Finance Find out if your relative left money behind in a German bank. Up to €4.2 billion is sitting forgotten in German bank accounts. Most of it belongs to people who have died. Banks call these "dormant accounts." You have to contact different organizations depending on which bank your relative had an account with. You can find out the information about these organizations here.
Finance Deduct stock losses from your taxes. But you can deduct them only against stock gains. You don't have to do anything if you have an account with only one bank. However, you need a loss certificate (Verlustbescheinigung) if you have accounts with multiple banks. Spouses can also benefit from offsetting stock losses when filing a joint tax return. Read more ->
Rights You, as a property owner, are responsible for clearing snow and ice in front of your property during winter. You can delegate the responsibility for clearing snow and ice to your tenants. However, you must mention this explicitly in the rental contract. Read more ->
Rights Mietrecht II aims to close the loopholes landlords use to charge unreasonable rents. Currently, landlords use the three methods to bypass the rent brake (Mietpreisbremse):
Index rent: Landlords increase rent in line with inflation.
Furnished property: No transparency on how much you pay for the property and how much for the furniture.
Short-term rentals: They are not part of the rent brake. Landlords issue short-term leases and continuously renew them.
The new reform aims to tackle all three loopholes. It's currently a draft. Read more ->
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Tax-saving tip for married couples with an investment property
If you own a rental property and are married, you can reduce your tax using a strategy called the Ehegattenschaukel.
How does it work?
You sell your investment property to your spouse at the current market price.
Your spouse depreciates the property using the new, higher purchase price.
Your spouse can deduct the depreciation value from their income. Hence, reducing the tax.
After ten years, your spouse sells it back to you. You repeat the cycle.
Why does this work?
No Grunderwerbsteuer. Transfers between spouses are exempt from property transfer tax (3.5–6.5% depending on the state).
No Spekulationssteuer. After ten years, you can sell the property tax-free.
Higher depreciation. The buying spouse depreciates the property from the new, higher market value.
Example
You bought a property for €100,000 ten years ago. It is now worth €200,000.
You sell it to your spouse at €200,000.
Your spouse can now claim a €4,000 (2% of 200k) annual deduction instead of €2,000 (2% of 100k).
The €2,000 difference reduces your family's taxable income even further, which results in more tax savings.
You can even give your spouse a private loan to finance the purchase. Your spouse can deduct the interest payments as a business expense. Hence, benefitting from even more tax savings.
What are the requirements?
Only one spouse owns the property.
You held the property for at least 10 years. Otherwise, you have to pay capital gains tax on the sale profit.
You must notarize the sale. This means you pay the notary fee of 1% to 1.5% of the property price.
Establish a European limited company online in 48 hours
The European Commission plans to create a new, unified European limited company, the "EU Inc". The goal is to enable you to set up a new company online within 48 hours without the need for a traditional notary.
The EU Inc will have the following advantages
Uniform rules for capital, governance, and reporting.
Register once in a central EU register and operate in all member states.
Relocate your company's headquarters within the EU without dissolution or re-establishment.
Taxation will continue to be levied where the actual management is located. You can expect a concrete proposal by March.
Do you always find out about sales after they end? Anna's newsletter, Smart Living in Germany, fixes that. She tracks the latest offers and discounts, so you don't have to. Check out her latest issue here.
Employee profit participation rights
Does your company offer you "employee profit-sharing rights (Arbeitnehmer-Genussrechte)"? If yes, you can enjoy a significant tax advantage.
The reason is that the tax office cannot treat the income from the profit-sharing agreement aswages. It should treat it as a capital gain. (VIII R 13/23)
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EU bans fashion brands from burning unused clothes and shoes. The goal is to cut waste and emissions. Currently, companies destroy 4-9% of unsold textiles annually. This produced around 5.6 million tons of CO2. [1]
The SPD has proposed a social media ban for children under 14. The proposal requires a restricted "youth version" for 14- to 16-year-olds. The youth version shouldn't offer endless scrolling or algorithmic feeds. It should be accessible only via the parents' EU Digital Identity (EUDI) wallet. [2]
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New here? Check out GermanPediaDid someone forward you this? Subscribe to this newsletter. Important changes We are testing a new schedule to send the GermanPedia newsletter. For the next few months, you'll receive the newsletter on Monday morning instead of Saturday. ECB key interest rates remain unchanged at 2%. This means you will continue to earn interest on your savings account*, and your mortgage interest will remain between 3% and 5%. [1] Scammers have taken things to the next level....
New here? Check out GermanPediaDid someone forward you this? Subscribe to this newsletter. Important changes The EU and India concluded the history's biggest trade deal. More on it later. Germany's Federal Court of Justice (BGH) ruled that tenants cannot sublet apartments for profit. More on it later Cryptocurrency exchanges are required to report user data and transactions to the tax authorities from 2026. Verdi has called for a nationwide strike in local public transport on Monday, 2...
New here? Check out GermanPediaDid someone forward you this? Subscribe to this newsletter. Important changes Several dog snacks from Dog’s Nature GmbH are being recalled due to Salmonella contamination. Kaufland and Norma sell these dog snacks. If you bought one recently, you can return it even without a receipt. [1] Germany reintroduced the EV subsidy. If your family income is less than 90,000€ and you have children, you are eligible for a subsidy of up to €6,000. You can learn more about EV...
