Grunderwerbsteuer and Grundsteuer in NRW 2026

Grunderwerbsteuer: 6.5%, once

NRW charges 6.5%, the joint highest rate in Germany, unchanged since 2015. On a €180,000 flat that is €11,700, due roughly a month after the Grunderwerbsteuerbescheid; the notary cannot complete the transfer of title until the Unbedenklichkeitsbescheinigung issues. It is not a Werbungskosten - it capitalises into acquisition costs and is only recovered slowly through AfA on the building share.

Legitimately reducing the base

The tax is on the consideration for the land and building. Movable Inventar genuinely sold with the flat - fitted kitchen, wardrobes, awning, sauna, garden equipment - is not part of that. List each item with a realistic second-hand value in a separate clause of the contract. €8,000 of kitchen saves €520.

Two boundaries:

• Values must be defensible. Finanzämter routinely challenge inventory much above roughly 15% of the price and ask for invoices, photos or age evidence. Inflated lists also unsettle the lender, since inventory is not collateral and is stripped out of the financed amount.
• The Erhaltungsrücklage taken over from the seller does not reduce the base - BFH II R 49/17 (16 Sep 2020) settled that, even if the contract itemises it. Awkwardly, it also does not increase your AfA base (OFD Frankfurt, 9 Nov 2022).

Grundsteuer: annual, and the tenant pays it

NRW applies the Bundesmodell: the Finanzamt sets the Grundsteuerwert, multiplies by the Steuermesszahl (0.031% for residential property) to give the Messbetrag, and the municipality applies its Hebesatz.

Bonn ran differentiated rates in 2025 (657% residential, 900% non-residential). In June 2026 the Rat abolished the differentiation and set a single Grundsteuer B Hebesatz of 680%, retroactive to 1 January 2026 - an increase for residential owners. Grundsteuer A is 543%.

The good news: Grundsteuer is an allocable operating cost (umlagefähig, § 2 Nr. 1 BetrKV) and can be passed to the tenant - but only if the lease actually agrees Betriebskosten. Declare the recharge as rental income and deduct the tax; it nets to zero.

Not tax advice - confirm any inventory clause with your Steuerberater and notary.