Grundsteuer in Bavaria: what condominium owners need to know

Bavaria calculates differently from the federal model

Most German states follow the federal model, which is based on standard land values and statistical net rents. Bavaria used the opening clause for the states and introduced a purely area-based model with the Bavarian Property Tax Act (BayGrStG), in force since 2025. The state’s official information page is grundsteuer.bayern.de.

The value of the property plays no part in it. Two flats of the same size pay the same Grundsteuer whether they are in a prime location or on the edge of town — as long as the land share and the building area match. That is politically contested, and a noticeable advantage for owners in sought-after locations.

The calculation in three steps

Equivalence figure, land

€0.04/m²

Equivalence figure, building area

€0.50/m²

Tax rate factor, land

100%

Tax rate factor, residential space

70%

Multiplier (Hebesatz)

set by the municipality

Step one: equivalence amounts. The area of your share of the land is multiplied by €0.04, the building area by €0.50.

Step two: base amount (Messbetrag). The tax rate factor (Grundsteuermesszahl) is applied to the equivalence amounts — separately for each area. For land it is 100 per cent, for residential space 70 per cent. The 30 per cent reduction therefore applies only to the building part and is the key relief for residential use. For listed buildings and subsidised housing, the factor for residential space falls by a further 25 per cent.

Step three: multiplier. The base amount is multiplied by the municipality’s multiplier (Hebesatz). Only here do the differences between Nuremberg, Fürth and Erlangen arise — and this is the only factor that can change every year without anything happening to your flat.

Worked example

A condominium flat with 70 m² of living space and a co-ownership share corresponding to 90 m² of land:

• Land: 90 × €0.04 = €3.60 × 100% = €3.60
• Building (living space): 70 × €0.50 = €35.00 × 70% = €24.50
• Base amount: €3.60 + €24.50 = €28.10

City	Multiplier, Grundsteuer B	Grundsteuer per year
Nuremberg (from 2026)	750%	around €211
Fürth (as of 2025)	660%	around €185
Erlangen (from 2026)	625%	around €176

The multipliers come from the cities’ own publications, for Nuremberg from the finance department’s page on the property tax reform. They can change every year — what counts is the figure on your current Grundsteuer assessment.

What is special about condominium ownership

Each unit gets its own assessment. Unlike buildings insurance or waste charges, the Grundsteuer does not go through the owners’ association. Every owner receives their own assessment and pays directly. That is why it appears neither in the budget (Wirtschaftsplan) nor in the WEG annual statement.

The land share follows the co-ownership share. This explains the most common surprise: two neighbours with identical living space pay different amounts because their co-ownership shares differ. The share is set out in the declaration of division (Teilungserklärung).

Parking spaces and cellars. The area of a garage or underground parking space is disregarded up to 50 m² if it is legally assigned to the flat and physically connected to it (Art. 2(2) BayGrStG) — even if the parking space is a separate unit (Teileigentum). What remains taxable is then only its share of the land. Cellars and storage rooms outside the flat are ancillary rooms; they are not part of the living space and therefore do not count.

Passing it on to tenants

Under § 2 no. 1 BetrKV, the Grundsteuer is recoverable if the tenancy agreement provides for operating costs to be passed on. It thus belongs to the small group of items a letting owner can actually recharge — unlike the manager’s fee and contributions to the maintenance reserve.

In practice, this means for the Nebenkostenabrechnung: the Grundsteuer does not come from the WEG statement but from your own assessment. Anyone who builds the tenant’s statement solely from the association’s annual statement regularly forgets it. In unit management (Sondereigentumsverwaltung), your own Grundsteuer assessment is therefore fed into the statement. At around €210 a year, that is a good €2,000 over ten years of ownership that would otherwise stay with the landlord.

Do not overlook the reporting duties

The area model is static — the figures stay in place until the actual circumstances change. That is precisely when a reporting duty arises: loft conversion, extension, conversion from residential to commercial use or vice versa.

The deadline: changes during a calendar year must be reported together to the tax office by 31 March of the following year (Art. 6(5) BayGrStG), preferably electronically via ELSTER using form BayGrSt 5. There is no de minimis threshold. If the deadline is missed, the duty remains, and the tax office can impose a late-filing surcharge (guidance on BayernPortal).

Anyone who extends a flat and fails to report it risks back payments. Anyone who converts a commercial unit to residential use and fails to report it gives away the 30 per cent reduction. Clarify your specific case with your tax adviser before the work is finished.

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This article explains how the system works. For your specific assessment, objections and reporting duties, your tax adviser is the right contact — we are not.