Knowledge · Right-sizing your home
How do gifts and tax allowances work when I pass on the house?
Assets can be transferred during your lifetime, and up to the level of personal allowances no gift tax arises — the precise arrangement belongs in the hands of a notary and a tax adviser.
As at: June 2026
The answer first. A gift is the transfer of assets during one’s lifetime. The same tax law applies to it as to inheritances. Each person has a personal allowance whose level depends on the degree of kinship — the closer the relation, the higher it is. Up to that amount no gift tax arises. Which amounts apply in your case, and how a handover can sensibly be arranged, is clarified by a notary and a tax adviser.
What an allowance means
An allowance is the amount up to which a gift remains tax-free. It is personal and follows the closeness of the relationship: spouses and children stand closer and have higher allowances than more distant relatives or people outside the family. If the value of the gift is below the allowance, no gift tax arises; if it is above, only the part exceeding it is taxed. The statutory allowances are public; what we deliberately do not calculate are the tax rate and your case-specific amounts — they belong with tax advice.
Why the regular recurrence matters
Allowances apply not only once but recur at regular intervals. Those who begin early can therefore spread a handover over time and use the allowances more than once, instead of transferring everything in a single step. This is exactly where ordering things in good time pays off: with gifts, time is a value in itself. The sequence over time and its effect in your case belong in the hands of a tax adviser.
Allowance and time when gifting
The statutory tax-free allowances (§ 16 ErbStG) apply afresh every ten years. This illustration shows how a handover can be spread over time.
A rough estimate is enough.
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General legal position
Allowance and time
—statutory allowance (§ 16 ErbStG), usable afresh every ten years
In an inheritance, by contrast, the same allowance applies only once. That is exactly the lever when gifting: begin early and use the allowance several times over the years.
The allowances under § 16 ErbStG are public law — this is the general legal position, not a calculation of your individual case. The tax rate on any excess, special cases (such as parents, grandparents or a retained usufruct) and your specific arrangement belong with tax advice.
We order the right timing with you. Talk to us.
Gift, security and the compulsory share
Whoever transfers should first secure their own living and provision — for instance through a registered right of residence or a usufruct. If a gift is combined with a retained usufruct, this can also affect the value of the gift that matters for tax. At the same time, a gift can touch the compulsory share (the minimum statutory entitlement certain close relatives have even against a will) of close relatives. Both deserve early thought; the arrangement is handled by a notary and a tax adviser together.
What we do — and what we don’t
We order the picture with you, bring the right questions to the table in good time and make sure the family carries the path together. We do not quote figures off the cuff and do not replace tax or legal advice. The concrete arrangement — amounts, contracts, tax consequences — belongs with a notary and a tax adviser. That is exactly where we accompany the questions, before anything is fixed.
Giving does not mean giving up control
A common worry is that a gift means losing command over your own house. It does not have to be so. Those who transfer while retaining a right of residence or a usufruct continue to live there or keep the income — even when ownership has already passed. In this way a lifetime handover can be combined with your own security: the assets pass on in an orderly way, and your provision comes first. How a gift, a right of residence and a usufruct can sensibly be combined in your case, and what that means for tax, belongs in the hands of a notary and a tax adviser — we make sure these questions are asked in good time.
Frequently asked questions
- Am I giving away control over the house?
- Not if you secure yourself. Through a registered right of residence or a usufruct you keep the living or the income, even when ownership already passes. The transfer and its safeguard belong together and are drawn up before a notary.
- How often can I use the allowances?
- Allowances apply again at regular intervals. Those who begin early can therefore spread a handover over time and use them more than once. The precise amounts and the timing belong with tax advice — we do not quote figures off the cuff.
- Will Wahrgut tell me the exact amounts?
- The statutory allowances are public — the calculator above illustrates them. What we deliberately do not calculate is the tax rate on any excess and your case-specific amounts; that, along with contracts and tax consequences, belongs with a notary and a tax adviser — exactly where we accompany the questions.
- Does a gift count towards the compulsory share?
- Lifetime gifts can touch the compulsory share of close relatives; depending on the case and the time that has passed, a supplementary claim may arise. How this plays out in your case is a question for legal advice — we bring it to a notary and a lawyer in good time.
Your next step
Transfer during one’s lifetime
How the house can be passed on during one’s lifetime and secured at the same time.
Read on →This article provides orientation and does not replace legal or tax advice. Amounts and arrangement are clarified by a notary and a tax adviser.
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