Germany Sugar Tax Calculator (2027 Proposal)
This sugar tax calculator (2027 proposal) models Germany's proposed sugary drinks tax (Zuckergetränkesteuer). On 14 October 2026 Germany's federal cabinet put forward a draft for it. The rates and tiers this calculator uses are not yet decided: this is not law in force (as of 14 October 2026) and the Bundestag has still to debate it. This calculator lets you play through, purely hypothetically, what the draft would mean for the drinks you buy — per pack, per week or month and over a year. Every amount is the draft tax amount, not a price forecast.
Draft — not law in force (as of 14 October 2026). Germany’s federal cabinet has approved a proposal; the Bundestag has not yet decided on these rates. All amounts are hypothetical, not a price forecast.
from 5 g sugar/100 ml: €0.26/l · from 8 g/100 ml: €0.32/l · planned from 01/07/2027
Your result under the draft
Every amount is the draft tax amount — not a tax you owe, and not a price forecast.
Under your assumptions (covered)
The totals cover only drinks with a frequency (per week or month); single drinks appear with their per-container value in their own card.
- –in H2 2027
- –per year
- –possible price effect per year
In addition, if the open drinks were covered
- –in H2 2027
- –per year
- –possible price effect per year
Amounts are summed exactly and only then rounded to cents.
What your result means
For each drink you see the draft tier and the draft tax amount per pack — exact to four decimals and also rounded to cents. Below that are the amount per week or month, the amount for the second half of 2027, and the amount scaled to the normalised year. Drinks with an open status are set apart and shown only as “if covered”. The totals keep the drinks you assume are covered separate from the open cases — there is deliberately no single merged figure, and it never frames the figures as a tax you owe, because under the draft it is not consumers who are liable for it.
How this calculator works
The draft for Germany sets two tiers based on total sugar per 100 ml: from 5 g to under 8 g would be taxed at €0.26 per litre, and from 8 g at €0.32 per litre. Below 5 g the draft sets no tax. The calculator places each drink in a tier from the sugar content you enter and works out the draft tax per pack from pack size and rate: tax = litres × rate per litre.
Your buying frequency drives the rest. A weekly figure is scaled by 52 to a normalised year and by 52/12 to a month; a monthly figure by 12 to the year. That year is a calculation device, not the 2027 calendar year. Separately, the calculator shows the second half of 2027 (July to December), for which you choose how many shopping months to count.
Whether a drink would be covered at all is not for the calculator to decide. For each drink you state whether you assume it is covered, assume it is not, or do not know. Drinks you leave open appear separately and only ever as “if covered”; drinks you assume are not covered count towards no total. That way no drink with an unclear status is ever shown as taxed.
Pass-through to the shelf price is a freely chosen assumption (100% by default), because manufacturers, wholesalers and shops in Germany remain free in their pricing. The calculator deliberately does not model any VAT on a price increase. Internally it works in milli-cents and unrounded; only the displayed totals are rounded to whole cents.
Formula and variables
Draft tax per pack=pack size in litres × rate per litreRate per litre by tier: under 5 g → €0, from 5 to under 8 g → €0.26, from 8 g → €0.32Per year=52 × (per week) or 12 × (per month)Second half of 2027=(tax per month) × monthsPossible price effect=pass-through in % × draft tax- pack size
- pack size in millilitres (10 to 10,000 ml)
- sugar content
- total sugar per 100 ml; sets the tier (thresholds 5 g and 8 g)
- rate per litre
- the tier's draft rate: €0, €0.26 or €0.32 per litre
- units
- number of packs per week or per month
- months
- months in the second half of 2027 (July–December) you shop this way (0 to 6)
- pass-through
- assumed share of the draft tax that would reach the price (0 to 100%, an assumption)
Worked examples
Example 1: a 1.5-litre bottle, assumed covered
| Pack size | 1,500 ml |
|---|---|
| Sugar content | 10 g/100 ml |
| Quantity | 2 per week |
| Covered by the tax? | assumed: yes |
| Assumed pass-through | 100% |
| Months in the second half of 2027 | 6 |
| Draft tier | Tier 2 · from 8 g (€0.32/l) |
|---|---|
| Draft tax amount per pack | €0.48 |
| per week | €0.96 |
| in H2 2027 | €24.96 |
| per year (normalised) | €49.92 |
A 1.5-litre bottle with 10 g of sugar per 100 ml sits in tier 2 under the draft (€0.32/l). The draft tax per bottle is 1.5 × €0.32 = €0.48. At 2 bottles per week that is €0.96 per week; over a normalised year (52 weeks) €49.92 and for the six months of the second half of 2027 €24.96. All figures are example assumptions and the draft tax amount, not a price forecast.
Example 2: a 330 ml can, coverage unknown
| Pack size | 330 ml |
|---|---|
| Sugar content | 6 g/100 ml |
| Quantity | 10 per month |
| Covered by the tax? | don't know |
| Assumed pass-through | 100% |
| Months in the second half of 2027 | 6 |
| Draft tier | Tier 1 · 5 to under 8 g (€0.26/l) |
|---|---|
| Draft tax amount per pack | €0.09 |
| per month | €0.86 |
| in H2 2027 | €5.15 |
| per year (normalised) | €10.30 |
A 330 ml can with 6 g of sugar per 100 ml would sit in tier 1 under the draft (€0.26/l). The draft tax per can would be 0.33 × €0.26 = €0.0858, rounded €0.09. Because the status is open here, the calculator shows everything only as “if covered”: 10 cans per month would be €0.858 ≈ €0.86 per month, €5.15 in the second half of 2027 and €10.30 over the normalised year (12 months). The total is formed exactly and only then rounded — hence €0.86 rather than 10 × €0.09 = €0.90.
Assumptions
- The basis is Germany's cabinet draft of 14 October 2026 (a drafting aid), not law in force; the rates €0.26 and €0.32 per litre and the 5 g and 8 g thresholds come from that draft.
- Pack size, sugar content, buying frequency and the assumed pass-through are your inputs or example assumptions — not a forecast.
- Whether a drink would be covered is your own assumption; the calculator classifies nothing automatically and shows open cases only conditionally.
- The per-year figure uses 52 weeks or 12 months as a calculation device and is not the 2027 calendar year.
Limitations of this calculator
- The calculator does not model any VAT on a possible price increase and does not model dilution of syrups or concentrates.
- No automatic product classification, no brand or product database and no real shelf prices.
- No claim that the modelled rates, tiers or start date have been decided; the further timetable lies with the parliamentary groups and is open after 14 October 2026.
- No legal or tax advice, no revenue or health forecast and no comparison with other countries' levies. All amounts are approximate and without guarantee.
Frequently asked questions
Has the sugary drinks tax been decided?
Not in the form this calculator models. According to the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Bundestag already set out in the GKV contribution-rate stabilisation act (GKV-Beitragssatzstabilisierungsgesetz) that such a tax should come, with rough orders of magnitude. The specific rates, tiers and exemptions, however, come from a drafting aid (Formulierungshilfe) for an amendment by the coalition groups, which Germany's federal cabinet adopted on 14 October 2026 — this is not law. The Bundestag has not yet decided on it, and the further timetable lies with the parliamentary groups (as of 14 October 2026). The draft envisages a start on 1 July 2027 if the Bundestag agrees.
Which drinks would be covered under the draft?
The draft names examples such as soft drinks (for instance cola, orange lemonade, sweetened fruit spritzers), iced teas, energy drinks, fruit nectar and juice concentrates with added sugar from a total sugar of 5 g per 100 ml, as well as sweetened syrups and concentrates for making drinks. The calculator classifies nothing automatically — the assumption is yours.
Which drinks would be exempt?
Under the draft the exempt items include pure fruit and vegetable juices, pure juice concentrate, unsweetened spritzers, milk, oat and rice drinks and their mixes, drinks sweetened with sweeteners, and alcohol-free alternatives (such as alcohol-free wine, sparkling wine and beer) as well as alcoholic drinks. Under the draft small independent producers up to 70,000 l a year would be exempt, and up to 1 million l subject to an EU state-aid review.
How much more expensive would drinks become?
That is open. The tax is designed as an excise duty whose burden is meant to be passed on to end customers; the government expects price rises “in the double-digit cent range”. Manufacturers, wholesalers and shops remain free in their pricing. The calculator therefore shows only a hypothetical pass-through under your freely chosen assumption, not a price forecast.
Why 5 and 8 grams?
Those are the draft's two tier thresholds: from 5 to under 8 g of sugar per 100 ml at €0.26 per litre, and from 8 g at €0.32 per litre. A third tier that was originally discussed has, according to the sources, been dropped; earlier reports about it are out of date.
Who would owe the tax?
Under the draft it would be manufacturers or the wholesale trade, not consumers. That is why the calculator speaks of the “draft tax amount” and a “possible price effect”, rather than of what anyone pays.
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Sources and further reading
Official and independent sources on this topic. The links open each website in a new tab; no content is loaded from them into this page.
- Federal Government: sugary drinks tax intended to relieve the health system (14 October 2026)Press and Information Office of the Federal Government of GermanyContext: planned as an excise duty passed on to end customers, expected price rise “in the double-digit cent range”, free pricing for makers and shops, start July 2027.
- Federal Government: government press conference of 14 October 2026Press and Information Office of the Federal Government of GermanyEvidence of status: a drafting aid for the 2027 budget accompanying act, further timetable with the parliamentary groups, two tiers from 5 g and from 8 g, an originally planned third tier dropped; according to the finance ministry the tax is already set out as a measure in the GKV contribution-rate stabilisation act.
- Federal Ministry of Finance: cabinet puts a draft law for a sugary drinks tax on its way (press release, 14 October 2026)German Federal Ministry of FinanceSource of the rates and thresholds: from 5 to under 8 g = €0.26/l, from 8 g = €0.32/l, start 1 July 2027 if passed, covered and exempt drinks, taxpayers being manufacturers or wholesale.
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Last reviewed: 21/10/2026 · All calculations run in your browser – inputs are not stored. ·How we check our calculators