08.12.2014Federal states North Rhine-Westfalia and Saarland will increase real estate transfer tax rate
The federal state of North Rhine-Westfalia announced to increase the real estate transfer tax rate from 5% to 6.5% and the federal state of Saarland announced to increase the real estate transfer tax rate from 5.5% to 6.5% on January 1, 2015.
The transfer of real estate located in Germany is subject to real estate transfer tax (RETT). RETT also generally applies to the direct or indirect transfer of at least 95% of the shares in a company holding German real estate and to the unification of at least 95% of such shares for the first time in the hands of a single shareholder.
In a direct transfer of real property, RETT is calculated on the basis of the purchase price. For direct and indirect share transactions, it is determined based on the special tax value of the property, typically in the range of 80%-90% of the fair market value of the real property.
Since September 2006, the federal states have been free to set their own rates (before this time, RETT was levied at a standard rate of 3.5%). As a consequence, there has been an ongoing trend to increase the RETT rate to improve the state budgets.
The states of North Rhine-Westfalia and Saarland announced an increase of the rate from 5% to 6.5% and from 5.5% to 6.5% as from January 1, 2015.
The following table summarizes the RETT rates as of November 6, 2014:
Die Steuersätze im Überblick
| State | Date | RETT rate |
| Baden-Wurttemberg | since 05.11.2011 | 5% |
| Berlin | since 01.04.2012 | 5 % |
| since 01.01.2014 | 6% | |
| Brandenburg | since 01.01.2011 | 5% |
| Bremen | since 01.01.2011 | 4,5% |
| since 01.01.2014 | 5% | |
| Hamburg | since 01.01.2009 | 4,5% |
| Hesse | since 01.01.2013 | 5% |
| since 01.08.2014 | 6% | |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | since 01.07.2012 | 5% |
| Lower Saxony | since 01.01.2011 | 4,5% |
| since 01.01.2014 | 5% | |
| North Rhine-Westfalia | since 01.10.2011 | 5% |
| As of 01.01.2015 (planned) | 6,5% | |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | since 01.03.2012 | 5% |
| Saarland | since 01.01.2013 | 5,5% |
| As of 01.01.2015 (planned) | 6,5% | |
| Saxony-Anhalt | since 01.03.2012 | 5% |
| Schleswig-Holstein | since 01.01.2012 | 5% |
| since 01.01.2014 | 6,5% | |
| Thuringia | since 07.04.2011 | 5% |
| Other federal states (Bavaria and Saxony) | 3,5% |
Ihr Ansprechpartner
