Erbschaftsteuer bei Beherbergungsbetrieben bleibt beim Alten

At the beginning of the year, the Federal Fiscal Court (BFH) mentioned in its ruling of 28 February 2020 that land in hotel businesses is not a privileged business asset for tax purposes, but that the land is a harmful administrative asset.

The consequence would have been that the inheritance tax benefits, which are only intended for business assets, would not apply to administrative assets. If the properties of hotels, guesthouses and campsites were to be transferred, this would have major tax implications.

We described the ruling and its consequences in our article from 28 October 2024.

The Bavarian State Ministry of Finance has now announced that a partial non-application decree on this BFH judgement will be published shortly. The tax authorities continue to maintain that land is not part of the administrative assets of accommodation businesses, as other commercial activities are offered on a standardised basis in addition to the provision of the land. This means that the land is part of the tax-privileged business assets and is favoured for inheritance tax purposes.

Furthermore, the Bavarian State Ministry has announced that an amendment to the law is being examined that supports the view of the tax authorities.

This means that family businesses that run an accommodation business in particular can breathe a sigh of relief. The upcoming partial non-application decree means that the BFH judgement does not apply to accommodation businesses. So everything remains the same, good news at the end of the year!