1. The short answer
An off-road diesel rebate lowers the tax on diesel used for farming, forestry or certain other non-road purposes, but the four countries covered here do it four different ways: Germany refunds a fixed amount per litre after you file a claim, France cuts the tax rate at the point of invoicing, and the UK and US instead let the reduction ride on dyed or marked fuel that is checked, not refunded. Germany's full rebate, 21.48 cents per litre, was restored from 1 January 2026 (ETL Agrar & Forst, accessed 18 September 2026), after several years of a lower, stepped-down amount.
None of these four schemes lets rebated or dyed fuel onto a public road. That restriction, and how it is enforced, is covered in full further down this page rather than skipped over.
2. How the relief actually works, and who decides
Germany and Spain both run a refund model: you buy diesel at the normal taxed price, then claim back a fixed cents-per-litre amount after the fact, based on litres actually used. In Germany the claim goes to Zoll, the federal customs authority, through its online portal. France instead moved to a reduced rate charged directly at invoicing from 1 July 2024, which means an eligible farm or forestry business no longer files a refund claim at all, it simply pays less tax on the same delivery, provided it has presented the required identification certificate to its supplier beforehand.
The UK and US use a third model entirely: the reduction is tied to the fuel itself, not to a claim. In the UK, the rebated rate applies to "marked" gas oil, commonly called red diesel, and the tax rate itself sits well below the standard rate covered in our fuel duty entry. In the US, diesel is dyed red at the terminal specifically to mark it as exempt from the federal excise tax that applies to clear diesel; this is a different concept from any carbon-based levy, which is why we keep it separate from our carbon tax entry.
3. The rates, country by country
These figures come from four different tax systems and are not directly comparable percentages of the same base; they are listed side by side rather than converted into one number.
| Country | Rate or status | Effective | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | Full Agrardiesel rebate, 21.48 cents per litre | restored from 1 Jan 2026 | ETL Agrar & Forst |
| France | GNR agricole/forestier reduced excise, 3.86 euro per hectolitre | in force since 1 Jul 2024 | douane.gouv.fr |
| United Kingdom | Rebated rate for marked gas oil, £0.0648 per litre | 15 Jun to 31 Dec 2026 | GOV.UK |
| United Kingdom | Rebated rate rising to £0.1076 per litre | from 1 Jan 2027 | GOV.UK |
| United Kingdom | Rebated rate rising again to £0.1114 per litre | from 1 Mar 2027 | GOV.UK |
| United States | Federal excise tax on clear diesel, 24.4 cents per gallon; dyed off-road diesel exempt | as filed with IRS Form 4136 | IRS |
| Spain | Standard gasóleo agrícola bonificado rate: no dated per-litre figure confirmed | own research, 18 Sep 2026 | AEAT |
Spain's own Real Decreto-ley 7/2026 pays a fixed 20 cents per litre, but that aid is a temporary transport measure for hauliers, buses and taxis running from 22 March to 30 June 2026, not the farming procedure, and this page keeps the two apart rather than presenting one as the other.
4. Why 2026 is not like a normal year
Germany's restoration of the full 21.48 cent rebate reverses several years in which the amount had been cut back in stages, and it lands in the same year that diesel and heating oil prices have both moved sharply, which is why farm advisers are treating the filing route itself, not just the rate, as news again in 2026. The wider price backdrop matters here: German heating oil stood at 181.0 cents per litre on 17 September 2026 according to Tecson, up 29.0% on the month, and diesel markets have tightened enough that our own diesel shortage entry and fuel surcharge entry describe separate, related pressure on transport costs; a farm rebate offsets tax, not the underlying market price covered there.
The UK's three step increases through 2026 and into 2027 sit against a backdrop set by its 1 April 2022 reform, which narrowed red diesel's permitted users down to agriculture, construction and certain other off-road use rather than the wider list of sectors that could claim it before that date. Spain's case is different again: its only recently dated figure, the 20 cent Real Decreto-ley 7/2026 aid, was built for road hauliers, not farms, which is exactly why this page will not borrow that number for the agricultural procedure.
5. What this means for your filing, deadline and paperwork
The one number that matters most for a German farm business right now is 31 December 2027, the filing deadline for diesel used during 2026, since Zoll's rule allows a claim up to the end of the year following the year of use. A French business needs to have its identification certificate, obtained through the online platform, in the supplier's hands before delivery, or the standard rate applies instead of the reduced one; there is no after-the-fact refund route once that window has passed. A UK operator needs to confirm it falls into an eligible user group under the post-2022 rules before relying on the rebated rate at all, and a US business claims a refund for any clear diesel it used tax-free through IRS Form 4136 filed with its federal return, since dyed diesel bought at the pump is already exempt and needs no separate claim.
Spain is the exception on this page: because no dated per-litre figure or filing calendar for the standard gasóleo agrícola bonificado procedure could be confirmed in this research, a Spanish farm should go directly to the Agencia Tributaria's own procedure page rather than rely on a number here. Whatever your country, our US diesel and heating oil prices page and calculator can help you see what a rate change is actually worth once you know your own litres.
See what a confirmed rebate rate is actually worth on your own litres.
Run the calculator6. What this does NOT mean: road use, checks and penalties
A rebate, a reduced rate or a coloured marking is not a right to run rebated or dyed diesel in a vehicle on a public road, in any of the four systems on this page, and using it that way is treated as tax evasion, not a grey area. UK red diesel and US dyed diesel exist specifically so that a roadside or on-site inspection can detect misuse by testing the fuel's colour or dye markers, and German and French authorities carry out their own checks on claimed litres and invoiced deliveries. Penalties, back taxes and the exact rules on what counts as permitted use vary by country and, in the US, by state, so this page does not set out inspection methods or state-by-state limits; always check the current rule directly with Zoll, HMRC, the IRS or your national customs authority, and with a tax adviser, rather than assuming a rule from one country applies in another.
It is also a mistake to confuse this rebate with a technical fuel specification: our winter diesel entry covers a cold-weather grade requirement, which applies regardless of whether the fuel in the tank is taxed at the standard or the rebated rate. A lower rate does not change a fuel's technical grade, and a technical grade does not change which tax rate applies.