Driving electric in Belgium is a bit like using a public service without paying the full bill. The roads you use, their upkeep, part of the mobility budgets: all of this is largely funded by fuel excise duties. And if you don’t burn petrol or diesel, you don’t contribute to that common pot in the same way as someone driving a combustion-engine car.
This is neither a reproach nor a criticism. It is a fiscal reality that the Belgian State is watching with growing attention, and whose consequences for EV drivers are starting to take concrete shape for the years ahead.
What excise duties really mean for Belgium’s public finances
To understand what is at stake, you first have to measure what fuel taxes represent in the federal State’s budget. These are not trivial amounts.
€4bn = excise duty on diesel collected in Belgium in 2024
€2.15bn = excise duty on petrol collected in Belgium in 2024
€8bn = the State’s total annual fuel revenue before the transition
€1.4 to 1.5bn = estimated annual revenue shortfall once the transition is complete, according to EY and KU Leuven
These figures come from data from Energia, the Belgian multi-energy federation, and from two independent studies by the consultancy EY and the research bureau TML of KU Leuven. The potential gap of 1.4 to 1.5 billion euros a year is not imminent, but it is taking shape as the electric car fleet grows. It is a question of when, not if.
What you really pay in tax when you drive electric in Belgium
Electric cars are not completely exempt from all motoring taxes. They still pay an annual road tax and, since 2025-2026 depending on the region, a registration tax (TMC) that has been reintroduced or modified. But the total remains far below what a combustion-engine driver pays the State.
To understand why, you need to distinguish two levels of taxation. The first is the fixed taxation on the vehicle itself: the TMC at registration and the annual road tax. The second is usage-based taxation, in other words the excise duties built into the fuel price. And that is where most of the difference lies: a driver covering 15,000 km a year in a car that uses 7 litres per 100 km pays around 1,000 euros in excise duty a year just by filling up. The EV driver covering the same distance pays nothing comparable on their electricity.
| Tax item | Combustion-engine car (petrol) | Electric car |
|---|---|---|
| Excise duty on energy (15,000 km/year) | Around €900 to €1,100 a year, built into the pump price | €0 (household electricity is not subject to fuel excise duty) |
| TMC at registration (Flanders 2026) | Calculated on power and emissions | One-off flat rate of €61.50 since 1 January 2026 |
| TMC at registration (Wallonia 2026) | Calculated on power, CO2, weight and fuel | Formula with a favourable “electric” coefficient, but no more full exemption |
| Annual road tax (Wallonia) | Varies with fiscal horsepower | Flat rate of €102.96 (July 2025 to June 2026) |
| VAT on fuel or electricity | 21% on the pump price including VAT | 21% on the electricity bill, but the taxable base is much lower |
The net result is clear: a Belgian EV driver today pays several hundred euros, or even more than a thousand euros, less per year in mobility-related taxes than a comparable combustion-engine driver. It is a real, concrete advantage, on top of the savings on the energy itself.
Why the State decided to favour electric, and for how long
This is not an oversight or an anomaly. It is a deliberate policy. By granting massive tax advantages to electric cars, notably through 100% tax deductibility for company cars and zero excise duty on electricity, the State chose to indirectly subsidise the energy transition of Belgium’s car fleet. The cost of this policy is known and accepted.
But this balance cannot last forever. As the electric fleet grows and fuel revenue falls, the State has to work out how to fund the same infrastructure with less money. The Arizona government has in fact already taken a first decision in this direction: an increase in excise duty on fossil fuels is planned from 2027. It is a way of maintaining revenue by targeting drivers who stick with combustion engines rather than taxing EVs directly.
“With the rise in the number of electric vehicles, Wallonia is seeing a significant revenue shortfall. Abolishing the TMC on electric vehicles would have reduced regional revenue by several tens of millions of euros. That is what prompted the July 2025 reform.” SPW Finances Wallonie, 2025
The per-kilometre tax: a growing debate
In several European countries, the debate on a per-kilometre tax specific to electric vehicles is already well advanced. Germany is studying it seriously. The Netherlands has had a per-kilometre charging system in preparation for years. In the United Kingdom, the issue has officially been on the table since 2024.
In Belgium, the subject is still at the stage of political and academic debate, but it is moving forward. The idea is simple: since EV drivers use the roads as much as everyone else without contributing through excise duty, it would be logical to make them contribute through a tax based on kilometres driven. Some proposals envisage a rate of around 1 to 2 cents per kilometre, which would amount to 150 to 300 euros a year for 15,000 km. That is not negligible, but it is well below the 1,000 euros in excise duty paid by an equivalent combustion-engine driver.
⚠️ What is already certain: the tax advantages for electric company cars are starting to shrink. The 100% tax deductibility for electric company cars, still valid in 2026, will drop to 95% in 2027, then keep falling gradually until 2031, when it will be 67.5%. The maximum tax window is closing, and 2026 remains the last year to take full advantage of it.
What this means for your budget as a Belgian driver today
In the short term, driving electric in Belgium remains very advantageous from a tax point of view compared with combustion engines. You pay less excise duty, less TMC, often less annual road tax, and your company car is still 100% deductible this year if you are a business user.
In the medium term, from 2027 to 2031, the tax advantages will gradually shrink. That is no reason not to switch to electric, but it is a factor to build into the total cost of ownership calculation over 5 to 7 years. An electric car bought or leased in 2026 will still benefit from the most favourable tax treatment. The same car bought in 2029 will be in a different tax environment.
In the longer term, some form of per-kilometre contribution for EV drivers is likely in Belgium, even though no decision has yet been taken. It will be the most logical way to rebuild the revenue lost from excise duties, and several neighbouring countries are showing the way.
💡 For the self-employed and SMEs in Walloon Brabant: 2026 really is the last year in which buying or leasing a business electric vehicle gives you access to the maximum 100% deductibility. From 2027, this rate starts to fall. If you are thinking of replacing your company car, deciding before the end of the year has a concrete tax impact on the years ahead.
The Belgian paradox: electric is favoured, yet electric is a worry
There is something quite Belgian about this situation. The State put in place very favourable taxation to push drivers towards electric, notably through company cars. It worked: Belgium is among the most electrified countries in Europe in the company car segment. But now that the transition is under way, the State is watching the revenue shortfall widen and looking for ways to fill it without breaking the momentum it created itself.
For the individual driver, the lesson is fairly simple. Make the most of the current advantages while they exist, but factor into your calculations that car taxation will change in the coming years, and not necessarily in the direction of lower costs for EV drivers.
FAQ
Mainly because the electricity used to charge a vehicle is not subject to fuel excise duty, unlike petrol and diesel. This excise duty amounts to around 1,000 euros a year for a driver covering 15,000 km in a car that uses 7 litres per 100 km. Fixed taxes such as the TMC at registration and the annual road tax have also been reduced for EVs, although some regions have started partially reintroducing them since 2025-2026.
According to two independent studies by EY and by the TML bureau of KU Leuven, the potential revenue shortfall once the transition is complete amounts to around 1.4 to 1.5 billion euros a year at federal level. Fuel excise duties currently bring in around 6 billion euros a year in Belgium. This gap is widening gradually as the electric fleet grows.
Not officially yet, but the debate is well under way. Several neighbouring countries such as Germany and the Netherlands are moving towards this type of system. In Belgium, the issue is at the stage of political and academic debate. The Arizona government has not announced a per-kilometre tax for EVs, but it has planned an increase in excise duty on fossil fuels from 2027, which is an indirect way of filling part of the revenue shortfall.