Many property owners find it difficult to submit the new property tax return. Nevertheless, you should definitely meet the deadline of October 31st. Otherwise it can get expensive.
According to the Federal Ministry of Finance, only just under 18 percent of the declarations had been made by mid-September. 6.2 million forms were filled out online, around 584,000 declarations were received in paper form. This was explained by the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF). Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) is open to a possible extension of the deadline to give property owners more time. But the countries are responsible. If there were to be an extension, it would be desirable for the federal states to agree on a “common deadline”, according to the BMF.
From 2025, a new property tax calculation is to apply. To do this, almost 36 million properties in Germany have to be revalued. This is done on the basis of information that all owners must submit – the tax authorities have been receiving the data since July 1st. In mid-July, “Elster” experienced technical difficulties. The control platform was temporarily unavailable. Several associations and some state politicians then called for the deadline to be extended.
Property owners should definitely submit the property tax return. The latest date for this is October 31st.
If the data is not received by the authorities by then, the responsible tax office will send a reminder with a new deadline. This is a kind of reminder letter. The letters will probably be sent out in the first half of November.
Tax offices can sanction the absence of property tax returns in various ways. This is what “Capital” points out.
Taxpayers who (deliberately) provide false information or do not submit their tax return at all face a late payment penalty. This late payment surcharge is 0.25 percent of the assessed tax for each month started, at least 25 euros. With a two-month delay, that would be at least 50 euros.
Important to know: This surcharge is an additional fee. Taxpayers still have to submit their property tax return.
If the addressee fails to transfer the late payment surcharge, the tax authorities can impose fines. Such penalties can reach up to 25,000 euros.
However, the tax offices should not resort to draconian penalties immediately, also because they are aware of the problems many citizens have with the declaration.
Anyone who boycotts the entire procedure and either makes no statement at all or makes false statements runs the risk of the tax authorities estimating their values. This does not necessarily happen in favor of the defaulting property owner. So don’t let it get that far in the first place!
The property tax return must be submitted by October 31, 2022: With the “GrundsteuerErklärung” software from Steuertipps.de, you can master the task yourself in no time at all.
Tip: If you notice that you cannot keep the October 31st deadline, you must ask your local tax office for an extension of the deadline. The applicant has no right to permission to make a later submission. The tax officer decides whether to grant an extension. Owners who can come up with a plausible explanation certainly increase their chances of a positive decision.
By the way: If you accidentally provide false information, you have nothing to fear. However, he should correct his information as soon as possible.
