Service content
Description of the
Bavarian local authorities have the option of introducing a second-home tax. Whether a local authority chooses to make use of this option is at its discretion. In doing so, it must balance the conflicting interests, namely the local authority’s interest in generating revenue in an appropriate manner and the interests of the second-home owners concerned.
According to the case law of the Federal Constitutional Court, second homes acquired by married couples who do not live permanently apart are, under certain conditions, exempt from the second home tax. Municipalities are permitted to grant this group of people certain additional concessions on account of the special protection afforded to marriage and the family. Details are governed by the relevant municipal by-laws.Second home owners whose positive income did not exceed EUR 29,000 in the penultimate year before the tax liability arose, or EUR 37,000 in the case of married couples and civil partners, can be exempted from the second home tax on application.
An "information sheet" focussing on the correct calculation of income has been published (see "Further links").
Deadlines
An application for exemption from the second home tax must be submitted by the end of the calendar month following the tax year, i.e. usually by 31 January.
If you do not agree with a second home tax assessment notice, please ensure that you comply with the deadlines stated in the respective legal notice. Once these deadlines have expired, the notice becomes final and can only be cancelled in individual cases at the discretion of the municipality.
Legal basis
Legal remedy
(Optional) appeal procedureFurther links
Notes
The following applies to the relationship between the second home tax and the visitor's tax:
Municipalities that are recognised, in whole or in part, as a spa, health resort or holiday resort may levy a visitor’s tax to cover their costs for facilities and events serving spa or recreational purposes. The visitor’s levy is the consideration for the opportunity offered to the person liable to pay the levy to use the facilities and participate in the events. Flat-rate visitor’s levies may be levied on owners of second homes. It follows that owners of second homes are, in principle, also subject to the obligation to pay the visitor’s levy. The only persons exempt from the visitor’s levy are those who have their main residence in the spa area within the meaning of the registration law.
The second home tax, on the other hand, is a consumption tax levied on economic capacity, which is reflected in the use of income for personal living expenses – in this case, the ownership of a second home. As a tax, it serves to generate revenue for the local authority without any legal restriction on how that revenue is to be used. Second-home tax and visitor’s tax are therefore, in legal terms, two distinct levies that are not of the same nature. It follows that a property owner may be required to pay a visitor’s tax in addition to the second-home tax.