Leerstand
Vacancy — costs stay deductible if you keep trying to let the flat.
Leerstand is a period when the rental property is empty. Costs during vacancy remain deductible Werbungskosten as long as you can show a continuing intention to let (Vermietungsabsicht): listings, agent instructions, viewings, reasonable asking rents and renovation work done to make the flat lettable. Long vacancies without visible letting efforts, own use between tenants, or plans to sell can lead the Finanzamt to deny the costs for that period. On Anlage V, vacancy simply means lower income for the year; there is no separate vacancy deduction. A foreign owner should keep the evidence of letting efforts dated and in one folder, because it is harder to reconstruct from abroad when the Finanzamt asks two years later.
Last reviewed: by Yann Lephay.