Second-hand cars: Understand new French tax that looms
The new ‘malus écologique’ will be calculated based on CO2 emissions, weight, and kilometrage
All second-hand cars will be subject to the taxes, depending on how old they are, their weight, and - eventually - their kilometrage
sylv1rob1/Shutterstock
Second-hand cars in France will soon be subject to a new ‘ecological penalty (malus écologique)’ from next year, in a retrospective application of a CO2 penalty and weight-based tax.
The measure - from the loi de finance (finance act) for 2025, adopted on February 14 - has already applied to imported cars (those bought abroad and imported to France) since March 1 this year.
The new taxes will affect all second-hand cars sold in France from January 1, 2026. It will also apply retrospectively. This means that the taxes will be payable on all second-hand cars registered since January 1, 2015 (if they were not subject to a penalty tax when they were first registered).
The method used to calculate the tax amount, the amount of CO2, and weight penalties, are based on the values noted at the time of the second-hand vehicle’s registration.
Specifically, the rules state:
The amount is then gradually reduced or increased according to the age of the car (in months).
For example:
From 3% for a vehicle aged between one and three months
Up to 53% for a vehicle aged between 85-96 months (just under seven to over eight years ago)
Up to 100% for a model first registered more than 181 months ago (15 years ago)
The full list of tax by age of vehicle (in months) can be seen on the specialist second-hand vehicle website l’Argus here.
From January 1, 2027, the annual kilometrage of the vehicle will also be taken into account, and may enable the tax to be reduced or increased further, between 1.5%-3.5%, depending on the kilometres on the clock (from under 20,000 per year to more than 45,001 per year).
Vehicle examples
To cite some specific examples (as calculated by l’Argus):
In January 2026, when purchasing a Renault Megane IV 1.3 TCe 115 hp, the CO2 penalty will be €1,350, with no weight penalty due (as the threshold would not be reached).
Already, an imported BMW 3 Series 320iA xDrive 258 hp in M Sport trim, from January 2022, would cost €2,157 for the CO2 penalty, with no weight penalty (as the threshold would not be reached).
