New property tax from July: What does it mean for owners and tenants?
Created: 06/07/2022, 09:25
By: Andrea Stettner
Property tax is being reformed throughout Germany.
Owners must file a special tax return from July 1st.
This can also have dire consequences for tenants.
As a result of the property tax reform in Germany, owners of real estate and land must submit a declaration of assessment to the tax office from July 1st.
This must be
done
by October 31, 2022 at the latest .
From 2025, the new property tax should take effect.
We have summarized for you below what owners need to know now and what the new property tax means for tenants.
From July 1, 2022, land and property owners must submit their property tax return to the tax office.
© Jens Büttner/dpa
What is the property tax - and why is it being reformed?
The property tax is levied annually by the municipalities.
Actually, the tax is included in the annual property tax notice that you receive from the municipality.
However, since the property tax is being reformed this year, a
special tax return is exceptionally necessary
.
The property tax reform became necessary because the Federal Constitutional Court in 2018 declared the property tax in Germany to
be unconstitutional
.
The previous property tax would be based on outdated values, so a new regulation is necessary,
reports
BR.de.
In fact, property values have not been updated since 1964.
In the meantime, however, a lot has happened.
In this way, formerly remote properties can now belong to the top locations and be worth many times more - and vice versa.
In addition, the construction standards have increased, which is why newer houses are valued higher than older properties, informs
SWRfernsehen.de.
The new property tax should be fairer.
How is the new property tax calculated?
As before, the new property tax is calculated from three values:
property tax value
Tax reference number
(private, agricultural or vacant property)
Rate
of assessment (to be determined by the respective municipalities in 2024)
The property tax value is only calculated by the municipalities when all property tax assessments have been received.
All three values are then multiplied together.
This ultimately results in the new taxation, which is to apply
from January 1, 2025
.
What do owners need to provide?
The new property tax is regulated at state level, which is why
each federal state has its own specifications
for the special declaration or property tax return.
This must be submitted
electronically via Elster
- to the tax office of the municipality in which the property is located.
Paper submissions are only permitted in exceptional cases.
Accountants can help with the creation.
Depending on the specifications of the individual federal states, the following data can be queried:
Location of the property (including district, parcel)
Land or building type
land area
living space
Construction year
ground value
The handling in the individual federal states is quite different.
While the federal government and many other states take the
value of the property
into account, in Bavaria only the
size of the property
and the type of
use of the area count,
BR.de
informs
.
The situation is also not taken into account in the Free State.
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What are the consequences of the property tax reform for tenants?
Real estate owners who rent out their house or apartment may pass on the property tax to the tenants via the operating costs.
The new property tax therefore also has an impact on tenants – their
ancillary costs can increase
.
Tenants will feel this for the first time with the utility bill for 2025, which will be sent out by landlords in 2026.
(as)