Germany's Sugar Tax 2027: When It Starts, How Much, Which Drinks

Germany plans to tax sugar-sweetened soft drinks from 1 July 2027. On 14 October 2026 the federal cabinet approved a two-tier "Zuckergetränkesteuer" (sugar-drinks tax): 26 cents per litre for drinks with at least 5 grams of sugar per 100 millilitres and 32 cents per litre from 8 grams. Drinks sweetened with sweeteners, pure juices, milk, plant drinks and all alcoholic drinks are exempt. The law still needs a Bundestag vote, and parts of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's own CDU/CSU want changes or a later start. This page answers the questions people are searching for, with every figure dated and attributed.

When does the sugar tax start?

The start date in the cabinet draft is 1 July 2027. What the cabinet approved on 14 October 2026 is a "Formulierungshilfe", a draft text that the coalition's parliamentary groups now introduce in the Bundestag; according to Welt, the final decision is to come with the accompanying law to the 2027 federal budget, which is due to be passed at the end of November 2026. The date is not yet certain: Alexander Hoffmann, head of the CSU's Bundestag members, has called 1 January 2028 his preferred start so manufacturers can change recipes, and Union parliamentary leader Thorsten Frei said on 17 October that transition periods are needed.

How high is the sugar tax?

There are two rates, based on the total sugar content of the ready-to-drink product: 26 cents per litre at 5 to under 8 grams of sugar per 100 ml, and 32 cents per litre at 8 grams or more. Drinks under 5 grams are not taxed. A third, higher rate of 38 cents per litre for very sugary drinks, which Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) had wanted, was dropped in the October compromise after Merz rejected it. Syrups and concentrates are taxed according to the mixing ratio printed on the pack, AOK reported.

What that means at the till depends on whether manufacturers pass the tax on. Classic Coca-Cola contains about 10.6 grams of sugar per 100 ml, so it falls into the 32-cent tier; with VAT on top, WDR and the Berliner Morgenpost calculate that a litre priced at €1.80 today would cost about €2.18 if the tax is passed on in full. Rheinische Post put the increase for a can at about 11 cents. The soft-drinks association wafg expects a crate of cola or lemonade to cost more than €5 extra. Manufacturers can avoid the tax by cutting sugar below the thresholds.

Which drinks and products are affected?

According to the finance ministry's description reported by n-tv and the Berliner Morgenpost, the tax covers sugared soft drinks such as cola, orange and lemon lemonades and herbal lemonades, sweetened iced teas, energy drinks, fruit nectars and juice drinks with added sugar, sweetened flavoured or "vitamin" waters, sweetened fruit spritzers, and sugary syrups and concentrates. Krombacher told WDR that its Fassbrause and Spezi, as well as the Schweppes range it produces under licence, would be taxed under the current draft.

Are zero and light drinks taxed?

No. Drinks sweetened with sweeteners, such as Cola Zero, Fanta Zero or Sprite Zero, are exempt. This was briefly in doubt: in late August 2026 a leaked working paper from the finance ministry floated including sweetener drinks and plant drinks, and on 26 August Klingbeil ruled it out publicly, calling a sugar tax on sugar-free drinks pointless. The exemption remained in the cabinet draft of 14 October.

Does it apply to beer, juice or sweets?

Beer and other alcoholic drinks are excluded because they already carry their own excise duties, the finance ministry said; alcohol-free beer and wine and mixed drinks based on them are excluded too. Pure fruit and vegetable juices, unsweetened spritzers, milk, and oat and rice drinks are also exempt. Sweets, chocolate and snacks are not covered at all: the German plan is a tax on drinks only. WDR noted that the government has not published a detailed justification for leaving foods out.

Who pays the tax, and are small producers exempt?

The tax is charged to manufacturers when they put the drinks on the market, not to shops or consumers directly, and the customs administration is to administer and monitor it. Independent producers making up to 70,000 litres a year are exempt in the draft. The government has also promised an exemption for producers of under one million litres of sugared drinks a year, but that wider threshold still needs approval from the European Commission because it counts as state aid. Holger Eichele, chief executive of the German Brewers' Association, called the 70,000-litre limit "a joke".

How much money will it raise, and where does it go?

The finance ministry expects about €690 million in 2027, a half year, and €925 million in 2028, the first full year, according to dpa and Welt. Revenue estimates shifted between drafts: the 30 September draft was reported at close to €1 billion a year, and Handelsblatt cited other figures from the cabinet text. The money is meant to help keep statutory health insurance contributions stable. The ministry says excessive consumption of sugary drinks costs the health system about €2.1 billion a year.

How did the plan get here? A timeline

26 August 2026: Klingbeil rules out a tax on zero drinks after a leaked paper. 31 August: a Forsa poll for Stern and RTL finds 55% of Germans in favour. 30 September: the finance ministry's draft sets 1 July 2027 as the start. 1 October: the Chancellery halts the draft as "not capable of winning a majority" in government. 11 October: nine CDU/CSU state agriculture ministers write to Merz against the tax. 13 October: the coalition settles the dispute. 14 October: the cabinet approves the two-tier version. 16–17 October: CSU and CDU leaders in the Bundestag call for a later start and transition periods.

Who supports it and who opposes it?

Supporters include the consumer group Foodwatch, which called the cabinet decision a milestone for health, and Andreas Gassen, head of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, who backed the tax but urged that the revenue be used in a targeted way. Opponents include Hesse's premier Boris Rhein (CDU), who called it a "Teuer-Steuer" (an expensive tax) to plug federal budget holes; the nine Union agriculture ministers, who prefer nutrition education and personal responsibility; and the food industry federation BVE, whose chief executive Christoph Minhoff said "there are only losers". Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Germany said the tax burdens consumers without guaranteeing a change in behaviour and that drink calories in Germany fell almost 21% between 2015 and 2025 on a voluntary basis.

Does a sugar tax work? The UK precedent

Germany's two thresholds, 5 and 8 grams per 100 ml, mirror the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy, in force since April 2018. In the UK the packager or importer pays, and from 1 April 2026 the rates are £0.208 and £0.278 per litre, according to GOV.UK. Many British manufacturers cut sugar to escape the levy: UK government statistics cited by WDR show the average sugar content of levy-liable drinks fell by about 47% between 2015 and 2024. Whether such taxes reduce obesity and related diseases over the long term is not conclusively proven, WDR noted.

Which other countries tax sugar, including Turkey?

About half of EU member states already tax sugary drinks, according to WDR. France has done so since 2012, and a Banque de France study found the tax was largely passed on in prices; in late September 2026 the French government proposed a new tax on sugary foods in its 2027 budget. Portugal introduced a drinks tax in 2017, and Hungary has taxed sugary soft drinks, energy drinks and some sweets and salty snacks since 2011. In Turkey, a 25-article draft bill prepared by the Health Ministry, reported on 1 October 2026 by Cumhuriyet, Karar and Halk TV, would add a contribution of 20 lira per cigarette pack and levies on sugary drinks and high-calorie snacks, paid into a planned "Healthy Life Contribution Fund" for school nutrition and smoking-cessation programmes.

What happens next?

November 2026: the coalition groups are expected to pass the tax with the 2027 budget's accompanying law, with the budget's final reading due at the end of the month; amendments on transition periods or the start date are possible. Before July 2027: the European Commission has to approve the one-million-litre small-producer exemption, and the customs administration has to set up registration and tax returns for manufacturers. 1 July 2027: the tax applies if the timetable holds. This page will be updated as each step happens.