Road tax for campers will be doubled: this way you can partly avoid the high costs

Bad news for campervan owners: road tax for campervans will double starting in 2026. This means the cost of driving a campervan will increase significantly. Metro explains how much you'll pay and how you can still reduce the costs.

There's a reason why road tax for campervans is being doubled. More and more new campervan owners are joining the ranks – the number has almost doubled since 2014 – and that's why the government feels compelled to raise the tax.

While camper owners previously paid only 25 percent of the rate for a regular car , this percentage will increase to 50 percent. The quarter rate was originally introduced because campers are generally used less intensively than regular cars, but because this has changed, the costs are rising. Nothing will change for people who rent out a camper: this group has already paid 50 percent tax since 2020, and that will remain the case.

Curious about how much road tax you'll pay? If you have a campervan in the 1751 and 1860 weight classes, with a diesel engine, and no particulate matter surcharge, you'll currently pay €274 per quarter. From 2026, that amount will increase to a whopping €548. If your diesel campervan doesn't meet the Euro 5 standard, you're in even worse luck: you'll soon have to pay a 15% surcharge on the motor vehicle tax. This particulate matter surcharge will also double in 2026.

The doubling of motorhome road tax is a significant increase. Fortunately, there's a way to ensure you don't pay 50 percent more year-round. The option to suspend motorhome ownership for months you don't use it remains. So, if you're certain you won't be driving for a certain period of the year and your motorhome will remain in storage, you can deduct it from the tax.