Property tax; receipt of the property tax assessment and payment to the municipality

Have you received a property tax assessment notice from the municipality? Below you will find the answers to the most important questions. If you still have questions, you can find more detailed information under "Further links".

What do you have to pay property tax for?

The following are subject to property tax

• Agricultural and forestry businesses (property tax A) and
• Land, e.g. detached houses, condominiums, commercial properties (property tax B).

Property tax is a property tax, i.e. property tax must be paid for every agricultural and forestry business and every plot of land in Germany. The personal circumstances of the owner are not taken into account when determining the tax base.

Who has to pay property tax?

The municipality demands the property tax from the person or persons to whom the tax office has attributed the property. If this attribution is incorrect, please contact the tax office. If the agricultural and forestry business or the property belongs to several persons, companies or communities, they owe the property tax jointly.

If the owner changes because the agricultural and forestry business or the property has been sold, given away or inherited, the new owner must pay the property tax from January 1 of the following year. For the year in which the ownership structure has changed, the old owner must still pay the property tax. The old and new owners can agree among themselves that the costs will be borne by the new owner. The municipality itself may not demand the property tax for this calendar year from the new owner, but must still approach the previous taxpayers for this.

If the property is rented out, the property tax can be passed on to the tenant as part of the operating costs.

How much is the property tax?

Property tax is calculated as follows: Property tax assessment amount x assessment rate = property tax

A detailed description of how the property tax assessment amount is calculated can be found under"Property tax from 2025; receipt of the notice of the property tax value or the property tax equivalent amounts and the property tax assessment amount".

There are at least two assessment rates in each municipality. One assessment rate applies to all agricultural and forestry businesses in the municipality ("property tax A"). The other rate applies to all properties in the municipality ("property tax B"). In addition, the municipality can set further assessment rates for certain groups of cases. The municipality is free to determine the level of the assessment rates. In principle, the assessment rate for that year must be set by June 30 of the year. You can find out which assessment rate applies in your municipality.

Who do I have to pay the property tax to?

You must pay the property tax to the municipality in which the agricultural and forestry business or the property is located. You will find the bank details on your property tax assessment notice.

Please do not transfer the property tax to the tax office.

When do I have to pay the property tax?

Property tax is assessed as an annual amount, which is usually due on February 15, May 15, August 15 and November 15, one quarter each. You can apply to the municipality by September 30 of the previous year for the property tax to be due in one annual amount on July 1.

Your property tax assessment notice will provide you with detailed information on when and how much property tax you have to pay.

How can I defend myself against the property tax assessment?

Please refer to the "Legal remedy" section.

When is property tax waived?

Property tax is only (partially) waived in exceptional cases (e.g. certain slightly paved parcels of land used as sports facilities; property whose preservation is in the public interest due to its importance for art, history, science or nature conservation, if the income is generally less than the annual costs).
In some cases, the municipality can partially waive the property tax (e.g. extreme additional property tax burden for a building that is oversized, not intended for residential use, simply furnished and permanently unused).

You must apply to the municipality for a waiver by March 31 of the following year.

When is property exempt from property tax?

Property is only exempt from property tax in exceptional cases. You can find detailed information at www.grundsteuer.bayern.de. You must apply for tax exemption at the tax office.

What do I have to do if something has changed in the property?

Please refer to the information under"Property tax; notification of changes to the property".

The assessment rates of the city of Erlangen from 01.01.2026 will be

• 425 percent for property tax A (agricultural and forestry businesses)
• 625 percent for property tax B (other real estate)

The assessment rates for the city of Erlangen until 31.12.2025 are

• 425 percent for property tax A (agricultural and forestry businesses)
• 590 percent for property tax B (other real estate)

The property tax is determined in a three-stage procedure.

You will therefore be sent three notices.

• Notification of the property tax value (for agricultural and forestry businesses) or the property tax equivalent amounts (for land)
• Notification of the property tax assessment amount
• Property tax assessment notice

The first two notices (notice on the property tax equivalent amounts and notice on the property tax assessment amount) are issued and sent by the local tax office.

Details can be found under"Property tax from 2025; receipt of the notice on the property tax value or the property tax equivalent amounts and the property tax assessment amount".

The third notice (property tax assessment notice) is issued and sent by the local municipality as soon as it has set its assessment rate. The municipality is free to determine the level of its assessment rates. Only the third assessment notice states how much property tax you have to pay. The due dates and the municipality's bank details are also listed there.

The deadline for lodging an appeal against the property tax assessment notice can be found in the instructions on the notice.

Property tax is assessed as an annual amount, of which one quarter is usually due on February 15, May 15, August 15 and November 15. You can apply to the municipality by September 30 of the previous year for the property tax to be due in one annual amount on July 1.

You must apply to the municipality for a waiver of property tax by March 31 of the following year.

You can lodge an appeal against the property tax assessment notice or file a complaint.
For information on the procedure, please refer to the information on legal remedies contained in the notice.

You cannot appeal against the property tax assessment notice on the grounds that one of the notices previously sent by the tax office is incorrect. These notices are binding for the municipality. You can find out how you can defend yourself against the notices from the tax office under"Property tax from 2025; receipt of the notice on the property tax value or the property tax equivalent amounts and the property tax assessment amount". If the tax office changes its assessment due to your objection, it will inform the municipality. The municipality will then amend its decision ex officio.