The answer is yes and no.
Although the new rates are slated to come into effect in 2025, no one in Germany yet knows precisely how much they're supposed to pay. What every property owner in Germany should've received by now includes notice of the changes, a request to submit information, and a confirmation of the information they've sent.
Although the government's methods are confusing, this information is what German tax offices are now using to assess property tax rates. Among the information owners have had to send include measurements of the number of square metres in their property - among other things. If you believe the confirmation you received from the government is incorrect - for example, if the confirmation includes an inaccurate measurement of your property's size - you can appeal the government's assessment.
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It's important to note that any appeals you make are based on similar grounds - that the government's information is inaccurate or that it's calculated certain measurements in an unfair way. You may need to consult with a tax expert or property lawyer to determine this though. Even now, it's also hard to say precisely how much impact even a successful appeal would end up having on the actual amount that you'd have to pay. Again, that's still a number that no one yet has.
Even when you get it though, you won't be able to launch any appeals based on the actual amount - you will need to base your case on the measurements that feed into its calculation. If you notice any errors in these, you should contact your tax office as soon as possible to advise them.
How is it calculated?
That depends on where you live in Germany.
Most federal states, including North-Rhine Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Berlin, and Brandenburg are simply using the federal government's model.
Baden-WĂĽrttemberg, Saarland, and Saxony use the federal model with a few minor adjustments. Each one though, may have slightly different things taken into account. In Berlin for example, the tax is determined by the area the property is in, land value, the building's age, and the average cold rent (rent without additional costs) in the area. Thus someone who owns and lives in their own home is likely to pay less in property tax than someone who rents the property out.
Other federal states, such as Bavaria, Lower Saxony, Hamburg, and Hesse are using a simplified model of calculating mostly based on size and use.
Based on these factors, your local tax office will give an assessed value for the property and tax you based on that.
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Who is likely to see their property tax go up?
Germany's property tax reform is designed to take the current value of a property into account, rather than figures which may be decades old. Such valuation will tend to be less based on the overall size of a place and account more for location.
So, property owners with inner-city properties in desirable locations are likely to see an increase in the property tax they'll have to pay. So too will owners of properties that have seen significant appreciation - such as property in Berlin or Bavarian lakeside property.
At the same time, there might be suburban property where taxes actually go down, as location matters more in the current calculation of assessed value. As such, someone who owns an 80 square metre apartment in a small Brandenburg town will likely pay less in property tax than someone who owns a similarly sized place in central Berlin.
When will we know for sure what we have to pay?
Tax offices are expected to send out notices in the next few months indicated what property owners in Germany will have to pay in property tax from the beginning of 2025. That means your 2024 tax rate will remain the same.
When these documents actually do get sent out may defend on the efficiency of your local authority. However, you should receive your notice by the turn of the year at the latest.
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