Real estate transfer tax calculator: Germany (Grunderwerbsteuer)
Estimate the real estate transfer tax on a purchase in Germany. Choose the federal state (Land) where the property is, and enter the price.
The result is an estimate, not legal or tax advice. The tax office (Finanzamt) sets the amount in its notice.
Estimated real estate transfer tax (Grunderwerbsteuer)
€24,000
Total
- 6% of the price
- Rounded down to whole euros.
- Who owes it: by law, normally both parties to the contract.
- In Hessen, a first-time buyer of a home they live in may get a grant toward this tax; the result shows the tax before any grant.
- Estimate, not legal, tax or financial advice.
- Rates as published at 2026-10-05; a later change is not known.
How it is calculated
- Base: the consideration, which for a purchase is the price, including other payments the buyer takes on (GrEStG s.8 and s.9).
- Rate: one rate for the whole price, set by each Land (table below).
- Rounding: the tax is rounded down to whole euros (GrEStG s.11(2)).
- No tax when the value is 2,500 euros or less, and on certain purchases within a family (GrEStG s.3): from a spouse or registered civil partner; between relatives in a straight line, including former relatives whose kinship ended through an adoption, with step-children counting as descendants; and by the spouse or registered civil partner of any of these relatives. The calculator asks about these; it never assumes them.
- Who owes it: by law, normally both parties to the contract (GrEStG s.13). In practice, the contract usually makes the buyer pay.
Which purchases the results cover
The column "Rate in force since" gives the date the Land's current rate began. The calculator's results can start later than that, on the date below for each Land:
- Baden-Wuerttemberg results cover purchases from 5 October 2026; earlier purchases are not supported yet.
- Bayern results cover purchases from 5 October 2026; earlier purchases are not supported yet.
- Berlin results cover purchases from 1 January 2014; earlier purchases are not supported yet.
- Brandenburg results cover purchases from 1 July 2015; earlier purchases are not supported yet.
- Bremen results cover purchases from 1 July 2025; earlier purchases are not supported yet.
- Hamburg results cover purchases from 5 October 2026; earlier purchases are not supported yet.
- Hessen results cover purchases from 5 October 2026; earlier purchases are not supported yet.
- Mecklenburg-Vorpommern results cover purchases from 1 July 2019; earlier purchases are not supported yet.
- Niedersachsen results cover purchases from 1 January 2014; earlier purchases are not supported yet.
- Nordrhein-Westfalen results cover purchases from 1 January 2015; earlier purchases are not supported yet.
- Rheinland-Pfalz results cover purchases from 1 March 2012; earlier purchases are not supported yet.
- Saarland results cover purchases from 1 January 2015; earlier purchases are not supported yet.
- Sachsen results cover purchases from 1 January 2023; earlier purchases are not supported yet.
- Sachsen-Anhalt results cover purchases from 5 October 2026; earlier purchases are not supported yet.
- Schleswig-Holstein results cover purchases from 1 January 2014; earlier purchases are not supported yet.
- Thueringen results cover purchases from 1 January 2024; earlier purchases are not supported yet.
Consolidated texts on the Land portals are not the official versions. The official text is the one in each Land's law gazette.
Worked example (official)
Hessen, a house for 400,000 euros, at 6%:
| Price | Rate | Tax |
|---|---|---|
| 400,000 | 6% | 24,000 |
The Hessian Ministry of Finance gives the same figure in its own example: "Das Haus kostet 400.000 Euro; die zu zahlende Grunderwerbsteuer beträgt 24.000 Euro".
Official sources
- Federal: Real Estate Transfer Tax Act, s.3, s.8, s.9, s.11, s.13.
- Each Land's rate: the source linked in its row of the table.
- Example: Hessian Ministry of Finance, Hessengeld FAQ, August 2025.
Questions
Who pays, the buyer or the seller? By law, normally both parties owe the tax (GrEStG s.13). In practice most contracts say the buyer pays. The Berlin Senate Department of Finance writes: "In den meisten Verträgen wird vereinbart, dass der Erwerber die Grunderwerbsteuer zu zahlen hat."
Are notary and land registry fees included? No. This calculator covers the transfer tax only.
Is there a reduced rate for first-time buyers? Not in the rates above. Hamburg announced in 2022 a planned 3.5% rate in some cases; that is not supported here. Thueringen and Hessen give first-time buyers of a home they live in a grant toward this tax, at most the tax paid (Thueringen: on a base of up to 500,000 euros, subject to the state budget; Hessen: 10,000 euros per buyer, at most 20,000, plus 5,000 euros per child under 18, paid in ten yearly instalments). Conditions apply; see the linked sources. The result shows the tax before any grant.
Can I enter a share of a property? Not yet. The calculator covers the purchase of a whole property at one price.
This calculator gives an estimate for information. It is not legal or tax advice.