Berlin.
The property tax return must be with the tax office soon. But filling out the document is complicated. This tool can help with that.
For real estate owners, things sometimes get tight: there is only until January 31 to property tax return to submit. If you fail to do so, the tax office can impose severe penalties. Nevertheless, many seem to hesitate: Of the 36 million citizens with taxable real estate, a large proportion have not yet submitted the declaration – partly because the complicated form makes many homeowners unsure. To support them, there are various tools to help fill them out.
If you browse through digital search platforms and comparison portals, you will immediately find a number of tax offices that will help you fill out the documents for a fee. The price spectrum for the tax software ranges from 29.90 to well over 100 euros. practical tips On the other hand, it’s available free of charge on the federal government’s digital tax platform, “Elster”. The federal states, which determine the model for levying property tax, also offer video tutorials or step-by-step guides.
Filling-in help for property tax returns: free of charge, digital and understandable
The advice platform “financial tip” was developed. The instructions for the property tax return offer the right guideline depending on the federal state. The required documents and information on where to find them are clearly bundled. In addition, the complicated bureaucratic jargon has been translated into understandable language. Also interesting: Property tax return – the federal government is months behind the deadline
Thanks to screenshots from the online form on “Elster”, consumers can easily follow the step-by-step process of preparing the correct tax return. Using examples and graphics, the reaction from “finanztip” explains calculation models in detail and opens up stumbling blocks attentive.
In order to be able to fill out the property tax return, you need in most states following informations:
- Land register data, file number as well as district and parcel
- Tax number ID
- property type
- Year of construction (year of occupancy) and year of the last core refurbishment, if carried out
- ground value
- Number of garages (open spaces can be counted in some countries)
Reform has winners and losers: urban vs. rural and homeowners vs. renters
Incidentally, a new basis for calculating property tax does not necessarily have to be negative. In many cases you can homeowner Saving money – but that depends on several factors such as land value, year of construction and living space. It is likely to be cheaper for many homeowners in rural areas. Where real estate prices have risen in recent years, landowners have to be prepared for higher taxes. The property tax reform also has consequences for tenants, because the landlords are entitled to apportion the costs. In the comment: Property tax – tax offices and citizens in the digital desert
The standard values for property tax have not been updated since the 1960s, in East Germany even since the 1930s. In 2018, the Federal Constitutional Court therefore ordered a reform of the tax collection on real estate. The decision to do so, which was made in 2019 by the grand coalition of CDU/CSU and SPD, must now be implemented by the Ministry of Finance, led by the FDP.
The original Deadline Against the criticism of many country heads, Finance Minister Christian Lindner postponed the submission on October 31, 2022 to January 31, 2023 only a few weeks before the deadline. The new calculation basis will not come into force until 2025.
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