Speculation tax on real estate — what you need to know
So, you want to sell your property, but you aren’t sure what taxes you’ll have to pay? Our guide will help you understand whether you need to pay speculation tax, and if so, how you can reduce it.
8 min read
Owning a property is one thing — but what happens when you want to sell it? Whether it’s an apartment you inherited or a home you bought yourself, selling your property usually means that you have to pay speculation tax (also called real estate tax). However, there are several exceptions that can reduce the amount of tax you have to pay when selling your property. If all these terms have your head spinning, fear not — our guide to speculation tax and real estate has the need-to-know information that will help you make sense of it all. Let’s dive in!
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When you sell an apartment or house, you’ll have certain costs that you need to cover. These include the estate agent and notary fees and the costs of getting the energy performance certificate and the valuation report. But “real estate tax” or speculation tax is another important cost that you’ll want to prepare for. Selling your private property will (ideally) generate a profit for you, and the government may tax that profit. Whether or not you have to pay taxes when selling your house or apartment depends on several factors. Let’s take a look.
Real estate tax versus speculation tax
Real estate tax is also called speculation tax. However, neither term is strictly correct — unlike othertypes of tax, real estate/speculation tax isn’t a standalone tax. Rather, it’s a sub-type of income tax that falls under the German Income Tax Act and depends on the seller’s income tax rate.Unique to “speculation tax” is the 10-year “speculative period.” Here’s how it works: Imagine you bought an apartment in 2019 and began renting it out. You’ve watched real estate prices explode since then, and now you want to sell the apartment for a profit.But there’s a problem — the speculative period for your property doesn’t run out until 2029. This means you’ll have to pay taxes on your profit if you want to sell the property before then. If you sell during the speculative period, the income you make from the private sale is taxable, according to Sections 22 and 23 of the German Income Tax Act. However, if you wait until the speculative period ends, you won’t have to pay speculation tax.The speculative period starts on the date listed on the notarized purchase agreement. For example, if you bought an apartment on June 1, 2019, you can sell it tax-free after June 2, 2029.
Tax on property sales: when do I need to pay?
You have to pay speculation tax on property if:
You sell a rented property within the speculative period
You sell an undeveloped plot within the speculative period
A property from your spouse is transferred to you as part of a divorce or separation of property
You personally finance a property using business assets
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As we mentioned, speculation tax is part of the German Income Tax Act. Therefore, how much speculation tax you’ll have to pay is based not only on the price of the sale, but also on your tax bracket and other income. The rate ranges from 14% up to a maximum of 45%, depending on your tax bracket andannual salary.There are other factors to consider when calculating how high the speculation tax will be. The costs you might incur while selling your property — like the fees and report costs — may be deductible on yourtax return. It’s just like the other professional and special expenses that you might offset to reduce your tax burden. Find out what you candeduct from your income tax and whatdeadlines apply.Last, but not least, there's a speculation tax allowance of €1,000 per calendar year (as of 2024). This is laid out in the newly passed law on supporting growth opportunities (Wachstumschancengesetz). Under this law, you only have to pay speculation tax if you sell your property before the end of the 10-year speculative period and earn more than €1,000 in profits. Granted, most real estate transactions will hopefully yield more than that. The law is mainly designed to support entrepreneurs and small businesses.
How high is the current speculation tax?
Calculating the speculation tax depends on several factors, and there’s no general tax rate. Therefore, there isn’t a straightforward answer to the question of how high speculation tax is. However, income tax brackets can be a point of reference. Here are the brackets in Germany in 2025:
Income up to €12,084 = 0%
Income up to €17,430 = 14–24%
Income up to €68,430 = 24–42%
Income up to €277,825 = 42%
Income starting at €277,826 = 45%
Remember: Your taxable income is based on your income minus your deductions. Income is your salary or earnings from self-employment plus your capital gains. Deductions are things like insurance contributions, work-related expenses, or charitable donations.
How high is the speculation tax after 3 years?
Normally, the speculative period for real estate is 10 years. There are a few exceptions to the rule, however, and one is if you have lived on the property for three consecutive years. Why? Well, if your property is your home, you’re not simply holding it as an asset and speculating on an increase in value. So, if you live on your own property for three years and sell it afterwards, you don’t have to pay speculation tax. This even applies if you haven’t been living there for three years in total, but simply over three calendar years — say, from November 2024 until February 2026. You can even rent out your apartment temporarily in the year of the sale, provided you did live there in the same year and the two previous years.Of course, a lot can happen in three years, and income tax brackets as well as your salary or other income streams might change. Keep this in mind if you plan to live in your property and sell it three years later.
How can I reduce taxes when I sell real estate?
There are a few ways you can avoid — or at least reduce — the real estate tax you have to pay when selling your property. For example:
The scenario we described above: Live in the home yourself in the year of the sale and two years prior, at minimum. This means if you move into a house or apartment today, you could resell it tax-free in three years. Just be aware that having the right of residence alone isn't enough — you actually have to use the residence yourself and officially register the address.
You can sign a pre-contract with interested buyers or let them rent the property. This allows you to push back the purchase agreement date so that you don’t sell during the speculative period.
Your child lives in the home and receives child benefit payments — in the year of the sale and two years prior, at minimum. Even if you don’t live in the home yourself, as long as your child has lived there for at least three years, you can save on tax when you sell the property.
You make less than €1,000 from the sale of your property. This is the maximum tax-free amount in 2025.
You give the property to someone else, free of charge. However, the person receiving the property may have to pay “gift tax.” Depending on the tax-exempt amount and your relationship to the person, it could turn out to be an expensive gift.
If none of this applies to you, you'll probably have to pay speculation tax when selling your property.
When am I exempt from speculation tax?
Theoretically, you’re exempt from real estate tax if your overall annual income (your salary plus your capital gains) is below the 2025 income tax threshold of €12,084. In this case, you wouldn’t be subject to income tax — and therefore, no speculation tax. But given that the income tax threshold is so low, not many earners in this bracket would be in a financial position to speculate on property anyway.Besides this, you’re only exempt from real estate tax if you sell your property after the 10-year speculative period or have lived on the property yourself for three years before selling it. The second option is probably the safer, faster bet to avoid speculation tax.
Selling inherited real estate: do I need to pay taxes?
If you’ve inherited property and want to sell it, you should look at when the deceased person purchased the property. You likely won’t have to pay any real estate taxes if the speculative period has already ended. The reductions above also apply if the deceased person lived in the home for three years prior, even if the speculative period hasn’t finished. Still, you may have to pay inheritance tax on property, depending on the tax-free amount. You can find out more in our guide toinheritance tax.
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