Restnutzungsdauer-Gutachten: The December 2025 Reset

§ 7 Abs. 4 Satz 2 EStG has always allowed depreciation over the tatsächliche Nutzungsdauer (actual useful life) where it is shorter than the statutory 50 years. A 1968 building with 25 years left is written off at 4% instead of 2%.

What changed

BFH IX R 25/19 (28 Jul 2021) held that jede sachverständige Methode - any suitable expert method - is admissible proof. The BMF pushed back with its letter of 22 Feb 2023, which demanded an exhaustive component-level appraisal, effectively excluded the ImmoWertV model approach, and narrowed who could appraise.

The BMF letter of 1 December 2025 repealed the 2023 letter outright. As of 2026 there are no binding administrative formalities: only the statute and BFH case law apply, in all open cases. Assessments previously rejected on the 2023 formalities can be revisited if still open.

What a defensible appraisal contains

• On-site inspection with photo documentation
• Component-by-component condition (roof, facade, windows, heating, sanitary, electrics)
• Modernisation history and its age-reducing effect, with the method disclosed (typically ImmoWertV 2021, § 4 Abs. 3)
• A reasoned, object-specific figure - not the raw output of a spreadsheet

ISO/IEC 17024 certification or public appointment is no longer mandatory, but remains a useful credibility signal.

The maths

Building base €138,450: 2% = €2,769/yr. A 25-year remaining life = 4% = €5,538/yr. The extra €2,769 deduction is roughly €1,160 of tax at 42% (more with NRW church tax). Appraisals run around €900-1,800 and are themselves deductible, so payback is typically 12-24 months.

Two honest caveats. Providers advertise very high acceptance rates; treat those as marketing, not evidence - practice still varies by Finanzamt. And this is timing, not free money: a faster write-off exhausts the base sooner, and inside the 10-year window every euro of AfA increases a taxable sale gain.

Not tax advice - discuss with a Steuerberater before commissioning an appraisal.