What electric cars pay in motor vehicle tax in Glarus, how the tax is calculated and what is changing.
Until the end of 2026, fully electric cars pay no traffic tax in Glarus, while combustion cars are taxed on engine capacity. A new law is due to apply from 1 January 2027: all passenger cars will be taxed on gross weight and power, with a 25% discount for electric cars until the end of 2030. According to the official Memorial, a Tesla Model 3 will then pay CHF 354 instead of CHF 0.
Until end of 2026: engine capacity (passenger cars up to 900 cc CHF 220; 901 to 2,700 cc CHF 17 per started 100 cc; from 2,701 cc CHF 19 per started 100 cc), with an energy-label bonus-malus. From entry into force of the new Act (planned 1 January 2027): gross weight and power, CHF 0.131 per kg plus CHF 0.93 per kW (Art. 17 StrVAG).
Under current law, vehicles powered exclusively by electricity are exempt from traffic tax for the entire registration period. The legal basis is Art. 8a(2) of the Introductory Act to the Road Traffic Act (EG SVG) with the traffic-tax rebate ordinance (road traffic office information sheet; Memorial 2026). On 3 May 2026 the Landsgemeinde adopted the new Road Traffic Levies Act (StrVAG) unchanged, which ends the exemption. The tax will be based on gross weight (CHF 0.131 per kg) and power (CHF 0.93 per kW). To offset the extra weight and power of the drivetrain, the government may grant a deduction of up to 30% on each (Art. 16(4)). According to the Memorial, 20% on weight and 30% on power are planned for battery-electric and fuel-cell vehicles. In addition, zero-emission vehicles get a 25% reduction on the general traffic tax until 31 December 2030 (Art. 28).
Until the end of 2026, plug-in hybrids are taxed only on the engine capacity of the combustion engine. Like all passenger cars, they get a bonus with energy label A (100%) or B (75%) in the year of first registration and the two following calendar years; labels F and G pay a 20% or 30% malus. Under the new Act they will be taxed on weight and power, with a technical deduction (planned according to the Memorial: 10% on weight, 15% on power). The 25% discount only applies to zero-emission vehicles, so not to plug-in hybrids.
The Landsgemeinde adopted the Road Traffic Levies Act (StrVAG) unchanged on 3 May 2026. The government sets the entry-into-force date, planned for 1 January 2027. The exemption for electric cars and the energy-label bonus-malus system will then end. Passenger cars will be taxed on gross weight and power, with a technical offset for electric drivetrains and a 25% discount for zero-emission vehicles until 31 December 2030. Rates will in future be indexed to inflation whenever the consumer price index changes by 5 percentage points (Art. 12(3)).
Tesla Model 3 (Modellbeispiel aus Tabelle 2 des Memorials; Gewicht und Leistung dort nicht angegeben): heute CHF 0; neues Recht CHF 472 ohne Rabatt bzw. CHF 354 mit 25 % Rabatt (2027–2030): CHF 354 per year (source)
The government has not yet formally decided on entry into force on 1 January 2027: the date is only "planned" in the Memorial, and no future version was published in the statute collection as of October 2026. The implementing ordinance with the concrete deductions has not yet been published. The Memorial gives 20% on weight and 30% on power for battery-electric vehicles, but in the Landrat debate (Memorial item 11.3) the government is said to plan "a technical offset of 25 per cent". The example amounts are based on the Memorial's model assumptions (Table 2).
The Auto-Check works out how much you save overall with an electric car, using your own assumptions.
As of: May 2026. All information without guarantee. The tax bill and the cantonal road traffic office are authoritative.
