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Speculation tax calculator
Calculate the tax due when you sell a German property within ten years.
Tax on the sale
€33,600
Calculations are indicative only and do not constitute a financing offer. No guarantee of accuracy. This tool does not replace professional legal, tax, or financial advice.
What is Spekulationssteuer (speculation tax) on property?
Spekulationssteuer (speculation tax) is the name for the income tax on the gain when you sell a property within ten years of buying it (§ 23 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 1 EStG, the Income Tax Act). The gain then counts as a private sale transaction and is taxed at your personal income tax rate. Once the ten years are over, a sale from private assets is tax-free.
The period runs from purchase contract to sale contract. What counts are the dates of notarisation, not handover or entry in the land register.
The calculator checks the holding period you enter: from ten years on it shows no tax.
How do you calculate Spekulationssteuer?
Taxable gain = sale price − selling costs − (purchase price + closing costs − AfA claimed so far). Tax = gain × marginal tax rate. So the AfA (depreciation) you claimed while letting the property increases the gain (§ 23 Abs. 3 Satz 4 EStG).
If your total gain from private sale transactions in the calendar year stays below €1,000, it is tax-free (§ 23 Abs. 3 Satz 5 EStG, since 2024). This is an exemption limit, not an allowance: from €1,000 the whole gain is taxed, not just the part above it.
The calculator multiplies the gain by the marginal tax rate you enter. It leaves out the solidarity surcharge and church tax. A large gain can also push your tax rate up, so the result is an approximation.
When is a sale tax-free even after less than ten years?
When you lived in the property yourself: either the whole time between acquisition and sale, or in the year of sale and the two years before it (§ 23 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 1 Satz 3 EStG). The calculator does not model this exception. If it applies to you, no Spekulationssteuer is due, even if the calculator shows an amount.
The exception does not apply to rented property.
Anyone who sells several properties within a short time can be classed as a gewerblicher Grundstückshändler (commercial property dealer). Different rules then apply, and the ten-year period no longer protects you.
Worked example
Bought for €250,000 plus €25,000 of closing costs, AfA claimed so far €20,000. Sold after 5 years for €340,000, selling costs €5,000.
Purchase price + closing costs − AfA: €250,000 + €25,000 − €20,000 = €255,000.
Gain on sale: €340,000 − €5,000 − €255,000 = €80,000.
Tax at a 42% marginal tax rate: €80,000 × 42% = €33,600. Gain after tax: €46,400.
Guide
How it works
Enter the purchase
Purchase price, purchase costs and the depreciation you have deducted since buying.
Enter the sale
Sale price, selling costs, holding period and your marginal tax rate.
Read the tax
You see the taxable gain, the tax and what is left afterwards.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
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