Change of main residence to Austria
June 17, 2013 | 35,00 EUR | answered by Steuerberater Thomas Textoris
Hello,
my wife is Austrian, she inherited her parents' house there about 30 years ago, she has no income of her own and her house is not rented out.
I am German and receive a statutory pension as well as company pension.
We currently live in Germany in a condominium (main residence). My wife also has a secondary residence in Austria. We file our joint tax return (tax class 3) in Germany.
For certain reasons, my wife would now have to register her main residence in Austria. She would therefore live there for more than 6 months. For the time being, I would keep my residence in Germany. However, this is not a separation. If you will, we live 50:50 in Germany and Austria ;-)
Question:
How will this affect our tax return? What do we need to consider? Any disadvantages?
Thank you in advance!
Dear inquirer,
In the context of an initial consultation and considering the regulations of this forum, I would like to answer your question.
The question arises as to whether you and your wife can choose joint taxation (§§ 26(1) EStG, 26 b EStG) and thus also apply the splitting procedure according to § 32a (5) EStG. Both spouses must be subject to unlimited income tax liability pursuant to § 1 (1) or 2 or § 1a.
First of all, your wife is considered to be resident in Austria, as she has a residence there and, according to your information, also has her habitual residence (residence for more than 6 months).
Article 4 (2) of the Germany-Austria Double Taxation Agreement must be taken into account here. Since your wife has a permanent place of residence in both states, she is considered resident in the state with which she has closer economic and personal ties (center of vital interests).
This determination requires a comprehensive assessment of both personal and economic relationships based on the overall circumstances of the individual case. Criteria for evaluating personal relationships can include circles of friends and acquaintances or participation in social life in a place. The quality of the accommodation also plays a crucial role. However, for a non-separately living person, the focus is on the location of the family residence! Criteria for evaluating economic relationships include factors such as the location of work in the case of employment, location of real estate, etc.
Based on your information, the center of vital interests should be in Germany, given that you retain the family residence in Germany. I cannot conclusively assess the economic focus. However, it should also be in Germany if you only receive a pension in Germany!
Therefore, you would continue to submit a joint tax return in Germany.
Kind regards,
Thomas Textoris
Tax Advisor
