Field help: Did you sell land, flats, houses or similar land rights in 2025?

Select "yes" if you sold land, a house, or a flat in 2025 and the period between purchase and sale was no more than ten years.

When does the ten-year period begin and end?

The decisive factor is the date of the purchase contract or sales contract (usually the notarial contract). Dates such as moving in, transfer of ownership, or entry in the land register are not relevant.

What counts as a sale?

• the normal sale of land, a house, or a flat,
• the later sale of land previously contributed to a business, if this sale occurs within ten years of the original purchase,
• the covert contribution of land to a corporation (e.g. GmbH).

Buildings and modifications

The sale also includes:

• buildings and outdoor facilities,
• extensions or conversions,
• independent building parts,
• flats and part-ownership,
• if these were constructed or extended within ten years.

When is the sale tax-free?

The sale is usually tax-free if the property:

• was continuously occupied by the owner, or
• was used exclusively for own residential purposes in the year of sale and the two previous years.

This also applies to the associated land.

Partial tax liability

If a property was only partially used by the owner and the other part was rented out, only the rented part is taxable (e.g. rented rooms or a granny flat).

A home office within an otherwise owner-occupied flat is still considered own residential use. The profit attributable to it is therefore not taxable (BFH ruling of 01.03.2021, IX R 27/19).

Depreciation (AfA)

If you previously claimed depreciation for the property (e.g. for rental), this reduces the purchase or production value for tax purposes. This can increase the taxable profit.