First year after buying German rental property: Anlage V checklist

1. The first year is not a normal rental year

A purchase year combines acquisition records, rental records and setup tasks. You may own the property for only part of the year, receive rent for fewer than 12 months, pay one-off purchase costs, and still need to create an ELSTER account. Anlage V should reflect what happened during the calendar year, not a theoretical full-year rental plan.

2. Start with the ownership transfer date

For tax work, the important date is usually the economic transfer of benefits and burdens (Übergang von Nutzen und Lasten), not just the notary signature date. This date controls when you start reporting rent, expenses and AfA. If the purchase contract was signed in June but the transfer occurred in September, the first Anlage V year starts from September for the rental property calculation.

3. Split purchase price before calculating AfA

AfA (depreciation) applies only to the building, not to Grund und Boden (land). In the first year, you must split the purchase price and acquisition costs between land and building. The building share becomes the depreciation basis. Use the purchase contract, local Bodenrichtwert data or a documented allocation; a flat 80/20 split is a starting point, not proof for every property.

4. Pro-rate the first-year AfA

Under §7 Abs. 4 EStG, residential buildings usually depreciate at 2 %, 2.5 % or 3 % per year depending on completion year. In the acquisition year, AfA is pro-rated by ownership months. If the transfer happens in September, you normally count September through December, so 4/12 of the annual AfA.

5. Separate purchase costs from running expenses

Current rental expenses such as Grundsteuer, building insurance, mortgage interest, property management and repairs generally belong in Werbungskosten. Purchase-related costs such as notary fees, land-register fees, real-estate transfer tax and broker fees are usually acquisition costs. They are not deducted immediately in full; the building share increases the AfA basis.

• Immediate rental costs | insurance, property tax, management, interest, eligible repairs
• Acquisition basis | purchase price, notary, land registry, broker, transfer tax
• Not deductible | loan principal repayment and the land share of the property

6. Example: purchase in September

You buy a Berlin apartment for 360 000 €, with 80 % allocated to the building. Purchase costs are 36 000 €, also split 80/20. Building basis: 288 000 € + 28 800 € = 316 800 €. If the building uses the 2 % rate, full-year AfA is 6 336 €. With transfer in September, the first-year AfA is 4/12, or 2 112 €. Rent and expenses are reported only for the months and payments that actually occurred in the year.

7. When the first year is not safe for self-filing

Use a Steuerberater if the property was partly private-use, sold again, inherited, jointly owned, rented short-term, heavily renovated within three years, or acquired through a company. These cases change the classification or create judgement calls. Anlage V Easy is designed for straightforward residential rental property, not for acquisition planning or legal tax advice.