Get a handle on the taxes when importing cars

The long delivery times and the lack of cars in Denmark mean that many dealers are starting to look abroad to import cars. These are especially markets such as the German, Swedish, Dutch and Eastern European markets. In these countries, you can find exactly the car with the equipment package you are looking for, as the selection here is somewhat larger than the Dan

Importing cars – is it worth it?

In many cases, it is worthwhile to import a car from abroad, but there are some things that are important to know in relation to the tax and how it is calculated before you are geared up to bring home a car from abroad. You will get an insight into that below.

Taxes on petrol, diesel and mild hybrid cars

If you want to import a petrol or diesel car, the most important thing is to keep track of the car’s equipment, year and number of kilometres driven. The older the car, the less important the equipment, for example, is for the tax. However, the new rules on the CO2 figure do not have a major impact on these cars. Therefore, you should not expect large savings on petrol and diesel cars in terms of the tax.

If, on the other hand, you are looking for a mild hybrid car (a car with combustion and electric motor, but without the possibility of charging the electric motor), the same applies as for petrol and diesel cars. However, with a mild hybrid car, you get a larger CO2 deduction, as the combined CO2 figure is generally lower on this type of car.

Taxes on electric and plug-in hybrid cars

On electric and plug-in hybrid cars, there are several things you need to be aware of in relation to the tax.

An electric car’s CO2 figure is always 0 grams, which is why this type of car is called a zero-emission car. In 2022, all electric cars will generally be exempt from tax if the new price is less than DKK 465,000. However, this number will be lower and lower as the deduction decreases in the coming years.

On plug-in hybrid cars, the price of the tax depends a lot on whether the car emits less than or more than 50 grams of CO2. If it emits less than 50 grams of CO2, you can save about 50% of the tax compared to a similar car without the plug-in technology.

If, on the other hand, the car has a CO2 figure of over 50 grams, the tax will be calculated exactly like a regular petrol and diesel car. However, a plug-in hybrid car will typically have a somewhat lower CO2 figure than petrol and diesel cars.

Check the car’s CO2 values, consumption figures and ranges in the CoC document

Before you make a purchase, however, it is important to be absolutely sure that the CO2 values, consumption figures and ranges that the ads on the car portals show are correct. This is not always a guarantee. Therefore, it is a good idea to check the CoC document of the car in question, where you can see exactly the car’s stated CO2 values, consumption figures and ranges.

What is a CoC document?

CoC stands for Certificate of Conformity. It is a certificate that the factory issues when a car is produced. In the CoC document, the car’s most important data and information are documented. Information that is required by law when you need to have a car approved for inspection in Denmark. This can be information such as the type approval number, weight figure, fuel consumption and range of the battery in the case of an electric or plug-in hybrid car. For electric and plug-in hybrid cars, it is especially important that you have a CoC document to be able to get the car approved for customs inspection in Denmark.

If you cannot get hold of the CoC document, you have the opportunity to look up similar cars on dmr.dk. To get a true figure, you should preferably compare the given car with a similar one in the same year, roughly the same amount of equipment and rim size. If these figures are very close to 50 grams of CO2, we recommend getting hold of the car’s CoC document before making a purchase.