Work out your THG-Prämie for 2026
Enter the provider’s offer, the vehicle class and the number of years: the calculator shows what your electric car’s greenhouse gas quota brings in and the electricity behind it.
Worked through by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
GHG quota payout in total
€900
€300 a year
| Estimate per vehicle and year | 2,000 kWh |
|---|---|
| Credited (three times) | 6,000 kWh |
| Who may claim | Keeper on the registration |
| Report to the UBA by | 28 February of the following year |
Estimate with the amount you enter; the GHG quota payout is a market price, not a state benefit. How we calculate
Step-by-step calculation
- Estimate per car: 2,000 kWh a year, with no proof of actual use (Federal Environment Agency notice).
- Electricity counts 3 times towards the fuel suppliers' quota: 6,000 kWh. A supplier under the obligation buys that amount through your provider.
- Payout: (€300 − €0 fee) × 1 vehicle(s) × 3 year(s) = €900.
The THG-Prämie, or GHG quota payout, is money that keepers of battery electric cars in Germany receive every year for their greenhouse gas quota. It rests on the 38th Federal Immission Control Ordinance (38. BImSchV): companies selling petrol and diesel must cut their emissions and may count electricity used by electric vehicles towards that, at 3 times its amount. For a car without metered charging, the Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt) assumes a flat 2,000 kWh a year, and 3,000 kWh for a light van. No law sets what a provider pays for that; the market does. In October 2026, according to Finanztip, offers were above €300 even without a bonus and up to €350 with one. Over three years that comes to €900 to €1,050. Only the keeper (Halter) named on the registration certificate can claim, plug-in hybrids cannot use the estimate, and providers often stop accepting claims long before the legal reporting deadline of 28 February of the following year.
Where the money comes from
The quota payout is not a state benefit. Companies that put fuel on the German market must reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of what they sell by a legal percentage each year. If they fall short, they buy reductions from elsewhere, including electricity charged into electric vehicles. The 38th BImSchV sets out how that electricity is credited, the Federal Environment Agency certifies the amounts, and the certified amount is then credited to an obliged company’s quota. Between you as the keeper and the oil company sits a provider, who bundles many cars, applies for the certificate and sells the quota on. It pays part of the proceeds to you: that is the payout.
The electricity behind the payout
Nothing is metered for private keepers. For every battery electric vehicle without a public charging point, the Federal Environment Agency applies an estimate: 2,000 kWh a year for a passenger car (class M1), 3,000 kWh for a light commercial vehicle (class N1). Because electricity counts 3 times towards the quota, a car stands for 6,000 kWh and a van for 9,000 kWh. How far you drive, and whether you charge at home or on the road, makes no difference to the flat rate.
| Vehicle | Estimate | Credited | Payout at €300 per car-year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electric car (M1) | 2,000 kWh | 6,000 kWh | €300 |
| Electric van (N1) | 3,000 kWh | 9,000 kWh | offer per class |
Providers price vans separately; scaling up the car figure would be guesswork. Enter the offer you receive for your vehicle class in the calculator.
What the market pays in October 2026
Finanztip’s comparison on 14 October 2026 listed offers above €300 even without a bonus and up to €350 with one; the ADAC gives over €300 for 2026. Older figures that still circulate, such as €260, describe an earlier market. The price depends on how many quotas are on offer and on what the obliged companies would pay for missing their target, and it can move either way during a year.
| Assumption | One year | Three years |
|---|---|---|
| €300 a year, no fee | €300 | €900 |
| €350 a year, with a bonus | €350 | €1,050 |
| €300 a year, €30 fee | €270 | €810 |
| Five cars, €300 each | €1,500 | €4,500 |
Three years is used here because the purchase grant requires you to keep the car for 36 months; if you keep it that long and registered it early in a year, you can sell three quota years in that time.
Fixed price or a share of the proceeds
Providers use two models. With a fixed price, the amount is set when you upload your registration and is paid once the Federal Environment Agency has certified it. With a variable model, the provider pays what it actually gets for the bundled quotas, minus its share; that can be more or less than a fixed price, and the money arrives later. Check three things: whether a fee or commission is deducted, whether the amount is per calendar year or one-off, and until when the provider accepts claims for the current year. Since 17 April 2026 the agency has charged fees for certification; providers pay them and build them into their prices.
Who can claim
The person or company named as keeper on part I of the registration certificate. When you buy, that is normally you. With a lease it depends on who is entered; with a private lease usually the lessee. For a company car registered by the employer, only the employer can sell. Each car can be sold once per year. If the keeper changes during a year, only one of them can use that year’s quota; if you buy a used electric car, ask whether the previous owner has already sold it.
The dates in a quota year
- The quota year is the calendar year. A car registered in November 2026 can still be sold for 2026 if the provider accepts it.
- The provider reports the cars to the Federal Environment Agency, legally by 28 February of the following year. On 12 October 2026 the agency was processing 2026 claims received from 6 August 2026 (Federal Environment Agency).
- After certification the provider sells the quota and pays out, usually within a few weeks for a fixed price.
Mistakes that hold up a payout
Most delays have plain causes. The photo of the registration is blurred or cropped, so the keeper, vehicle class or vehicle identification number cannot be read. The name on the provider account does not match the keeper, for instance because the car is registered to a partner. The car has already been entered with a second provider for the same year, which the agency rejects. Or the fuel type on the registration is not purely electric. Checking those four points before uploading usually saves weeks. After a change of keeper, a move to another registration district or new plates, the new certificate counts and the old one is no longer enough.
The payout, the grant and vehicle tax together
The three benefits of an electric car are unrelated and do not rule each other out. The purchase grant is a one-off payment that depends on household income; the quota payout is a yearly sale open to every keeper whatever their income; the vehicle tax exemption applies to every electric car first registered by 31 December 2030. A household in the first band without children therefore collects €5,000 of grant and, at October prices, about €900 of quota payouts over three years. The tax is on the vehicle tax calculator, the grant on the grant calculator. How the quota itself works, the 2026 change in the law and the agency’s role are covered in GHG quota rules.