Germany capital gains tax calculator: Abgeltungsteuer, crypto and property

Securities gains pay the 25% Abgeltungsteuer of § 32d(1) EStG, and the 5.5% solidarity surcharge of § 4 SolZG is charged on that tax, not on the gain: 25% + 5.5% × 25% = 26.375% in total. The rate is flat: your income and holding period never change it, and the first €1,000 of the year's net securities gains is covered by the Sparer-Pauschbetrag before the rate applies.

Crypto is a § 23 private disposal transaction: sold within one year of acquisition the gain is taxed at your personal income scale, held longer than a year it is completely tax-free, however large the gain. The one-year window is tested per purchase lot, so with FIFO matching each parcel is judged by its own acquisition date. The €1,000 Freigrenze also applies: total annual § 23 net gains of €1,000 or less are untaxed even inside the window.

Real estate sold more than ten years after acquisition is tax-free. Sold inside the ten-year window, the gain is taxed at your personal income scale (§ 32a EStG), not at the 26.375% securities rate. The exception is your own home: a property used predominantly as your own home in the calendar year of sale and the two years before is exempt from day one, however quickly you sell it.

The saver's allowance of § 20(9) EStG: the first €1,000 of investment income and realised gains each year is exempt (€2,000 for jointly assessed couples). It applies once across all your securities sales of the year, after losses, and any unused part lapses: it cannot be carried forward. Banks apply a wider mechanic that can shelter gains up to €4,000 when you have no other investment income; this calculator uses the simpler €1,000 reading, which never overstates your tax.

Church tax members get a reduced Abgeltungsteuer under the formula in § 32d(1) EStG: at a 9% church rate the flat tax drops to 24.45% of the gain, with church tax (9% of the reduced tax) and the 5.5% soli on top, about 27.99% all-in instead of 26.375%. Most Länder levy 8% rather than 9%, which lands slightly lower. Switch the toggle in section 3 to apply it.

The comparison check of § 32d(6) EStG: where taxing your investment income at your personal scale, with only 60% of the gain counted, would cost less than the 25% flat rate, the scale can apply instead. It usually pays only at low incomes, and the bank applies it only on request, so the calculator never switches regimes itself; it warns when the check could be worth asking for.

Securities and investment funds: 25% flat withholding tax (Abgeltungsteuer, § 32d(1) EStG) plus 5.5% solidarity surcharge ON THE TAX (§ 4 SolZG 1995), an effective 26.375%. Church tax members pay a reduced 25% rate under the § 32d(1) formula (about 24.45%/24.51% before soli) and soli also on the church tax; effective about 27.7%. Statute texts: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__32d.html and https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/solzg_1995/__4.html

Sparer-Pauschbetrag: the first EUR 1,000 (EUR 2,000 jointly assessed) of investment income and gains each year is exempt (§ 20(9) EStG). Uniquely it shelters the ABZUGSTEUER basis: with no other investment income, gains up to EUR 4,000 are tax-free because the tax (25% of 4,000 = 1,000) can be settled against the full allowance. The calculator applies the simpler reading (gains up to EUR 1,000 free) and flags the wider mechanic in a note. Statute: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__20.html

Crypto and real estate are private disposal transactions (§ 23 EStG), never Abgeltungsteuer: sold within one year (crypto) or ten years (real estate) the gain is taxed at the personal progressive scale (0-45%); beyond those windows it is tax-free. A strict Freigrenze of EUR 1,000 total annual § 23 gain applies: below it no tax, above it the whole gain is taxable. Real estate is exempt from day one when self-occupied in the year of sale and the two preceding years. Statute: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__23.html

Günstigerprüfung (§ 32d(6) EStG): where taxing investment income at the personal scale (with 60% of the gain included) gives less tax than the 25% flat rate, the scale applies; the bank applies it only on request. Not modelled - the calculator notes when it might pay.

Losses from securities sales offset securities gains first within the same year at the bank; remaining losses carry forward indefinitely (no US-style wash sale). Crypto losses (§ 23) offset only § 23 gains and only within the same year, subject to the EUR 1,000 Freigrenze.