Submit your property tax return by the end of January: Now it's getting very tight - for one simple reason
Created: 2023-01-09 16:19
By: Lisa Mayerhofer
The countdown is on: Owners in Germany can submit their property tax returns until the end of January.
What you should consider.
Munich – The clock is ticking: Owners in Germany can submit their property tax returns until the end of January.
More than 16 million Germans have already submitted their declaration - but that's not even half of those who are obliged to do so.
So if you are still in arrears, you should submit the property tax return as quickly as possible.
An overview shows what owners should consider and know.
How can the property tax return be submitted?
As a rule, the declaration must be submitted to the tax office in electronic form – via the Elster portal.
This requires a certificate, which is available free of charge on Elster.
However, registration can take up to two weeks.
Relatives who are already registered with Elster can also submit the declaration.
For comparatively simple cases such as undeveloped land, one- and two-family houses, condominiums, there is simplified electronic transmission in eleven federal states on the website grundsteuererklaerung-fuer-privateigentum.de.
With the help of a questionnaire on the home page, you can quickly determine whether you can use this route.
The paper form is only intended for hardship cases - on application to the tax office.
Exception: Bavaria - there owners can submit their declaration on paper without much effort.
The countdown is on: Owners in Germany can submit their property tax returns until the end of January.
(Iconic image) © Martin Schutt / dpa
Which software can help with the property tax return?
According to Stiftung Warentest, filling out the property tax return on Elster is “rather complicated”.
On the other hand, programs can help, but they cost something.
Stiftung Warentest recommended the "Wiso Property Tax" program in September, while the testers rated "Smartsteuer Property Tax" as rather confusing and error-prone during the test period.
Standard land value, living space and Co.: What information is required?
In the simple form, the property tax return must state:
also read
Property tax will rise drastically as early as 2023 – which state will be hit hardest
TO READ
Data leak at Mastercard: Many customers are offered 300 euros in compensation – on one condition
TO READ
One-off payments, more wages and child benefit: there's so much from the state now
TO READ
Retirement at 63: no insurance years – loophole helps
TO READ
Pension is increased: Table shows how much more money there will be in 2023
TO READ
Fancy a voyage of discovery?
My space
size of the property
district
corridor or parcel
Co-ownership share of the property (for condominiums)
Tax number or the file number of the property
ground value
Year of construction of the building (from 1949)
living space
Number of garage parking spaces
Contact details of the owners
Each federal state has documents and sources where this information can be found.
Eleven federal states have chosen the model proposed by the federal government – Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hamburg, Hesse and Lower Saxony each have their own models.
As in Bavaria, for example, these are usually a little easier for owners to fill out than with the federal model.
Can owners simply refuse to make the declaration?
In the event of non-delivery or late delivery, a surcharge can be imposed, warns the Haus & Grund Hessen owners' association.
It is therefore 25 euros for each started month of delay.
In the event of non-delivery, the tax office can also simply estimate the basis of taxation - this usually happens to the detriment of the owner, who then has to shell out more for property tax than planned.
According to Haus & Grund, that would be the “worst case”.
What owners can do, however, is to lodge an objection to the property tax assessment that they received after the tax office had processed the property tax return.
Will the property tax increase after the reform?
Some taxpayers will have to pay more property tax than before, others less, according to the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF).
The reform should therefore be designed to be revenue-neutral for all taxpayers - the state should not increase its income with it.
Ultimately, it is up to the cities and municipalities, because they set the so-called assessment rate, a factor that influences the final amount of the property tax.
This will probably not be determined until 2024.
When will the new tax be due?
The property tax is to be recalculated on the basis of the new values.
The amount is due from January 1, 2025. The BMF expects autumn 2024, when the specific amount will be known for the majority of taxpayers.
Is there also criticism of the property tax reform?
There is criticism above all of the model of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg and in parts also of the federal model.
Four associations, including the Baden-Württemberg Taxpayers' Association and the Haus & Grund owners' association, demanded last year that the tax authorities only issue provisional property tax assessments for the time being.
Fundamental questions are still unresolved - for example, whether the current enactment of property tax assessments could be unconstitutional because the assessment rates of the respective municipalities are not known.
According to their own statements, the associations support the lawsuit of a married couple.
This stands for a pattern that affects many owners.
A corresponding lawsuit was received by the Baden-Württemberg Finance Court at the beginning of December, said a spokeswoman.
However, the country still believes the model is legitimate.
Preliminary property tax assessments are not provided.
Where does property tax go?
The income from the property tax goes to the cities and municipalities.
According to the Federal Ministry of Finance, it is currently almost 15 billion euros a year - the tax is one of the most important sources of income for the municipalities.
Why is there a property tax reform at all?
The Federal Constitutional Court declared the current rating system unconstitutional in 2018 because similar properties are treated differently.
The previous calculation is based on property values that are decades old - in the west they date from 1964, in the east from 1935. The principle that the valuation is based on the value of a property should be retained.
With material from AFP and dpa
