Transparency register for property tax rates in Schleswig-Holstein

Anyone who owns property in Schleswig-Holstein can use the new transparency register to find out how high the property tax is likely to be from 2025 if the local authority keeps its promise to set the new assessment rate in such a way that tax revenue does not increase.

At the beginning of September, the Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of Finance published a transparency register with revenue-neutral assessment rate recommendations for local authorities regarding the property tax reform. The transparency register shows the assessment rates that individual municipalities would have to set so that their property tax revenue is not expected to increase or decrease in 2025 compared to 2024 as a result of the reform. A key promise in connection with the property tax reform was that the municipalities would not use the reform to generate significantly higher tax revenue from property tax, but would set the new assessment rate in such a way that property tax revenue would remain stable.

The information in the transparency register is not binding, but anyone who owns property in Schleswig-Holstein can use the register to get an idea of the approximate future amount of property tax from 2025, provided that the respective municipality remains true to its promise and does not deviate significantly upwards from the assessment rate in the transparency register. To calculate the future property tax to be paid, the new property tax assessment amount set by the tax office is multiplied by the new assessment rate of the city or municipality. The result is the property tax to be paid from 2025, but property owners will only find out the actual amount when the local authorities send out the new property tax assessments at the beginning of 2025.