Electric car tax in Italy 2026: what you pay by region

The 2027 twist nobody is telling used-EV buyers

Italian trade press has spent the past few weeks debating a possible suspension of the annual car tax, the bollo auto, starting in 2027 [1]. The drafts circulating, though, mostly target combustion-engined cars, not electric ones. The result, as InsideEVs Italia points out, is an odd twist: petrol and diesel owners could end up paying nothing at all, while owners of electric cars past their fifth year on the road would still owe a reduced amount [1]. If you are shopping for a used EV in Italy right now, understanding how the tax actually works today, region by region, matters more than any forecast about 2027.

The bollo is a regional tax that brings Italy's twenty regions roughly 7.5 billion euros a year in combined revenue, which is exactly why a full national abolition without some compensation mechanism looks unlikely, and why each region has quietly picked its own approach to electric cars over the past few years [1].

The national baseline: five years free, then the region decides

The starting point is the same everywhere. Under Law 449/1997, Article 17, paragraph 5, fully electric cars are exempt from the bollo for five years from the date of first registration, no matter where the owner lives [5]. That is why most used EVs on the market today, registered from 2022 onward, are not generating any tax bill for their owner yet.

The critical moment comes in year six. From there, national law hands each region the choice to extend the exemption, cut it down to a fixed share, or let it lapse entirely. That is the point where Italy's used-EV market stops being one market and splits into twenty different ones.

Region by region: where a used EV actually pays off

Piedmont and Lombardy are, so far, the only two regions offering a permanent exemption: an electric car registered in Turin or Milan never pays the bollo for the life of the vehicle, regardless of age [5][6].

Most other regions apply the default rule instead: five years of national exemption, then 25 percent of what an equivalent combustion car of the same power would pay. Campania is a clear example, charging exactly a quarter of the ordinary rate once the five years run out [6]. That is not free, but it is still a quarter of the full bill for a same-power petrol car.

Lazio changed its approach for 2026: since January 1st, owners get a 10 percent discount if they pay by direct debit, known locally as RID, replacing an older discount scheme that expired on December 31, 2025. Without direct debit, Lazio residents pay the full rate once the five national years are used up.

The practical upshot: two owners of the identical six-year-old EV, one in Turin and one in Florence, can end up paying zero euros and several hundred euros a year respectively, for the exact same car.

A concrete case: Emilia-Romagna since January 2026

Emilia-Romagna is a useful worked example because the numbers are official and public, straight from the region's own finance office [3]. Since January 1, 2026, every bollo rate in the region has risen 10 percent, across every Euro class, power band, and fuel type: the reference rate for Euro 4-6 vehicles climbed from 2.58 to 2.84 euros per kW per year [3][4]. The region also issued a note explicitly denying rumors of new EV-specific exemptions, confirming that the 2026 regional budget law introduces none [3].

Apply the standard 25 percent rule to a mid-power EV, say 100 kW, roughly 136 hp, a common band among used compacts and hatchbacks, and the math is straightforward: 2.84 euros times 100 kW equals 284 euros a year for the combustion equivalent; the 25 percent share owed by an EV past its five-year exemption comes to roughly 71 euros a year. Not a huge sum, but far from zero, and a world away from the flat zero the same exact car would owe in Turin or Milan.

What to check before buying a used EV

Before signing for a used electric car, add these bollo-specific checks to the usual mileage, battery health, and service-record review:

• First registration date: if the car is under five years old, the bollo is zero everywhere until the national exemption expires, regardless of where you live.
• The buyer's region of residence: the tax follows whoever registers the ownership transfer, not the number plate or where the car was originally sold.
• Power rating in kW: this is the figure every residual rate is calculated from, so it is worth having handy when comparing listings.
• Payment options available in your region, such as direct debit in Lazio, which can be the difference between a discount and the full rate.
• Any unpaid back taxes from the previous owner: an outstanding bollo stays attached to the vehicle and needs checking before the ownership transfer goes through.

If you are buying or selling, carry this logic with you when you browse listings on VendiVoce too: the asking price only tells half the story, and the real cost of ownership, bollo included, is the other half.

The takeaway

The electric-car tax is not the same across Italy, and the gap is not cosmetic: it can mean zero euros a year in Turin and several hundred elsewhere, for the identical car with the identical power rating. Before buying, or selling, a used EV past its fifth year, check the rule in force in the buyer's region of residence. It is a five-minute calculation that can change the final bill by hundreds of euros a year.

Sources

1. InsideEVs Italia, Il problema del bollo per le auto elettriche, September 18, 2026
2. Automobilista.it, Bollo auto 2026 per elettriche e ibride: mappa aggiornata delle esenzioni e degli sconti per Regione, September 6, 2026
3. Regione Emilia-Romagna (Finanze), Aumento bollo 2026, February 25, 2026
4. Money.it, Bollo auto piu caro nel 2026, ecco dove aumenta del 10%, January 16, 2026
5. AutoScout24.it, Bollo auto elettriche 2026: esenzione, costi e regioni, May 11, 2026
6. Automobilista.it, Esenzione bollo auto elettriche e ibride 2026: mappa delle Regioni dove si paga e dove no, January 29, 2026