Overview of road taxes across EU countries
Blog
As your dedicated freight forwarding partner, Blue Water is committed to keeping you informed. Below is a summary of the recently changed road taxes and the changes that are expected to come next.
Why are road taxes being implemented across the EU?
Several member states are implementing or adjusting road taxation schemes for heavy-duty vehicles in response to updated EU legislation aimed at reducing carbon emissions. These changes form part of a wider initiative to encourage more sustainable transport across Europe.
As your dedicated freight forwarding partner, Blue Water is committed to keeping you informed. Below is a summary of the recently changed road taxes and the changes that are expected to come next.
Already implemented
Blue Water regulated road taxes on transport for Denmark, Switzerland and Poland as from 1 January 2025. Regulations on Austrian road tax was implemented as from 1 February 2025
Additionally, both the Czech Republic and Hungary have introduced slight road tax increases in the beginning of 2025. However, these increases are minimal and will not affect Blue Water's current EU Road Tax charge to customers.
Looking ahead
From 1 July, road tax will increase in Slovakia, affecting transport to, from and within the country. This will also affect road taxes to/from Hungary, Romania, Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece and Macedonia due to transit through Slovakia. This will be implemented in Blue Water’s EU Road Tax as from 1 August 2025. In Bulgaria, a similar increase has been warned as from 1 September 2025.
In Romania and the Netherlands, it has already been decided to change the current vignette system to kilometre-based road tax from 1 January 2026. Sweden and Luxembourg still have vignettes, and there have been rumours of kilometre-based road tolls in 2026, particularly in Sweden. However, nothing concrete has been announced yet. Therefore, we at Blue Water will follow developments closely and keep you updated on any confirmed changes.
If you have any questions about these road tax updates, or how Blue Water calculates and applies them, please contact your local representative. Our teams are always ready to provide clear, transparent and proactive guidance.
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