Suspended yes, almost abolished, but… We know it by now: the Meloni government has established by decree the exemption of car tax (and for motorcycles) for 2027. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has confirmed that there is the intention to make this measure structural and permanent in the next budget law, but this will be seen: to know in detail all the application conditions we will still have to wait for the definitive text of the law and the completion of the parliamentary process. Just as we will see how the State will cover the lost revenue for the regions, to which the car tax is (or rather was) intended: it is 2,362 million euros.
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Who doesn’t pay the tax
Let’s recap quickly. The exemption will concern payments of the tax to be made between 1 January and 31 December 2027. It applies to a single vehicle owned and regularly insured for civil liability, and only natural persons “payable” to the tax, i.e. the owners of the car or the holders of a long-term rental or financial leasing contract, will be able to benefit from it. The car exempted from paying the tax in 2027 must have an approved power of up to 80 kilowatts (kW), approximately 108.8 horsepower, and a petrol or diesel engine, with exclusive or hybrid fuel (mild, full or plug-in hybrid) or gas (methane or LPG).
If a person owns multiple cars up to 80 kW, the exemption will only concern the less powerful one; with the same power, the one that would pay the lowest tax. For motorcycles and mopeds there are no power limits. The government has estimated that this cut with the annual suspension will affect 13.2 million cars, with an average tax amount of 168 euros, and around two million motorcycles, with an average amount of 59 euros.
The 4 paradoxes of car tax
No longer a temporary measure valid only for 2027, but a tax exemption intended to continue in subsequent years. On car tax, this is the objective of the Meloni government with the new economic measure. Despite the possible parliamentary changes, however, some contradictions emerge. There are four, in particular, the “distortions” or paradoxes, whatever you prefer, that emerge from an analysis of the provision carried out by the monthly magazine Quattroruote in October 2026, waiting for clarity to be made. What can happen to those who have an old car, an electric one registered in 2020 or a historic car?
The old car
Let’s start from the first case. The tax exemption in 2027 concerns all cars that are less than thirty years old (even “older” ones are already exempt by law). It means that even a car registered in 1997, the latest Euro 1, will not pay. However, since the unit tax rate increases slightly as the “Euro” class decreases, the older and more polluting the car, the more you will save. Not really a solution or logic that favors “green”.
Historic cars
Still thinking by age, historic cars – those that are more than twenty years old but less than thirty, have the certificate of historical relevance (Crs) and the historicity annotation in the registration document – already have a 50% discount on road tax by law. Since cars up to 80 kilowatts will be exempt from payment next year, here’s the second paradox: a historic car could pay more than a non-historic vehicle.
The electric ones
And we come to the third case, which concerns some electric cars. The latter are exempt from paying stamp duty for five years. From the sixth year onwards, however, the tax is discounted by 75%. Taking an example, it means that an electric car with up to 80 kW registered in 2020 will be penalized (slightly) compared to a car with a petrol or diesel engine registered many years earlier. For the first one you will pay the stamp duty, albeit with a substantial discount; for the second no.
The two payments
Finally, there is the case of exempt double payments. There are specific situations in which the tax must be paid by the end of the month following the registration of the car. In concrete terms, therefore, those who register a car in December 2026 could be exempted twice: from the payment to be made in January 2027 relating to the first period, and then from the one that will be accrued in 2027.