Germany’s 2027 budget without an electricity tax cut: €5.4 billion still missing

What the budget committee decided overnight into 13 November

After a clean-up session of around 15 hours, the Bundestag budget committee approved the 2027 federal budget at 5:55 am on 13 November 2026 with the votes of the CDU/CSU and SPD. It provides for spending of €560.92 billion and net borrowing of €122.97 billion in the core budget. According to dpa, it does not include the roughly €5.4 billion that cutting electricity tax to the EU minimum for all households and businesses would cost. Options under discussion are surpluses from the EEG account, cuts to the Climate and Transformation Fund, or the CSU dropping its expanded “Mütterrente” pension top-up; the coalition committee is due to meet on Tuesday, 17 November. How electricity tax fits into the retail price is explained in the guide to the components of the electricity price.

Which businesses and households keep paying the full rate

The standard rate of 2.05 cents per kilowatt hour is still paid by retailers, restaurants, hotels, offices and service firms, by landlords for communal and heat pump electricity, and by all private households. Since January 2026 only manufacturing, agriculture and forestry have been relieved, as described in the article on Merz’s October announcement. For a shop using 50,000 kilowatt hours, around €1,000 net a year is at stake; for a household using 3,500 kilowatt hours, around €81 gross.

Why the funding matters more than the cut itself

A tax cut without money in the budget is a statement of intent, and that is exactly what electricity tax relief for all has remained since October. The decisive question is not whether, but how it is paid for. If EEG surpluses fund the tax relief, that cushion is gone when exchange prices fall again and market premiums for older installations rise. If the coalition cuts the climate fund instead, it hits the programmes owners use to finance heating replacement and efficiency measures.

For landlords and businesses weighing a gas boiler against a heat pump, this is no detail. Two cents less on every kilowatt hour of electricity noticeably improves the case for a heat pump. A reduced funding grant, however, can wipe out that advantage again.

What businesses and landlords should do before the final vote

1. Work out the electricity tax per metering point from the latest bill so the possible relief is quantified.
2. Follow the coalition committee on 17 November and budget week from 24 to 27 November: a compromise would enter the budget as an amendment.
3. Model planned heating or investment decisions with and without the tax cut, and do not postpone pending funding applications.