Deduction amount for business assets applies only once

The deduction for business assets for inheritance tax purposes is used up for the first acquisition within the ten-year period even if it has no effect.

In the case of inheritance tax, there is a deductible amount of 150,000 euros for business assets, which, however, dwindles down to 0 euros if the tax-free amount is exceeded. This deduction can only be claimed once within 10 years for acquisitions from the same person. The Federal Fiscal Court has now confirmed the view of the tax office that the deduction amount was "taken into account" even if it did not have any effect at all on the first gift because it fell to 0 euros as a result of the meltdown. In the case of a further gift within 10 years, the deduction amount is therefore no longer available. From a tax point of view, it would therefore have been more favorable in this case to make the smaller gift first, in which the deduction amount would actually have had an effect.