculations and do not replace the assessment of your main customs office.