Documents checklist for filing your German Anlage V

The exact paperwork non-resident landlords need before opening ELSTER.

Updated 24 April 2026 8 min read

1. The legal requirement for document retention

German tax law requires you to prove every number you claim on your Einkommensteuererklärung (income tax return). Under § 147 AO (Abgabenordnung), you must keep all tax-relevant documents for exactly 10 years. You do not attach these PDFs to your ELSTER submission by default. You wait for the Finanzamt (tax office) to request them. Non-resident landlords face higher scrutiny. The Finanzamt Neubrandenburg, which handles many non-resident files under § 49 Abs. 1 Nr. 6 EStG, routinely asks for supporting documents during your first year of filing. When they send a request, you typically have 30 days to reply via the ELSTER Belegnachreichung (document upload system). Gathering your documents before you open ELSTER prevents filing delays. You need specific paperwork to establish your depreciation basis, prove your rental income, and justify your deductible expenses. Missing a single invoice can result in the tax office rejecting a deduction entirely.

2. Foundation documents for your depreciation basis

You need your Kaufvertrag (purchase contract) and Grundbuchauszug (land register extract) to establish your acquisition costs. These documents prove you own the property and confirm the purchase price. You also need the Notar (notary) invoice, the local court fee invoice, and the Grunderwerbsteuerbescheid (real estate transfer tax assessment). These incidental costs add to your total acquisition value. You cannot depreciate land. You only depreciate the Gebäudeanteil (building share) under § 7 Abs. 4 EStG. You need the Bodenrichtwert (standard land value from BORIS-D) to calculate the non-depreciable Grund-und-Boden (land portion). For example, you buy an apartment for 300 000 €. The notary costs 4 500 € and the transfer tax is 18 000 €. Your total acquisition cost is 322 500 €. If the land value dictates a 20 % land share, your depreciable building basis is 258 000 €. At the standard 2.0 % AfA (Absetzung für Abnutzung) rate, you deduct 5 160 € annually. You enter this figure directly in Zeile 33 of your Anlage V. You must keep the purchase contract and all closing invoices to defend this 5 160 € deduction for the next 50 years.

3. Bank statements and leases to prove rental income

The tax office requires proof of the money hitting your account. German tax law operates on the strict inflow principle under § 11 EStG. You declare income in the year you actually receive it. Download your bank statements for the entire calendar year. Highlight the monthly rent deposits. If your tenant pays the December 2024 rent on 2 January 2025, that payment belongs in your 2025 tax return. You declare the Kaltmiete (net cold rent) in Zeile 13. You declare the Nebenkosten (utility prepayments) you received from the tenant in Zeile 20. Keep your current Mietvertrag (lease agreement) on file. The tax office frequently requests the lease to verify the contract terms and the total rent amount. If you rent the property to family members below market rate, you declare this rent in Zeile 19. The Finanzamt will check your lease to ensure the rent is at least 66 % of the local market rate. If it falls below 66 %, they will proportionally cut your deductible expenses in Zeilen 87–88.

4. Bank documents for mortgage interest deductions

Mortgage interest is fully deductible as Werbungskosten (deductible expenses) under § 9 EStG. Principal repayment is never deductible. You prove your interest expense with a Jahreszinsbescheinigung (annual interest statement) from your bank. German banks issue this document automatically between January and March. You enter the total interest paid in Zeile 46. If your mortgage is with a foreign bank, they might not issue a German tax certificate. You must compile your monthly statements, sum up the interest manually, and highlight the interest portion for the tax clerk. The Finanzamt requires a clear distinction between interest and principal. If you paid a Disagio (discount fee) or bank setup fees for the loan, keep those specific bank letters. You declare these loan setup costs in Zeile 49 as Geldbeschaffungskosten. Bank account fees for your dedicated rental account also qualify as deductions. You enter standard account maintenance fees in Zeile 76.

5. The annual property management statement

If you own an apartment, you pay monthly Hausgeld (association fees) to the WEG (homeowners' association). The WEG administrator sends you a Hausgeldabrechnung (annual property management statement) around May or June. This document splits your costs into two categories. You declare the umgelegte Kosten (costs passed to the tenant, like water, heating, and trash collection) in Zeile 73. You declare the nicht umgelegte Kosten (owner-borne costs, like administration fees and bank charges) in Zeile 76. The statement also details your contribution to the Erhaltungsrücklage (maintenance reserve). You cannot deduct reserve contributions when you pay them into the WEG account. You only deduct the exact amount the WEG actually spent on building repairs during that calendar year. The Hausgeldabrechnung usually contains a specific page titled Bescheinigung für die Steuererklärung (certificate for the tax return). This page explicitly states your deductible repair figure for the year. You must keep the entire statement, not just the summary page, as the tax office may want to verify the exact breakdown of utility costs.

6. Invoices and bank receipts for repairs

Keep every invoice for repairs, maintenance, and renovations. These qualify as Erhaltungsaufwand (maintenance expenses). You enter fully deductible repair costs in Zeilen 55–56. You must keep the bank transfer receipt alongside the invoice. The Finanzamt strictly rejects cash payments for trade services to prevent tax evasion. Pay close attention to the 15 % rule under § 6 Abs. 1 Nr. 1a EStG. If you spend more than 15 % of the building's purchase price on renovations within the first three years of ownership, the tax office classifies this as anschaffungsnaher Herstellungsaufwand (acquisition-related manufacturing costs). Assume your building basis is 200 000 €. The 15 % threshold is 30 000 €. If you spend 29 000 € on a new bathroom in year two, you deduct the full 29 000 € in Zeilen 55–56. If you spend 31 000 €, you breach the threshold. The entire 31 000 € adds to your purchase price. You can only deduct 2.0 % of it each year over 50 years. Keep a running spreadsheet of your repair invoices for the first three years to monitor this limit.

7. Property tax assessments and municipal fee notices

You need your Grundsteuerbescheid (property tax assessment) from the local municipality. Grundsteuer is fully deductible as a passed-on cost. You enter the amount paid during the calendar year in Zeile 73. If you pay street cleaning or chimney sweep fees directly to the municipality or service provider rather than through the WEG, keep those invoices. You declare these operating costs in the same section. If your property is commercial, you must also track Umsatzsteuer (VAT). You enter VAT received from tenants in Zeile 27 and VAT paid to the Finanzamt in Zeile 79. Residential landlords generally ignore the VAT lines.

8. Prior-year tax assessments and asset registers

You need your Steuerbescheid (tax assessment notice) from the previous year. It confirms which multi-year deductions the tax office accepted. If you bought a fitted kitchen or furniture, you depreciate it over 10 years as movable assets in Zeilen 42–45. You must maintain an Anlagenverzeichnis (asset register) tracking the remaining value each year. If you spread a large repair bill over two to five years under §§ 11a, 11b EStG, you need the initial calculation from the year the repair occurred. You declare the carry-over amounts from previous years in Zeilen 61–72. For example, if you split a 10 000 € roof repair equally over five years starting in 2023, you enter the 2 000 € deduction for 2025 in Zeilen 67–69. The prior-year Steuerbescheid proves the Finanzamt already approved the total amount.

9. Organizing and submitting your digital files

ELSTER only accepts PDF files. Scan your paper documents at 300 DPI. Keep the file sizes under 5 MB per document. Name your files clearly with the tax year, document type, and property location. A file named "2025_Hausgeldabrechnung_Berlin.pdf" helps the tax clerk process your return faster than a file named "Scan_001.pdf". Create a dedicated folder on your computer for each tax year. Place your bank statements, interest certificates, and repair invoices into this folder as they arrive. Prepare your German rental tax report from abroad in 10 minutes for 79 € using Anlage V Easy, which automatically maps your totals to the correct ELSTER lines. Once your return is submitted, you keep your organized PDFs on your hard drive. If the Finanzamt sends a document request, you simply upload the requested PDFs directly through the ELSTER portal. You hold onto the digital files until the 10-year statutory retention period expires.