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A Tesla as a company car in Germany, Austria and Switzerland
How private use of an electric company car is taxed in 2026: Germany’s 0.25 % rule and €100,000 cap, home charging from 2026, the 75 % write-off, Austria’s change in 2027, and Switzerland’s 0.9 %.
Last checked 29 September 2026 against laws, authorities and official pages
Short answer
In Germany, private use of a fully electric company car is taxed on a quarter of the gross list price: 0.25 % a month instead of 1 %, as long as the list price is no more than €100,000 (for cars acquired after 30 June 2025) and the car is acquired or first provided before 2031. The commute supplement shrinks the same way. At a €40,000 list price and a 20 km commute, €160 a month is added to taxable pay, against €640 for a combustion car. Austria charges nothing in 2026 but introduces 0.375 % (max €180) in 2027. Switzerland applies its 0.9 % rate to electric cars too.
Germany: the 0.25 % rule
Under § 6 EStG, private use of a company car is valued at 1 % of the gross list price per month. For a car with no CO₂ emissions per km, only a quarter of the list price counts, so the effective rate is 0.25 %. The list-price cap depends on when the car was acquired (for employees: when the employer first provided it for private use):
| Acquired or first provided | List-price cap for 0.25 % |
|---|---|
| 2020 to 2023 | €60,000 |
| 1 January 2024 to 30 June 2025 | €70,000 |
| 1 July 2025 to 31 December 2030 | €100,000 |
The list price is the German list price at first registration, including options and VAT, not the price after discounts. After taking the quarter it is rounded down to full €100, and the value applies for the car’s whole period of use. The rule also covers leased and used cars. Above the cap, the wording of the law puts a fully electric car under the half-rate rule for low-emission cars (0.5 %), which also applies to plug-in hybrids with at most 50 g CO₂/km or at least 80 km electric range.
Commute and logbook
For the commute, 0.03 % of the list price per kilometre of distance is added each month, and it also uses the quartered price. Alternatively, employees can use 0.002 % per actual trip for up to 180 days a year, with a monthly written record.
With a proper logbook, you pay tax on the actual private share of the costs. For a qualifying electric car, only a quarter of the depreciation or leasing costs goes into the total; insurance and electricity count in full.
Worked examples (Germany)
| Gross list price | Electric car: taxable base | Electric car per month | Combustion car per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| €40,000 | €10,000 | €160.00 | €640.00 |
| €55,000 | €13,700 | €219.20 | €880.00 |
| €65,000 | €16,200 | €259.20 | €1,040.00 |
Your actual tax depends on your personal tax rate. A cost cap applies: the flat value can never exceed the car’s total costs.
Charging at home and at work (Germany)
- At work: free charging at the employer is tax-free under § 3 Nr. 46 EStG until the end of 2030, as is a charger the employer lends you, if granted on top of your salary.
- At home: the old monthly flat rates for home charging of company cars ended on 31 December 2025. From 2026 you need a separate meter (a wallbox or the car’s own meter is accepted), and your employer reimburses tax-free either at your contract price or at a flat electricity price, 34 cents per kWh for 2026. The Ministry’s example: 3,000 kWh, up to €1,020 for the year.
- Business owners can use the same flat electricity price from financial years starting in 2026, with a meter that need not be calibration-certified.
For businesses: 75 % write-off
Fully electric cars that a business acquires between 1 July 2025 and 31 December 2027 and holds as fixed assets can be depreciated at 75 % in the year of acquisition, then 10, 5, 5, 3 and 2 %. It is a declining-balance method in § 7 EStG, not available for plug-in hybrids and not combinable with special depreciation. On top, electric cars first registered by the end of 2030 pay no German road tax, until 2035 at the latest.
Austria
- 2026: private use of a company car with 0 g CO₂/km is a benefit in kind of €0.
- From 2027 (BGBl. II Nr. 272/2026): 0.375 % of the acquisition cost including VAT and NoVA, capped at €180 a month; from 2028 0.625 %, capped at €300. For comparison, combustion cars are valued at 2 % (max €960) or 1.5 % (max €720) for low-emission cars.
- Charging: free charging at the employer is not taxed; home charging can be reimbursed tax-free at 32.806 cents per kWh in 2026; for a wallbox the employer pays, only the value above €2,000 is taxable.
- Input VAT: businesses can reclaim VAT on 0 g cars up to €40,000; between €40,000 and €80,000 the share above €40,000 is taxed as own use, and above €80,000 nothing can be reclaimed.
Example at €45,000: €0 in 2026, €168.75 a month in 2027, €281.25 from 2028.
Switzerland
Switzerland has no electric-car discount for company cars. Private use is valued at 0.9 % of the purchase price excluding VAT per month (at least CHF 150), and this already includes the commute, so no commuting deduction is allowed. Alternatively, a logbook values private kilometres at CHF 0.75. Under the Swiss Tax Conference’s model expense regulation, an employer may pay up to CHF 60 a month for charging the car at home.
Example: a car at CHF 50,000 excluding VAT adds CHF 450 a month to taxable salary, the same as a combustion car at that price.
Questions
Does the 0.25 % rule apply to a Model Y Performance?
Yes, if the German list price including options and VAT is no more than the cap that applies to your acquisition date, €100,000 for cars acquired after 30 June 2025.
What if the list price is above the cap?
Then, under the wording of § 6 EStG, the half-rate rule for low-emission cars applies, so 0.5 % instead of 0.25 %.
Can I still use the monthly flat rate for home charging?
No. It applied for the last time to pay periods ending before 1 January 2026. Since then, charging must be metered and reimbursed at your contract price or the flat price of 34 cents per kWh.
Does a plug-in hybrid get the 0.25 % rule?
No. A plug-in hybrid can get 0.5 % if it emits at most 50 g CO₂/km or has at least 80 km of electric range.
Sources
- § 6 EStG, valuation of private use (German law)
- § 8 EStG, benefits in kind for employees (German law)
- Tax investment programme act, BGBl. 2025 I Nr. 161 (German, PDF)
- Federal Ministry of Finance: “Der Wachstumsbooster kommt” (11 July 2025, German)
- Federal Ministry of Finance: letter of 5 November 2021 on electric company cars, Lohnsteuer-Handbuch 2026 (German)
- Federal Ministry of Finance: letter of 11 November 2025 on home charging of company cars (German, PDF)
- Federal Ministry of Finance: letter of 21 July 2026 for business owners (German, PDF)
- § 7 EStG, depreciation (German law)
- § 3d KraftStG, electric vehicle exemption (German law)
- Austria: Sachbezugswerteverordnung § 4 (RIS, German)
- Austria: BGBl. II Nr. 272/2026, company-car values from 2027 (German, PDF)
- Austrian Ministry of Finance: company car benefit in kind (German)
- Austria: Sachbezugswerteverordnung § 4c, charging (RIS, German)
- Austrian Ministry of Finance: electricity price for 2026, 32.806 ct/kWh (German, PDF)
- Austria: § 12 UStG 1994, input VAT (RIS, German)
- Swiss Federal Tax Administration: guide to the salary certificate, valid from 1 January 2026 (German, PDF)
- Swiss Tax Conference: model expense regulation 2026 (German, PDF)
General information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Amounts, prices and rules change; check the linked sources and ask an adviser about your own case. Handlefree is independent and not affiliated with Tesla, Inc.