Time is running out: owners must have submitted their property tax returns by the end of January.
The deadline for the federal government, on the other hand, is not until the end of September.
Berlin – For the planned property tax reform, 36 million properties have to be revalued.
More than 16 million Germans have already made the necessary property tax return - but that's not even half of those who are obliged to do so.
The deadline expires at the end of January.
Deadline for property tax returns is approaching
A further extension of the deadline is not yet in sight.
Because the deadline was originally October 31, 2022.
However, due to the sluggish submission, the Federal Ministry of Finance had extended the submission deadline by another three months – to January 31, 2023.
For countless owners in Germany, this means that they now have to put in a final sprint in order to be able to submit the property tax return on time.
If you miss the deadline, you could face a late payment penalty.
Associations therefore also recommend those affected to submit the property tax return in good time.
Property tax declaration: the federal government has until the end of September
Meanwhile, the federal government has more time for its property tax returns - until the end of September 2023. This is the answer from the Ministry of Finance to a written question from the CDU member of the Bundestag Christoph Ploß, which is available to
Spiegel
.
The federal government has to submit property tax returns for around 26,000 properties.
Therefore, "extensive data collection, maintenance and quality assurance" is required, according to
Spiegel
in the government's response from Parliamentary State Secretary Florian Toncar (FDP).
Even if the majority of federal properties are exempt from property tax, a declaration would still have to be submitted for them.
"However, there is no or only significantly outdated information from the responsible tax authorities on the properties with property tax exemption," Der Spiegel
further quoted
from the government's response.
Since a single submission is therefore not sensible, the decision was made in favor of "an IT solution".
The first blocks of these property tax returns should be submitted in January.
Ploß: "Insolence towards homeowners in Germany"
Ploß is dissatisfied with the answer to the magazine: "Millions of homeowners and tax consultants are forced to complete their property tax returns by the end of the month under high pressure and legal uncertainties.
The responsible Ministry of Finance has not yet submitted a single tax return for its real estate," he said.
Giving citizens a far too tight deadline for the #property tax return, which not even their own administration can meet, is a cheek towards homeowners in Germany.
The #traffic light coalition urgently needs to change its policies!
https://t.co/dZEscj0Lpi
— Christoph Ploß 🇩🇪🇺🇦 (@christophploss) January 18, 2023
The CDU MP writes on Twitter: "Forcing citizens to submit a property tax return that is far too tight, which not even their own administration can meet, is a cheek towards homeowners in Germany."
Gitte Connemann, chairwoman of the Mittelstands- und Wirtschaftsunion (MIT), said in the
Rheinische Post
: "The tax authorities themselves are not able to submit the complicated property tax returns on time."
Property tax: Reform is intended to implement the requirements of the Federal Constitutional Court
The declarations must be submitted as part of the property tax reform so that the tax office can use the current data to calculate the new property tax.
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 the AFP