According to calculations by the comparison portal Verivox, the reduction in VAT on gas consumption announced by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) will save a model household by 433 euros per year.

A model household with a consumption of 20,000 kilowatt hours per year currently pays 3717 euros for gas, explained Verivox.

If the value-added tax dropped from 19 to seven percent, these costs would be reduced by 375 euros.

In addition, there are savings of 58 euros, because the value added tax on the gas levy planned from October will also be lower.

According to the portal's calculations, a single household with a consumption of 5000 kilowatt hours per year would save around 119 euros.

Scholz has announced that gas consumption is to be reduced for as long as the gas levy applies, i.e. from October 2022 to the end of March 2024 as things currently stand be charged.

In the example of Verivox, a model household pays a gas surcharge of 518 euros on the annual bill.

Gas prices for households are at a historically high level - according to calculations by the comparison portal Verivox, the state's increased revenue from VAT amounts to more than 3.6 billion euros.

The gas levy planned from October, which is initially to be 2.4 cents per kilowatt hour, would bring in an additional 1.4 billion euros from households for the state, Verivox said on Tuesday.

According to the industry association BDEW, households consumed around 310 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of gas last year;

the average gross price for a kilowatt hour was 6.56 cents, as calculated by Verivox.

The revenue from the 19 percent VAT on gas thus amounted to around 3.3 billion euros.

Hard to carry

According to Verivox, the average gas price for households was already 14 cents per kilowatt hour in the first half of 2022;

further increases are foreseeable, explained Verivox.

Consumption, on the other hand, is likely to fall.

Nevertheless, Verivox took the gas consumption of 2021 as a basis - then the households would have to pay VAT of over 6.9 billion euros at a price of 14 cents per kilowatt hour.

That would be over 3.6 billion euros more than last year.

"In view of the current development, heating costs are reaching a level that many households are finding it difficult to bear," explained Verivox energy expert Thorsten Storck.

He suggested declaring gas an essential commodity and lowering the VAT rate from 19 to 7 percent.

This would relieve households by 4.4 billion euros in 2022.

The gas surcharge is to be introduced on October 1, 2022.

They are intended to pass on the sharply increased purchase prices of the gas suppliers to all gas consumers.

It is still unclear whether VAT will be charged on this surcharge.