Gift tax?
April 17, 2021 | 50,00 EUR | answered by Steuerberater Knut Christiansen
The rent from a shared apartment (2 sisters) was deposited into a joint checking account. A scale savings plan was funded from the joint checking account. This savings plan is issued to one of the sisters. Now this savings plan needs to be dissolved. Can half of the amount be transferred to a separate savings account for each sister? Does the tax office need to be informed and is it possible that gift tax must be paid?
Good day and thank you for using frag-einen.com!
Regarding your question, I would like to provide you with the following information.
A gift would be present if you were to freely give the money to your sister. This would be the case if your sister had no claim to repayment of this half. I assume that the savings in this account were also made with funds from your sister. Strictly speaking, this would also be a gift from your sister to you, unless it was intended as a loan. If it was done in the form of a loan, then there would be no gift in either the half saving or the repayment. It would be best to agree on this in writing.
However, if a gift (in both cases) was/were intended, then the transfer must be reported to the tax office within three months of the gift. If the amount is less than 20,000 EUR and there have been no other gifts within the last 10 years, no gift tax would be due. Between siblings, there is a tax-free allowance for gifts of 20,000 EUR each in 10 years.
Please note that this forum cannot replace personal advice, but only allows for an initial tax assessment.
Best regards,
Knut Christiansen
Tax consultant
