Ask a tax advisor on the topic of Gift tax

Transfer of securities between spouses

January 10, 2011 | 40,00 EUR | answered by Oliver Burchardt

Category: Gift tax
Topic: Transfer of securities account between spouses

We want to transfer our joint account/securities account to one spouse.

The bank form for the transfer of securities account states:

/_/ Transfer between spouses
Since January 1, 2010, transfers between spouses' accounts are also considered gratuitous transfers. If holdings acquired before January 1, 2009 are transferred (gratuitously), the notification "gratuitous transfer" is sent to the tax office.

Questions:
1. For what purpose is data storage carried out, or what prompts the tax office to act based on the bank notification of a "gratuitous transfer"?
2. Does the bank also have to report securities holdings acquired before January 1, 2009?
3. Is the notification to the tax office possibly not required,
a) below a minimum investment amount?
b) if spouses do not have separate property and
c) are jointly assessed by the tax office?

Thank you for answering the questions!

Oliver Burchardt

Dear inquirer,

Thank you for your inquiry, which I am happy to answer as part of an initial consultation.

The notification of the transfer of the securities account serves to ensure the collection of capital gains tax. With the transfer, the acquisition costs pass to the new account, while the collection of capital gains tax on the transferred securities is avoided.

There is no notification of the transfer of old holdings, as no flat-rate tax is levied on any sales proceeds. There is therefore no need to report such transfers.

The notification of the tax-free transfer to a spouse is based on the official form. There are no provisions for minimum values, joint assessment, or marital relationships on this form.

I hope that my explanations have been helpful to you.

Kind regards,

Oliver Burchardt
Tax advisor