You may also find the following information useful:

As of 1 January 2025, real property tax will be levied on the basis of the new rules and new multipliers set by the local authorities. What are the next steps? You can find answers to the most important questions on the new property tax (in German) in our FAQs and at www.grundsteuerreform.de. Please note that the Federal Ministry of Finance is unable to provide information concerning individual tax cases as different rules apply in the individual Länder.

• Fake emails from the Federal Central Tax Office
  Currently, various types of fake emails are being sent out in the name of the Federal Central Tax Office (Bundeszentralamt für Steuern) that notify recipients of purported late-filing penalties, processing fees or other costs. Further information is available on the Federal Central Tax Office’s website.
• General warning from the police: There are repeated reports of fraudsters demanding payments of fees or taxes (for example, for a purported inheritance or crypto profit) in communications that use the name of the Federal Ministry of Finance or other international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Central Bank or the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA). Please note the following important information if you believe you have received any communication of this kind:
  • None of the above institutions request fees from members of the public or carry out tax assessments. These tasks do not fall within their remit. Taxes are assessed only by tax offices. In general, tax offices communicate only by regular mail.
  • None of the above institutions send unprompted text messages, WhatsApp messages or emails to members of the public.
  • If you have any doubts, do not hesitate to contact us. You can also contact your local police station, especially if you have already made any type of payment.
  • The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) also provides information (in German) on the subject of “smishing” (text message phishing and the latest scams and how to recognise phishing emails. Warnings and reports for consumers regarding bank, financial service and insurance transactions are available on the website of the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin).
• Be careful with cryptocurrency transactions: We are receiving increasing reports of cases where individuals have invested money in fake online crypto exchanges. The fraudsters promise a large profit, but the payout requires advance payment of a fee (for example, to the Anti-Money Laundering Authority, or AMLA). In these cases, the fraudulent action starts with the fake crypto exchange. If you wish to invest in cryptocurrencies, we urge you to carefully assess whether the crypto provider is legitimate. You can also request an assessment from your bank or from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin).