Tax & Legal

If a taxpayer who has incurred expenses for the maintenance of a historic building used as his or her primary residence dies before the end of the ten-year deduction period, the right to claim the deduction generally does not pass to the heir. With its most recently published decision the Supreme Tax Court confirmed its earlier case law in similar situations.

If the seller of a property has granted a third party a right of usufruct prior to the conclusion of the purchase agreement, and this right has not yet been entered in the land register at the time of conclusion of the agreement, the transaction is subject to real estate transfer tax. This was decided by the Supreme Tax Court in a most recently published judgment.

Where real estate is sold within ten years of acquisition, the gain realized is subject to taxation. Real estate that was used exclusively for the taxpayer's own residential purposes in the period between acquisition and sale is exempt. According to the Supreme Tax Court in its ruling of 26.10.2021 ( IX R 5/21) such privileged use also occurs where the taxpayer permanently occupies a "garden house" (fully connected to the relevant utilities) in violation of building law.