Tax clearance certificate (Unbedenklichkeitsbescheinigung)

What the certificate does

In Germany you become the civil-law owner of a property when you are entered in the land register, not when you sign the contract. The tax rule is a gate on that last step. Section 22(1) says a buyer “darf in das Grundbuch erst dann eingetragen werden” (may be entered only when) a certificate from the competent tax office is presented. The Bavarian tax office puts the same idea in plain terms: the buyer becomes the owner under civil law only with the registration, and the registration may be made only on presentation of the certificate.

The rule protects the tax claim: the state does not let the property change hands in the register while its tax is outstanding. For you, it means that paying the tax promptly is not a formality. It is the step that releases the final registration. The guide on the land register extract shows what the register contains, and the priority notice guide covers the priority notice entered in it.

When the office must issue it

According to § 22(2), the tax office must issue the certificate when the tax has been paid, secured or deferred, and also when the transaction is exempt. It may issue it in other cases if, in its judgement, the tax claim is not at risk. The law adds two formal points: the certificate must be issued in writing, and electronic transmission is excluded.

The states can provide exceptions in agreement with their justice ministries (§ 22(1)). The Bavarian office notes that for transactions that are clearly exempt, the land registry can do without a certificate.

The sequence in practice

1. The contract is signed before a notary. The tax arises with the valid contract, and the notary reports it to the tax office.
2. The tax notice arrives. Tax is due one month after the notice is announced (§ 15). The tax office first claims the tax from the party who agreed in the contract to bear it, in practice usually the buyer. For the mechanics and the rates by state, see the guide on real estate transfer tax in Germany.
3. You pay. The North Rhine-Westphalia tax offices stress that the certificate is issued after the payment has been received, so a late or wrongly referenced transfer holds it up.
4. The tax office sends the certificate to the notary, unprompted, for the land registry. The Bavarian and NRW pages say so, and Hamburg’s page says the notary needs it for the registration.
5. The notary files it and the registry registers you.

What can delay it

The official pages point to three causes.

• Payment that cannot be matched. When spouses or registered partners buy together, each gets a notice with its own tax number. The NRW offices ask you to quote both numbers when you pay in one transfer, or to pay each notice separately; otherwise matching the payment and issuing the certificate can be delayed. The Hessian ministry adds that the tax office rebooks the amounts internally before it issues the certificates when two notices were paid in one sum.
• Partial payment. The tax must be paid in full. In the Hessian ministry’s wording, an application for the state subsidy cannot be made while part of the tax is open.
• Missing tax data. The NRW offices say the notary needs your tax identification number to notify the tax office properly; give it early. See tax ID for property buyers.

Deferral and difficulties

The law lets the tax office set a longer payment period (§ 15), but the offices describe it as exceptional. The Bavarian office says deferral comes into question only in justified exceptional cases, and the NRW office says deferral generally cannot be granted. Plan the money in advance, ideally inside your financing.

Which professional to consult

The notary handles the certificate on your behalf and tells you when it has arrived (see the notary profession page). For a dispute about the amount of tax, the competent tax office or a tax adviser (Steuerberater) is the right contact. Payotte does not list or rank notaries.