The new owners of a single-family house filed a lawsuit against the tax office (AZ 5 K 2938/16). When purchasing a property worth a total of 392,500 euros, they had the sum of 9,500 euros for the acquisition of the fitted kitchen and the awnings listed separately in the notarized purchase contract. This is because if used, movable items are also sold when purchasing a property, no real estate transfer tax is to be calculated on the purchase value.
A basic prerequisite for this is that the items are of value and the determination of the purchase price is realistic. In the case at hand, the tax office classified the purchase price of 9,500 euros as too high and also levied real estate transfer tax on this partial amount. The owners were of a different opinion and their complaint was upheld by the 5th Senate of the Cologne Fiscal Court. This is because, according to Section 8 (1) and Section 9 (1) No. 1 of the German Real Estate Transfer Tax Act (Grunderwerbsteuergesetz), only services that are related to the obligation, possession and ownership of the property can be calculated as consideration.
According to the ruling of the Cologne Fiscal Court, the tax office would have to prove that the purchase value of 9,500 euros was actually overstated. This is because the tax office bears the burden of establishing this, as it involves tax-justifying circumstances. It should be noted that neither the official depreciation tables nor the comparative prices in sales portals for used items serve as sources and comparative values.
Source: FG Cologne
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