Ask a tax advisor on the topic of Income tax return

Deductible expenses and property unit value in property rental

January 4, 2020 | 50,00 EUR | answered by Steuerberater Knut Christiansen

Topic: Deductible expenses in the income category "rental and leasing"

Can losses from rental and leasing be offset against other income, or can these losses only be offset within the same income category with future profits from the same income category (via loss carryforward)? Is the loss carryforward limited in terms of time or amount?

A property owner had to travel frequently to his rented properties approximately 350 km away (location: Germany) (meeting with potential tenants, repairs, etc.). As a means of transportation, the property owner, who is the shareholder-director of his 1-person GmbH (painting business, location: Germany), used his company car, which he privately taxes through the 1% rule. Additionally, he has a second car registered in his name as a natural person in Poland, where the property owner owns a holiday home. He has kept fuel receipts. Can he claim travel expenses (using the vehicles)? If so, with the actual fuel receipts or using the calculation method of "30 cents / km"?

In the income tax return, the income from rental and leasing asks for a "unit value" of the properties. So far, a tax advisor has prepared the income tax returns. The tax advisor has always sent receipts and notices back to the client, but never a copy of the actual income tax return.

Question: Does the taxpayer have the right to receive copies of the submitted tax returns and the calculations of the unit value?

Steuerberater Knut Christiansen

Good day,

I would like to provide the following answers to your questions.

Losses from rental and leasing activities can be offset against other income. The carryforward of losses is not limited by time. Losses can be carried back up to 1 million euros, otherwise they will be carried forward, with an unlimited offset of losses up to 1 million. Beyond that, up to 60%.

Travel expenses to the properties can be claimed at 30 cents per kilometer. You should keep a record of your trips and be able to present them to the tax office upon request. If possible, you should indicate that you made the trips with a vehicle from Poland, as the tax office may not recognize trips made with a company vehicle.

In general, you have the right to receive a copy of your tax return. Therefore, you should ask your advisor for it. In Annex V, only the unit value symbol is usually requested. You can find this, for example, in the property tax assessment of the city or municipality responsible for the property. If in doubt, you can also call them and ask for the unit value symbol so that you can enter it in Annex V.

I hope I have answered your questions, if not, please feel free to contact me with your follow-up questions.

Best regards,

Knut Christiansen
Tax advisor