Germany's real estate transfer tax (Grunderwerbsteuer) ranges from 3.5% of the price in Bavaria to 6.5% in Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein: on a €10 million property the difference reaches €300,000. The rate that applies is that of the state where the plot lies, on the date of the transaction — as a rule, the day the notarial contract is signed. The rates below apply as at October 2026; the last state to change its rate was Bremen, from 1 July 2025.
The rate differs by up to three percentage points between states
Exhibit 1. The same €10 million purchase costs between €350,000 and €650,000 in tax
Sources: § 11(1) GrEStG and the state laws setting the tax rate; official publications of the states and of the Bremen parliament (printed paper 21/885); Gordon Real Estate Group calculation. Rates as at 10 October 2026.
The federal default rate is 3.5% (§ 11(1) GrEStG); every state except Bavaria has set its own rate (Art. 105(2a) of the Basic Law). Rates do move: Saxony raised its rate from 3.5% to 5.5% from 1 January 2023, and Thuringia cut its rate from 6.5% to 5.0% from 1 January 2024. The most recent increase was Bremen's, from 5.0% to 5.5% from 1 July 2025. The tax is rounded down to the full euro (§ 11(2) GrEStG).
The tax is levied on the price — but not on all of it
The tax base is the consideration: the purchase price together with the obligations the buyer assumes (§ 8(1), § 9(1) no. 1 GrEStG). Operating equipment (Betriebsvorrichtungen) — refrigeration plant, for example, where it qualifies as such — does not count as part of the property (§ 2(1) sentence 2 no. 1 GrEStG), so the share of the price attributable to it is not taxed. A hypothetical example: if €200,000 of a €10 million price is justifiably attributable to such equipment, the tax in Lower Saxony falls by €10,000. The allocation is best confirmed in advance, for example by a valuer's report.
For the buyer, the tax is the largest item of acquisition costs. In the example in Part 11 of the series German Prime Retail, €500,000 of transfer tax in Lower Saxony accounts for more than half of total acquisition costs of €945,000.
Both parties are liable; only tax clearance opens the land register
The law makes both parties to the contract liable for the tax (§ 13 no. 1 GrEStG). The contract usually places it on the buyer, but if the buyer does not pay, the tax office may turn to the seller. The tax falls due one month after the assessment notice (§ 15 GrEStG). The buyer can be entered in the land register (Grundbuch) only once the tax office has issued a clearance certificate (§ 22 GrEStG), which it does when the tax has been paid, secured or deferred.
Buying shares in a property-owning company does not automatically avoid the tax. In broad terms, the tax arises if 90% or more of the shares pass to new shareholders within ten years, or if one acquirer or a group of related acquirers comes to hold 90% or more. From 3 July 2026 the acquirer-based tests take precedence (§ 1(3b) GrEStG; see Part 9 of the series German Prime Retail).
Implications for investors
1. Compare properties in different states net of the tax. At a price of €10 million the tax ranges from €350,000 in Bavaria to €650,000 in Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein. The €300,000 difference is a direct addition to the entry price.
2. Justify the price allocation before signing. The share of the price attributable to operating equipment is not taxed: €200,000 of a €10 million price cuts the tax in Lower Saxony by €10,000, provided the allocation is supported, for example by a valuer's report.
3. Build the tax into the payment schedule and the contract. The tax falls due one month after the assessment notice, the buyer cannot be registered without the tax office's clearance, and both parties are liable by law. The contract must say who pays and how the seller is protected.
What to check:
• Confirm the state in which the plot lies and the date on which the contract will be signed.
• Obtain a justified allocation of the price between land, building and operating equipment.
• Agree in the contract who pays the tax — and how the seller is protected if the buyer does not.
• Hold liquidity for the tax: it falls due one month after the assessment notice.
• In a share deal, test the structure against § 1 GrEStG as in force from 3 July 2026.
See also: Grunderwerbsteuer (real estate transfer tax); What is a share deal, and can it save real estate transfer tax?; Notary and Land Registry Costs in Germany: A Table; Price and Yield: A Table of Multiples.
Sources: GrEStG §§ 1, 2, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 22; Art. 105(2a) of the Basic Law; state laws on the rate of real estate transfer tax; Bremen parliament, printed paper 21/885 (3 December 2024); Bremen Law Gazette 2025 No. 9; Statistical Office of Saxony-Anhalt (2023); German Prime Retail series, Parts 9 and 11. Law as at 10 October 2026.
Photo: Didier Weemaels / Unsplash
This page is general information and not investment, legal or tax advice.