Landowners gradually receive the first property tax notices.
However, if you discover an error and want to lodge an objection, you should act quickly.
Berlin/Munich – 36 million properties have to be revalued in Germany.
The reason for this is a judgment by the Federal Constitutional Court, according to which the property tax assessment system from 2018 is unconstitutional.
This means that all owners have to submit a new property tax return.
The deadline is January 31 – but what happens after that?
Property tax: This happens after the declaration has been submitted
As a rule, a letter from the tax office reaches the owners a few weeks after the property tax return has been submitted.
These are then the property tax value notice and the property tax assessment amount notice.
In these two notices, all the data on the property and ultimately also the property tax value are summarized again.
The results in the two notices are ultimately also decisive for the amount of property tax.
Because the tax base amount, which is made up of this data, is multiplied by the assessment rate of the respective municipality in 2024, which then results in the amount of the property tax.
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First property tax notices in the mailbox: this is what owners need to know
First property tax notices in the mailbox: this is what owners need to know
Owners should definitely check these letters carefully.
Because mistakes could have crept in – which in the worst case can even lead to too much property tax being paid in the end.
If an owner notices a mistake, he should appeal as soon as possible.
Property tax: What you need to consider when objecting
The deadline for an objection is only four weeks from delivery.
"If incorrect information is noticed, an objection should be filed in any case and the correct data should be explained," recommends Daniela Karbe-Gessler, tax expert at the Association of Taxpayers (BdSt) to the
Handelsblatt
.
Important here: There are only exceptions to the objection period in cases that are not your fault, such as illness.
If you're on vacation and haven't emptied your mailbox for a long time, it's your own fault if you miss the deadline.
Important: A justification is not necessary immediately, this can also be submitted later.
Karbe-Gessler explains to the newspaper: "The tax office will then ask for this with a new deadline, which can also be postponed again with justification."
But what must also be clear to landowners: an objection does not release you from payment.
This means that only incorrect data can be corrected, which in turn can reduce the amount of the tax.
(ph)
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