THG quota 2026: getting paid for your electric car in Germany

How the THG quota works

German law (§ 37a BImSchG) requires companies that sell petrol and diesel to cut the greenhouse-gas emissions of their fuel by a set share: 12 % in 2026, rising step by step to 65 % in 2040. Electricity used by electric cars counts toward that target.

For charging at home or anywhere non-public, the 38th Federal Immission Control Ordinance credits a flat estimate per car: 2,000 kWh a year for a passenger car, counted three times until 2034. The person the car is registered to can sell this amount once per year. In practice fuel companies only buy large volumes, so brokers pool thousands of cars, file them with the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) and sell the certified quota.

A reform of 1 June 2026 (BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 163) raised the targets. The triple counting for electric cars stays until 2034 under the current ordinance.

Who qualifies

• Pure battery-electric cars only. Plug-in hybrids are excluded.
• Registered in Germany, claimed by the holder named on the registration certificate. Private individuals and companies both qualify.
• Once per car and calendar year. The full amount applies even if the car was registered or deregistered during the year.
• Used cars: if the previous holder already claimed 2026, your application is rejected; the first application wins. A seller who already claimed must tell the buyer.

What it pays in 2026

Payouts swing with the quota market: about €250 to €400 in 2022 and 2023, around €100 or less in 2024 and 2025, and back to roughly €300 to €400 in 2026 after the targets rose. In spring and early summer 2026, consumer organisations reported offers of up to €300 (Verbraucherzentrale, March) and over €300 at some brokers (ADAC, June).

Payout models: a guaranteed amount is fixed when you sign up and paid after UBA certification, usually within a few months. A market-linked (risk) amount depends on the price the broker achieves. Express pays within days but less, and at some brokers must be repaid if UBA rejects the car.

Deadlines for 2026

• 15 November 2026: brokers must report 2026 cars to UBA by the end of this day (§ 8 38. BImSchV).
• Broker cut-offs are earlier, for example 31 October at EnBW and 7 November at Geld für eAuto. Consumer advisers recommend applying by the end of October.
• No retroactive claims. A year you missed is lost.

How to choose a broker

• Paid on certification, not on resale. ADAC warns that some terms allow a broker to pay nothing if it finds no buyer. Look for a guaranteed amount or minimum.
• Contract length. Some contracts cover two years by default or renew automatically, and the price is often fixed only for the first year.
• Bonuses usually apply once per provider and car, and may be time-limited.
• No strings: check whether an offer requires an electricity or wallbox contract.
• Payout timing: the longer the broker holds your money, the longer you are exposed if it fails; several THG brokers have become insolvent in recent years.
• Data: brokers need only the front of the registration certificate, your contact and your bank details, and must keep the copy for three years. Check the imprint before uploading.

For a private car, the payment is generally tax-free; for a car held as a business asset it is business income. This is general information, not tax advice.

Step by step

1. Check that the car is fully electric and registered to you in Germany.
2. Compare two or three brokers on guaranteed amount, contract length and payout timing.
3. Photograph the front of your registration certificate so the holder, both registration dates, the full VIN and the vehicle class are readable.
4. Upload it before the broker’s cut-off, well before 15 November.
5. Keep the confirmation. Payment follows after UBA certification, or within days for express.
6. Repeat next year, or let a multi-year contract do it.

Austria and Switzerland

Austria has a comparable scheme under § 11 of the Kraftstoffverordnung 2012. A fully electric car is credited with 1,500 kWh a year, reduced pro rata if it was registered during the year, and only the renewable share of the power mix counts. Applications run from 1 January to 1 March of the following year, through a provider. Austrian providers advertised roughly €120 to €160 for 2026; ÖAMTC runs its own “ePrämie” from 1 October.

Switzerland has no equivalent for private owners. Fuel importers there offset emissions through certified projects, none of which pays private electric-car drivers. Swiss-registered cars cannot join the German scheme.

Questions

Sources

• § 37a BImSchG, greenhouse-gas quota (German law)
• § 5 38. BImSchV, electricity for road vehicles (German law)
• § 7 38. BImSchV, non-public charging and flat amount (German law)
• § 8 38. BImSchV, reporting deadlines (German law)
• Umweltbundesamt: crediting electricity under the 38. BImSchV (updated 25 September 2026, German)
• Umweltbundesamt: FAQ on the 38. BImSchV (July 2025, German, PDF)
• Federal Gazette: estimated annual consumption per vehicle class (BAnz AT 28.08.2023 B2, German, PDF)
• Second act on the further development of the GHG quota, BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 163 (German)
• Bundestag: vote on the GHG quota, 23 April 2026 (German)
• Verbraucherzentrale: THG quota for pure electric cars (German)
• ADAC: THG quota for electric cars (German)
• Austria: Kraftstoffverordnung 2012, § 11 (RIS, German)
• ÖAMTC: ePrämie (German)
• Swiss Federal Office for the Environment: compensation obligation for fuel importers (German)

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.