Deadline for property tax returns at the end of January – is there a late-payment penalty for defaulting owners?

Property owners still have until January 31 to submit their property tax returns.

But many declarations have not yet been received, it is said.

From 2025, a new property tax calculation is to apply in Germany.

To do this, almost 36 million properties in Germany have to be revalued.

This is done on the basis of information that owners must submit.

House and apartment owners must submit their property tax return by the end of January 2023.

If the taxpayer does not meet the deadline, there is a risk of late penalties, as reported by

, for example .

The Haus & Grund owners' association had already pointed out the possible consequences of not submitting the declaration, or at least submitting it too late: "Accordingly, there is a risk of a late payment surcharge of 25 euros per month and a fine of 25,000 euros," says the report on

In the event of non-delivery, the tax office can also estimate the tax base.

Deadline for property tax returns at the end of January – what happens if you submit them too late?

So far, however, only a little more than half of the owners have submitted the property tax return, according to the interim conclusion of the Tagesschau report (as of January 22).

"Anyone who misses the deadline does not have to expect a late payment penalty or fine for the time being," the report also says

This was the result of a survey by the financial

at the tax offices of the 16 federal states.

A fine of 25,000 euros should not be feared for the time being, tax expert Jörg Leine wrote on

accordingly: "High penalties are possible, but not immediately threatening."

14 federal states initially wanted to send defaulting owners a reminder, as

also reported on the survey mentioned: "In Baden-Württemberg, Bremen, Lower Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate, the tax authorities announced, according to 

 , that reminders would first be sent, after which late surcharges and fines could be imposed be fixed," says the report of the

.

"Even in Berlin, Brandenburg, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thuringia and Saarland, taxpayers should be reminded by letter to submit their property tax return." In these federal states is not clear when delay penalties or other measures occur.

"In Bavaria, according to the query, the tax offices can grant extensions of deadlines in justified individual cases - and only on request," the article on

Zeit.de

Opinion poll.

Late surcharges and other measures are possible, but the duration of the submission deadline and the new property tax procedure are taken into account.

"According to the information, Hamburg has not yet decided how to proceed after January 31."

Pension fairy tale: "Retirement comes automatically" - nine myths that circulate about the salary in retirement

Pension fairy tale: "Retirement comes automatically" - nine myths that circulate about the salary in retirement

Property tax value: Financial experts advise avoiding estimates

The financial experts advise in any case to submit the property tax return as soon as possible.

They point to another problem: if the tax office estimates the property tax value at some point, if the declaration has still not been submitted, it could get expensive.

If the living space is estimated to be significantly larger than it is, you will pay “unnecessarily much property tax from 2025, every year”, according to an article on

from January 20th.

One should “rather make the declaration late than not at all”, according to the portal, according to the urgent advice.

Criticism of the property tax is growing

Meanwhile, a few days before the deadline for submitting the new property tax return, criticism of the reform is growing.

Criticism comes, among other things, from the Association of Taxpayers.