The Landlord's Werbungskosten Catalogue - and Four Classic Own Goals

Werbungskosten are expenses incurred to earn rental income (§ 9 EStG). Residential letting is VAT-exempt (§ 4 Nr. 12a UStG), so you deduct gross amounts and there is no input-VAT recovery to chase.

Deductible

• Schuldzinsen - loan interest in full, including the part financing the land; plus Damnum/Disagio up to about 5%
• AfA on the building
• Grundsteuer, buildings insurance, owner's liability, legal expenses cover, account fees
• Hausgeld - the operating portion (see below)
• Verwaltervergütung, caretaker, cleaning, garden, chimney sweep
• Repairs and maintenance (Erhaltungsaufwand)
• Letting agent fees for finding a tenant, listings, tenant credit checks
• Notary and Grundbuch fees for the Grundschuld (mortgage charge) - a financing cost, deductible immediately
• Trips to the property at €0.30/km, phone, technical literature, Haus & Grund membership
• Steuerberater fees attributable to Anlage V
• Tools under €800 net; hired equipment

Four classic own goals

1. Tilgung - principal repayment is never deductible. Only the interest column counts. Use the bank's annual Zinsbescheinigung, not your total instalments. The NRW tax administration states this explicitly.
2. Erhaltungsrücklage - paying into the WEG reserve is not yet a deduction. BFH IX R 19/24 (14 Jan 2025) confirmed the deduction only arises when the Gemeinschaft der Wohnungseigentümer actually spends the money on maintenance. Split every Hausgeld statement into the operating part (deduct now) and the reserve contribution (park it, and track the balance).
3. Kaufnebenkosten - Grunderwerbsteuer, the buyer's agent commission and the purchase notary fee are acquisition costs, not expenses. They enter the AfA base pro rata.
4. Private use and § 35a - any private or family use requires apportionment, and the Handwerkerbonus of § 35a EStG is unavailable for a rented property; landlords use the Werbungskosten route exclusively.

Not tax advice - have a Steuerberater review your first Anlage V.