The legislator now penalizes more the purchase of a new polluting car rather than a used model.

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IStock / City Presse

It has been several years since the state declared war on polluting vehicles.

And for good reason, road traffic alone is responsible for nearly a third of France's greenhouse gas emissions.

The State encourages the French to opt for clean cars, while financially penalizing those who prefer more emitting models.

And a new turn of the screw applies in 2021.

Up to 30,000 euros in tax

When choosing your new vehicle, it is imperative to find out about the taxation that is applied to it.

It's all about its carbon dioxide emissions.

Below a certain threshold, the bill may be reduced by an ecological bonus.

On the other hand, exceed the fixed limit and you will have to bear an additional tax applied to the registration certificate (ex-gray card) of your new vehicle.

And precisely, this penalty has been tightened by the finance law for 2021, which provides for an increase spread over three years.

In order not to see its purchase invoice increase, your new private car must emit less than 133 g / km of CO2 since January 1, against 138 g in 2020. Beyond that, the legislator sanctions your choice by this environmental tax which varies according to a progressive scale comprising more than 80 installments.

Count 50 euros for vehicles emitting 133 g, and up to 30,000 euros for the biggest polluters emitting more than 218 g / km of CO2.

Note that the finance law for 2021 has already scheduled new tightening for the following two years.

Unless subsequently modified, the threshold for triggering the eco-tax will be lowered to 128 g / km of CO2 in 2022 and to 123 g in 2023. In addition, the scale of the penalty will respectively reach 40,000 euros for 224 g / km of CO2, then 50,000 over 225 g.

A new weight tax will apply to vehicles over 1,800 kg from 2022.

Three less taxes

Although 2021 marks a new turn of the screw for lovers of large engines, it should be noted the disappearance of several small taxes which weighed on the bill a little more until now.

Since 2018, an ecological penalty also applied to vehicles purchased second-hand.

From 10 fiscal horses, it was necessary to pay a surcharge fixed at 100 euros between 10 and 11 CV, 300 from 12 to 14 CV, and 1,000 beyond this threshold, with a reduction depending on the age of the car.

Likewise, a specific tax reserved for the most powerful engines had been introduced the same year.

From 36 tax horses, buyers of a new or used car had to bear an additional cost of 500 euros per CV, within the limit of a ceiling set at 8,000 euros.

Deemed unprofitable, these two penalties disappeared on January 1, 2021. Finally, the tax of 160 euros which had been paid each year since 2009 by the owners of the most polluting vehicles has also been abolished.

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Reductions for the penalty

If the objective of the ecological penalty is to encourage the French to move towards new less polluting vehicles, the legislator still takes into account the specific situations of certain households:

  • Handicap: the penalty does not apply when the car is purchased by a person who has an inclusion mobility card bearing the mention invalidity or whose dependent child holds this card.

    Cars registered as a “disabled passenger car” are also exempt.

  • Large families: you benefit from a reduction in the penalty if you have at least 3 dependent children and you buy a new vehicle with at least 5 seats.

    The reduction is 20 g / km or 1 HP per toddler.

  • Car

  • Pollution

  • ecology

  • Taxation