What electric cars pay in motor vehicle tax in Neuchâtel, how the tax is calculated and what is changing.
In Neuchâtel, battery-electric cars pay only the fixed part of CHF 250 a year, regardless of weight and power. Combustion cars also pay a variable part based on CO2 emissions (minus an age deduction), with a minimum of CHF 250 as well.
CO2 emissions and vehicle age. 2026 formula for passenger cars: CHF 250 (fixed part) + [CO2 in g/km x 4] - [vehicle age on 1 January in years x 15] - 253 (2026 correction factor); a negative variable part counts as zero. Minimum tax CHF 250. For first registration from 1 January 2021 the WLTP value minus 23 g/km is used, before that the NEDC value.
According to the cantonal vehicle office (SCAN), electric vehicles pay only the fixed part of the annual tax, i.e. CHF 250; the same applies to hydrogen vehicles. The reason is that the variable part depends solely on CO2 emissions, which are zero for an electric car. Weight and power play no role for passenger cars (except heavy passenger cars over 3.5 t, which are taxed on gross weight). The rule has no time limit. The legal basis is the vehicle and boat tax act (LTVRB, RSN 761.20, Art. 5 and Annex 1); the correction factor is set every year by the Council of State (2026: CHF 253 instead of 266).
No separate rule. Plug-in hybrids are taxed with the normal formula based on their CO2 value (first registration from 2021: WLTP value minus 23 g/km). If that value is low, the variable part is zero and they too pay only CHF 250.
In September 2023 the Grand Council adopted motion 23.169 (60 votes to 34). It calls for heavier electric cars to be taxed more, for example through a weight criterion, while keeping electric cars more attractive for tax than combustion cars and hybrids. No draft law or date is known; the amendment of 30 September 2025 only concerned appeal procedures.
Jeder reine Elektro-Personenwagen (Voiture de tourisme), unabhängig von Gewicht und Leistung, Steuerjahr 2026: CHF 250 per year (source)
The status of the implementation of motion 23.169 (report or draft law by the Council of State) is open; the vote result is documented only by a media report (RTN).
The Auto-Check works out how much you save overall with an electric car, using your own assumptions.
As of: January 2026. All information without guarantee. The tax bill and the cantonal road traffic office are authoritative.
