ATTENTION Property Tax

Everyone is currently talking about the deadline for property tax returns. We would like to use the current relevance of the issue to draw attention to the timely filing of legal remedies against the basic assessments, an aspect that is easily overlooked if one only examines the actual property tax assessment.

The property tax return must be submitted to the relevant tax office. The tax office then issues two tax assessments (Bescheide): firstly, the assessment on "Grundsteueräquivalenzbeträge" (referred to as this in Bavaria, among other places, and "Grundsteuerwertbescheid" in other states) and secondly, the assessment on the "Grundsteuermessbetrag". These assessments are so-called “Grundlagenbescheide” (basic assessments), which determine the taxation basis for the subsequent assessment in a binding manner.

In a further step, the responsible municipality then issues the “Grundsteuerbescheid”, the actual property tax assessment (“Folgebescheid”, the subsequent assessment) on the basis of the aforementioned basic assessments, i.e. using the information on property area, living space, etc. determined there. This contains the tax that is then actually to be paid.

If it is only discovered upon receipt of this property tax assessment (“Grundsteuerbescheid”) that, for example, the living space was incorrectly taken as a basis, then the property tax assessment (subsequent assessment) can no longer be challenged if the incorrect living space is already contained in the basic assessment and an objection was not lodged against this in good time. If the data in the basic assessment - the “Grundsteueräquivalenzbescheid” and the “Grundsteuermessbescheid” - are incorrect, these assessments must be challenged and corrected in due time by means of an objection (Einspruch). Otherwise, the values determined there can generally no longer be corrected.

It is therefore urgently recommended that the basic assessments be examined in detail - and, if necessary, that an “Einspruch” be lodged within the one-month period.