CostOak

CBAM certificate cost calculator

By Jai Nischal Verma · Law last checked 31 October 2026

Tonnes, times the emissions in each tonne, times the certificate price, times the slice of the phase-in you actually pay. Then subtract a carbon price that was already paid abroad. The formula is on the page. Nothing you type is sent to us.

Law last checked: 31 October 2026. Figures below are copied from the EU texts linked in Sources. This is general information, not legal, tax or customs advice. Rules and prices change; confirm them before you import.

The 1.8 and the 100 tonnes are examples so the first result matches the guide. Replace both. For 2027–2034, type the weekly price that applies. Leaving the 2026 price in the box does not make it the future price.

Simplified certificate bill
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Certificates, simplified
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Before the deduction
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Carbon price deducted
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Share applied
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Green is the simplified share you pay. Pale gold is the free-allocation factor.

The formula

Certificates = quantity × embedded emissions × paid share. Paid share = 1 − CBAM factor, except electricity, where the paid share is 100% because Implementing Regulation 2025/2620 sets the free-allocation adjustment for electrical energy to zero. Bill = certificates × certificate price − carbon price already paid abroad, and never below zero.

Checked 31 Oct 2026. Runs in your browser. The legal surrender uses benchmarks and the CSCF as well as the CBAM factor. This box does not.

A result you can check by hand

Leave the defaults: 100 tonnes, 1.8 tCO2e per tonne, 2026, Q3 at €82.32, nothing paid abroad. The paid share is 2.5% because the CBAM factor is 97.5%[4].

100 × 1.8 = 180 tCO2e. Times 2.5% = 4.5 certificates. Times €82.32 = €370.44. The Q1 price of €75.36 on the same shipment is €339.12[2].

Switch the goods menu to electricity and the paid share becomes 100%. That is the regulation, not a mood. The phase-in does not trim an electricity import[6].

What this costs you

On that default shipment, €370.44 is the simplified 2026 line at the latest published price. It is not a bill from customs. If your emissions are above the EU benchmark for that product, Regulation 2025/2620 can charge you for the gap as well[6]. Type the real embedded emissions, pick the quarter the goods actually arrived, and treat the result as a ceiling-finder only if you have also read the benchmark annex.

Prices are traced on the price tracker. The year-by-year share is on the timeline. Whether you need declarant status at all is the threshold checker.

Frequently asked questions

Does this match the certificate number I will surrender?

No. It multiplies tonnes by embedded emissions by the certificate price by (1 minus the year’s CBAM factor), then subtracts a carbon-price amount you type. The legal adjustment in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2620 uses a product benchmark, the CBAM factor and the cross-sectoral correction factor. Electricity’s free-allocation adjustment is zero, and the calculator switches to that when you pick electricity.

Which price should I use for 2026?

The quarterly price for the quarter the goods were imported. Published prices: Q1 €75.36, Q2 €75.28, Q3 €82.32. Q4 was not published on 31 October 2026. From 2027 the price is a weekly average, and this page does not invent those weeks.

What is the 1.8 in the example?

An easy number so the arithmetic is obvious. It is not a Commission default and not a typical steel mill. Replace it with the embedded emissions for your goods. For iron and steel, that figure is direct emissions only.

Sources

The factors, prices and the electricity exception are copied from the texts below. The 100 tonnes and 1.8 tCO2e are examples. Law last checked 31 October 2026. See our methodology and editorial policy. General information, not legal, tax or customs advice.

  1. [1] European Commission: CBAM definitive regime (from 1 January 2026): https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism/cbam-definitive-regime_en (checked 31 Oct 2026)
  2. [2] European Commission: Price of CBAM certificates (quarterly table): https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism/price-cbam-certificates_en (checked 31 Oct 2026)
  3. [3] Regulation (EU) 2023/956, consolidated 20 October 2025 (CBAM Regulation): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/956/2025-10-20/eng (checked 31 Oct 2026)
  4. [4] Directive 2003/87/EC, consolidated (EU ETS), Article 10a(1a) CBAM factor: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2003/87 (checked 31 Oct 2026)
  5. [5] Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2548 (certificate price method): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX%3A32025R2548 (checked 31 Oct 2026)
  6. [6] Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2620 (free-allocation adjustment): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2025/2620/oj/eng (checked 31 Oct 2026)
  7. [7] European Commission Guidance No. 4 on the free-allocation adjustment (CBAM factor table, including 2034 at 0%): https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/document/download/3aa2c730-4f1b-4524-8f71-d9cfe4880ac7_en?filename=Guidance+No.+4+-+CBAM+calculation+of+the+free+allocation+adjustment+to+the+number+of+CBAM+certificates+to+be+surrendered.pdf (checked 31 Oct 2026)