CO2 price on heating oil: what each litre carries
Since 2021 every litre of heating oil sold in Germany has carried a CO₂ surcharge. Here are the cents per litre for each year to 2027, worked out from the official default values.
Worked through by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
CO₂ surcharge on your heating oil
CO₂ cost a year
€414
| Per litre incl. VAT | 20.7 ct |
| Per 1,000 litres | €207 |
The CO₂ price on heating oil in Germany comes from the certificate price under the Fuel Emissions Trading Act (BEHG) and the official emission value: one litre of light heating oil releases 2.68 kg of CO₂. At the 2026 auction average of €65 a tonne, that is 17.4 cents a litre before VAT and 20.7 cents with it. In 2021, the first year of carbon pricing, it was 8.0 cents. With heating oil at €169.81 per 100 litres in October 2026, the CO₂ price makes up about 12 % of the price. A 3,000-litre tank fill carries €621 of CO₂ cost, against €239 in 2021. Your 2026 invoice shows a slightly smaller amount, €573, because the law prescribes the middle of the corridor, €60, for bills. For 2027 the Bundestag has passed the same corridor; the law is not yet published.
Surcharge per litre since 2021
The CO₂ price on heating oil is not something a dealer sets freely. It follows from two official values. The first is the price per tonne under section 10 BEHG: a fixed price until 2025, since 2026 the result of auctions within a corridor. The second is the amount of CO₂ per litre from the EBeV 2030 regulation. Multiplied together they give the surcharge that suppliers build into the price per litre.
| Year | Price per tonne | ct/l before VAT | ct/l with VAT | per 1,000 l |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | €25 | 6.7 | 8.0 | €80 |
| 2022 | €30 | 8.0 | 9.6 | €96 |
| 2023 | €30 | 8.0 | 9.6 | €96 |
| 2024 | €45 | 12.0 | 14.3 | €143 |
| 2025 | €55 | 14.7 | 17.5 | €175 |
| 2026 | €55 to €65 | 14.7 to 17.4 | 17.5 to 20.7 | €175 to €207 |
| 2027 (passed, not yet law) | €55 to €65 | 14.7 to 17.4 | 17.5 to 20.7 | €175 to €207 |
Search for the CO₂ price on heating oil and you often land on pages from 2019 or 2020. They describe the plans before the start, yet reporting only began with calendar year 2021. The prices for 2024 to 2026 and the auctions are missing there altogether. Since 2021 the surcharge has more than doubled, from 8.0 to 20.7 cents a litre.
What a house has paid since 2021
A house burning 2,000 litres a year has carried the carbon price from day one. The amounts have never fallen, because the price per tonne has never been cut. 2026 uses the auction average; the invoice shows a little less.
| Year | Price per tonne | CO₂ cost | Total since 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | €25 | €159 | €159 |
| 2022 | €30 | €191 | €350 |
| 2023 | €30 | €191 | €541 |
| 2024 | €45 | €287 | €828 |
| 2025 | €55 | €350 | €1,178 |
| 2026 | €65 | €414 | €1,592 |
That adds up to €1,592 over six years. With the same consumption, 2027 would add another €350 to €414 within the corridor that has been passed.
Where the 2.68 kg of CO₂ per litre comes from
The regulation sets three values for light heating oil: a density of 0.845 tonnes per 1,000 litres, a net calorific value of 42.8 gigajoules per tonne and an emission factor of 0.074 tonnes of CO₂ per gigajoule. Their product is the CO₂ per litre. We found no official table giving ready-made cents per litre, so the figures here are our own calculation from those values, rounded to one decimal.
VAT at 19 % is added, because it applies to the whole price per litre. The CO₂ Cost Allocation Act expressly requires the CO₂ share on the invoice to include VAT.
How much of the oil price is carbon price
The European Commission’s Weekly Oil Bulletin reports €169.81 per 100 litres for Germany on 12 October 2026, and €118.68 on average over the last twelve months. Both include the 20.7 cents of CO₂ price.
| Period | Oil per 100 l | CO₂ price per tonne | CO₂ share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | €96 | €55 | 18 % |
| last 12 months | €119 | €65 | 17 % |
| 12 October 2026 | €170 | €65 | 12 % |
So the CO₂ amount barely moved over the year, but its percentage swings because oil itself rose sharply in 2026. Your heating bill depends on both, as the heating cost comparison shows.
Invoice, delivery date and your tank
The BEHG puts the duty on the dealer, for the fuel it brings onto the market in a calendar year. That is why the delivery year counts, not the year you burn the oil. A tank filled in autumn 2025 carries the 2025 price, €525 for 3,000 litres. If you buy a house in Germany with oil left in the tank, the seller paid that surcharge.
Under section 3 of the CO₂ Cost Allocation Act, the invoice, in German, must list the kilograms of CO₂, the emission factor per kWh, the energy content and the CO₂ price component at the time of delivery. For 2026, section 4 prescribes the middle of the corridor, €60. From 2027 the average of auctions from 1 July to 30 November of the previous year applies. The German Emissions Trading Authority reported €65 in August 2026.
Keep the oil boiler or switch
Grant if you switch now
€12,880
| CO₂ a year at €65/t | €455 |
| Oil a year (12-month average) | €2,611 |
Running it is allowed: the 30-year replacement duty ended on 29 July 2026.
2027 and beyond
For 2027 the Bundestag decided on 15 October 2026 to carry forward the corridor of €55 to €65 (Bundestag). The law is not yet published. From 2028 the EU ETS2 is due to replace the German price, and no fixed figure exists for it. Both rules for 2027 and scenarios for later years are under CO₂ price 2027, and the CO₂ calculator works out your own yearly use.
An old oil boiler does not have to go; see oil heating ban. If you replace it and live in the house as your main residence, oil qualifies for the climate speed bonus, currently 16 %, whatever the boiler’s age. In rented buildings the landlord’s share of the CO₂ price depends on emissions per square metre: CO₂ cost split.