This woman from Munich is a millionaire – but only on paper: why Gisela (82) has stress with the tax office

Created: 2022-03-20 04:46

By: Andreas Thieme

Gisela Aeckerlein (82) would like to inherit a house from her daughter - but she would have to pay millions to the tax office © SIGI JANTZ

In 2006 she inherited it herself, now Gisela Aeckerlein would like to transfer her Munich house to her daughter.

But the tax office demands its share: more than one million euros - because the standard land value has risen so much.

Is the family now losing their home?

Munich – Gisela Aeckerlein (82) is a millionaire – “but only on paper,” she says and laughs.

In 2006, the senior citizen of Munich inherited an apartment building at Auenstrasse 27. The market value at the time: around one million euros.

She paid her brother out to become the owner, "for 170,000 euros were incurred".

But since then, Munich* has become increasingly densely populated - and the standard land value has increased immensely.

In 2006 it was 2,000 euros per square meter, in the case of Gisela Aeckerlein in 2018 it was already 10,500 euros per square meter.

In 2020, the value rose to 12,500 and this year even to 15,600 euros per square meter.

An increase of more than sevenfold in 16 years!

But Aeckerlein is not thinking of selling.

"The house should stay in the family." The tax makes that difficult: around a fifth of the current market value is due to the tax office if Aeckerlein's daughter wants to own the house one day.

"So you would have to pay more than one million euros."

Munich: Elderly woman cannot inherit her house because too much inheritance tax is incurred

A shock!

Because even if you add up all the rental income: "Even within ten years, my daughter could not pay the tax debt with it." The daughter currently lives in the house with her husband and children and grew up there.

She has already agreed on what is known as a usufruct with her mother: Gisela Aeckerlein retains the right to use the property, in exchange for an initial donation.

Gisela Aeckerlein pored over documents for months to read up on inheritance law © SIGI JANTZ

But the whole transmission becomes difficult.

What do experts advise?

"For example, dividing the house into several condominiums," says Rudolf Stürzer from Haus und Grund Munich.

The tax burden of the heirs could be absorbed from the sale of individual apartments.

"I don't really want that," says Aeckerlein.

Your household is popular: the tenants often stay until old age.

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Heritage in Munich: Daughter would have to pay more than one million euros to the tax office

The building itself was built in 1899, in 1921 the grandfather bought it.

"Everything is going wrong in the fourth inheritance, that makes me angry," says Aeckerlein.

Even if she were to sell: "You can't get an adequate property for the price." What annoys the senior citizen: "There is no end to the real estate bubble in sight." Apartments were recently completed on Arndtstrasse that cost 25,000 euros per square meter .

"And that in the conservation statute area."

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Aeckerlein demands nine euros rent per square meter.

In 2019, it was last increased by the statutory 15 percent.

"But that never catches up with the increase in the standard land value." In the end, fair landlords are often the losers - and Munich loses the people of Munich as owners.

"In the end, the only thing left for us is the sale," says Aeckerlein.#

Cheap square meter prices in Munich are becoming increasingly rare.

A tenant in the Westend pays 900 euros a month for around 31 square meters.

But she has taken up the fight against the high rents.