The deadline for submitting the property tax return, which has already been extended by three months, is expected to tear millions of Germans. It expires in two weeks and only 57.4 percent of the declarations are available. Those who are late will soon receive mail and, in case of doubt, have to pay extra.
Almost two weeks before the end of the deadline, the quota for the submission of property tax returns has still not increased noticeably. As the “Handelsblatt” reported with reference to the Federal Ministry of Finance, only 57.4 percent of the declarations to be submitted were received by the tax offices up to and including Tuesday. Almost 36 million properties have to be revalued for the planned property tax reform.
At the beginning of the year, around half of the property tax returns were still missing, and the deadline expires on January 31st. The federal and state governments had already extended the deadline by three months – initially it was until October 31st. There should not be another extension of the deadline, even if the Union parties recently called for this.
“The next step will be a reminder from the tax authorities, in which those affected are once again explicitly asked to submit the property tax return,” said the head of the tax union, Florian Koebler, the “Handelsblatt”. In the event of non-submission or late submission of the property tax return, a late fee may be assessed. In addition, the tax office can estimate the tax bases if the declaration is not submitted. In both cases, the obligation to submit remains.
In the course of the property tax reform, millions of properties nationwide have to be revalued. Owners of houses, apartments and land must submit a number of data for the declaration. The declaration of determination must be submitted in electronic form to the tax authorities. The paper form is possible in exceptional cases, but takes longer.
