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Private Veräußerungsgeschäfte

 

Gewinne aus privaten Veräußerungsgeschäften werden als steuerfrei behandelt, sofern diese unter der Freigrenze von 1.000 Euro liegen. Liegt der gesamte Veräußerungsgewinn über 999 Euro, wird er in der vollen Höhe steuerpflichtig.



What are private sales transactions?

Private sales transactions are classified as other income and are regulated by Section 23 of the Income Tax Act (EStG). They involve the sale of certain assets from private property, where a taxable profit may arise under certain conditions.

What counts as private sales transactions?

1. Sale of non-owner-occupied property

If you sell a property that was not owner-occupied (e.g. rented out) within ten years of purchase, the profit is taxable (Section 23 (1) No. 1 EStG).

Exception: Tax exemption applies if the property was owner-occupied in the year of sale and the previous year, or continuously owner-occupied for two years.

2. Sale of other private assets

The sale of the following assets is also taxable if it occurs within one year of purchase:

  • Gold bars or gold coins
  • Foreign currencies
  • Rented transport (e.g. boats, motorhomes)

Note: If the asset generates income (e.g. rental), the speculation period is extended to ten years.

What does not count as private sales transactions?
  • Capital assets (e.g. shares, funds): Taxed via withholding tax
  • Other types of income (e.g. commercial or business sales)
Cryptocurrencies as private sales transactions
Taxation of cryptocurrencies
  • Sale within one year: Taxable if the profit exceeds 1.000 Euro (Section 23 (1) No. 2 EStG)
  • Sale after more than one year: tax-free – also when used for lending or staking
Special regulations according to BMF (10.05.2022, updated 06.03.2025)
  • Commercial trading or mining: May lead to classification as business assets
  • Block creation (mining/forging): Considered a commercial activity, taxable from 256 Euro per year
BFH case law

The Federal Fiscal Court confirmed in its ruling of 14.02.2023 (Ref. IX R 3/22): Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum or Monero are assets. Capital gains within one year are subject to taxation under Section 23 EStG.

New cooperation obligations (BMF letter dated 06.03.2025)

The Federal Ministry of Finance, together with the federal states, has published new requirements for cooperation and record-keeping obligations for crypto assets:

  • Obligation to document purchase and sale data
  • Submission of tax reports with the tax return
  • Regulations on claiming and the use of second-accurate rates or daily rates

The aim is transparent and legally secure assessment of income from digital assets.

What are private sales transactions?



How is the speculation period calculated?

Profits and losses from private sales transactions are only taxable if the speculation period has not yet expired between the purchase and sale of the goods. Once the speculation period has expired, profits are no longer taxable, regardless of the amount. Losses are also not relevant for tax purposes.

The date of acquisition is the date on which the purchase contract came into effect (this is usually the date the notarial purchase contract was signed), not the date of delivery (transfer of ownership, benefits, and burdens). The same applies to the date of sale of the goods to a third party.

How is the speculation period calculated?

Field help

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

Select "yes" if you have sold land and similar land rights for which the period between acquisition and sale is no more than ten years.

The calculation of the period between acquisition and sale is generally based on the obligatory transaction underlying the acquisition or sale (e.g. notarised purchase agreement). Please enter the corresponding data in line 32.

The contribution to the business assets is also deemed to be the sale of a property or a right equivalent to a property if the sale from the business assets takes place within ten years of the acquisition of the property or a right equivalent to property. In such cases, however, the gains or losses shall not be recognised until the calendar year in which the proceeds from the sale of the business were received. The hidden contribution of a piece of real estate or rights equivalent to real property into a corporation is also deemed to be a sale. The declaration on sales transactions must also include buildings and outdoor facilities to the extent that they have been constructed, expanded or extended within the ten-year period. This applies mutatis mutandis to independent parts of buildings, condominiums or partly owned rooms.

Excluded from taxation are buildings, independent parts of buildings, condominiums or partly owned rooms (assets) to the extent that they

  • in the period between acquisition or completion and disposal or
  • in the period between acquisition or completion and disposal or
  • were used exclusively for own residential purposes in the year of sale and in the two preceding years.
  • were used exclusively for own residential purposes in the year of sale and in the two preceding years.

If you have sold a property where only part of the property is subject to taxation (for example, a home office, rooms rented out to third parties), enter only information on the taxable portion in lines 34 to 40.

In the case of sale transactions, the acquisition or production costs are reduced by deductions for wear and tear, increased deductions and special depreciation, provided that they have been deducted when determining income from employment, capital assets or rental and leasing. When you sell an asset you have built, the cost of production is reduced by deductions for wear and tear, increased deductions and special depreciation.

Insofar as such depreciation has been deducted when determining other income, the acquisition or production costs are reduced if you acquired or completed the asset after 31.12.2008.

Have you sold any other assets (e.g. gold, antiques, paintings, etc.)?

Select "yes" if you have sold other assets for which the time period between acquisition and disposal does not exceed ten years.

The sale of assets held as private assets is only taxable if the period between acquisition and sale does not exceed one year. Once the one-year speculation period has expired, profits no longer have to be taxed, regardless of the amount. They are tax-free and do not have to be stated in the tax return.

Other assets to be included in the tax return in connection with private sales transactions include, for example, sales of

  • gold bars
  • gold coins
  • silver bars
  • silver coins
  • antiques
  • canvases
  • vintage cars

Exception: Sale transactions with items of daily use, on the other hand, are not taxable within the one-year period - and consequently losses can no longer be offset against tax. Reason: The salesman did not expect to achieve a higher price than he had to spend himself.

Did you sell company shares in 2025?

Select "yes" if you have sold shares in income determined separately and uniformly.

Private sales transactions of shares in companies refer to the sale of shares in partnerships or other companies the income of which has been determined separately and uniformly. Gains or losses must be declared in the tax return.

Examples:

  1. Sale of shares in a limited liability company (GmbH & Co. Limited partnership): Gains or losses must be declared in the tax return.
  2. Sale of shares in a partnership (GbR): Gains or losses must also be declared in the tax return.

Note: The sale of shares is also a private disposal transaction. However, gains or losses from this must always be declared in the capital income section (Form KAP - income from capital assets).

I request for Partner A to waive a loss carryback according to sect. 10d of the Income Tax Act (EStG) into the year 2024.

You can request that a loss carryback from 2025 to 2024 is not applied automatically.

If you incur a loss from a private sale transaction, you can offset this loss against profits from other sale transactions in full. However, losses cannot be offset against positive income from other types of income in the same year.

However, loss carryback is an option:

(1) If you have incurred a loss from sale transactions, the tax office will automatically carry back this loss in full to the previous year. However, this only applies if speculative gains were also made in the previous year. If this is not the case, the tax office will issue a loss assessment notice.

(2) If you do not wish the automatic loss carryback to be applied, you can reject the loss carryback. Limitation as in previous years is no longer possible from 2022 onwards.

Have you earned income from the sale of virtual currencies and/or other tokens?

Select "yes" if you have sold virtual currencies and/or other tokens for which the time period between acquisition and sale was no more than one year.

The most important virtual currencies include:

  • Bitcoin (BTC)
  • Ethereum (ETH)
  • Binance Coin (BNB)
  • Cardano (ADA)
  • Solana (SOL)
  • Ripple (XRP)
  • Polkadot (DOT)
  • Dogecoin (DOGE)
  • Litecoin (LTC)
  • Chainlink (LINK)
  • Stellar (XLM)
  • Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
  • Tezos (XTZ)
  • EOS (EOS)
  • Monero (XMR)

Cryptocurrencies can be the subject of a private sale transaction in accordance with section 23 para. 1 no. 2 of the Income Tax Act (EStG). This means for transactions that take place in private assets: Capital gains arising from the exchange or re-exchange of bitcoins etc. into Euro or another cryptocurrency are deemed to be a taxable speculative transaction if the acquisition and exchange take place within one year. A profit remains (only) tax-free if it remains below the exemption limit of 1.000 Euro.

For private individuals, the sale of acquired Bitcoin etc. is tax-free after one year. The time period is not extended to ten years even if, for example, bitcoins were previously used for lending or the taxpayer has provided Ether to another person as a stake for their block creation.

The Federal Ministry of Finance has published a letter that comprehensively regulates the income tax treatment of virtual currencies and other tokens (letter of the Federal Ministry of Finance dated 06.03.2025).