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Inheritance tax by city

Tax-free square metres: Germany's inheritance tax allowance now covers half the home it did in 2009

Germany's inheritance tax allowances have not changed since 2009: €400,000 for children, €200,000 for grandchildren, €20,000 for siblings and unmarried partners. House and flat prices have more than doubled since. For 24 cities and districts we used real sale prices to work out how many square metres the allowances covered then and now, and who pays tax on a typical home.

As of 30 October 2026: The Federal Constitutional Court heard two cases on inheritance tax on 12 and 13 October 2026. In one of them Bavaria objects, among other things, that the allowances have not been adjusted since 2009 although property prices have risen sharply. The rulings are expected in a few months; until then, today's rules apply.

What the numbers show

  • A child's allowance covered 230 m² of house on average in 2009; today it covers 113 m². For flats it shrank from 256 m² to 119 m² (average of the cities with prices since 2009).
  • An only child who inherits a typical house (135 m²) and doesn't move in pays inheritance tax in 17 of 23 cities today, at 2009 prices in none. In Frankfurt it is €40,750.
  • Munich: a child's allowance bought 133 m² of flat in 2009 and buys 45 m² today. For a grandchild it is 22 m².
  • Unmarried couples are hit hardest: a €20,000 allowance and at least 30% tax. On a 70 m² flat in Munich that is €180,900; a spouse pays nothing.
  • Adjusted for inflation, a child's allowance would be about €559,000 today, and about €916,000 in line with house prices in the GREIX cities.

How much flat a child inherits tax-free, 2009 and today

  • 2009
  • today (2025)
  1. Munich
  2. Hamburg
  3. Frankfurt
  4. Potsdam
  5. Cologne
  6. Düsseldorf
  7. Münster
  8. Stuttgart
  9. Wiesbaden
  10. Lübeck
  11. Bonn
  12. Karlsruhe
  13. Dresden
  14. Erfurt
  15. Bocholt
  16. Mettmann district
  17. Dortmund
  18. Bochum
  19. Duisburg
  20. Hamm
  21. Chemnitz
Square metres of flat that a child's allowance (€400,000) covers at the average sale price. Prices: GREIX, annual values. Cities with prices since 2009; every number is in the table below.

All 24 cities and districts

Average sale price per m² of living space for the year; m²: what a child's allowance of €400,000 covered in 2009 and covers today. Where prices start later, the first year is given.

CityFlat €/m²Child: m² flatHouse €/m²Child: m² house
Munich€8,900133 m² → 45 m²––
Hamburg€6,200174 m² → 65 m²€5,200174 m² → 77 m²
Frankfurt€5,900167 m² → 68 m²€5,300167 m² → 75 m²
Potsdam€5,500167 m² → 73 m²€5,000222 m² → 80 m²
Cologne€4,800211 m² → 83 m²€4,400182 m² → 91 m²
Düsseldorf€4,600211 m² → 87 m²€5,200148 m² → 77 m²
Münster€4,600222 m² → 87 m²€4,400211 m² → 91 m²
Stuttgart€4,400190 m² → 91 m²€5,200154 m² → 77 m²
Wiesbaden€4,200211 m² → 95 m²€4,300167 m² → 93 m²
Lübeck€4,000286 m² → 100 m²€3,300286 m² → 121 m²
Bonn€3,900250 m² → 103 m²€4,100222 m² → 98 m²
Karlsruhe€3,800235 m² → 105 m²€4,400182 m² → 91 m²
Leipzig€3,400182 m² → 118 m² (from 2014)€3,300250 m² → 121 m² (from 2014)
Rhein-Erft district€3,400286 m² → 118 m² (from 2010)€3,200250 m² → 125 m² (from 2010)
Dresden€3,200235 m² → 125 m²€3,300267 m² → 121 m²
Erfurt€2,900286 m² → 138 m²€2,900286 m² → 138 m²
Bocholt€2,900333 m² → 138 m²€2,500286 m² → 160 m²
Mettmann district€2,900286 m² → 138 m²€3,700211 m² → 108 m²
Dortmund€2,400364 m² → 167 m²€3,100267 m² → 129 m²
Bochum€2,300333 m² → 174 m²€3,100235 m² → 129 m²
Duisburg€2,300400 m² → 174 m²€2,900267 m² → 138 m²
Hamm€1,900400 m² → 211 m²€2,500308 m² → 160 m²
Ludwigslust-Parchim district€1,800444 m² → 222 m² (from 2013)€1,400500 m² → 286 m² (from 2013)
Chemnitz€1,700286 m² → 235 m²€1,900364 m² → 211 m²

Who pays tax on a typical house (135 m²)

Inheritance tax when one person inherits the whole house, doesn't move in and inherits nothing else. The GREIX has no house prices for Munich; its flats are on the city's page.

CityValueChildGrandchildSibling, niece, nephewUnmarried partner
Frankfurt€715,500€40,750€77,325€197,750€208,650
Hamburg€702,000€34,000€75,300€191,000€204,600
Düsseldorf€702,000€34,000€75,300€191,000€204,600
Stuttgart€702,000€34,000€75,300€191,000€204,600
Potsdam€675,000€30,250€71,250€177,500€196,500
Cologne€594,000€21,340€59,100€143,500€172,200
Münster€594,000€21,340€59,100€143,500€172,200
Karlsruhe€594,000€21,340€59,100€143,500€172,200
Wiesbaden€580,500€19,855€57,075€140,125€168,150
Bonn€553,500€16,885€53,025€133,375€160,050
Mettmann district€499,500€10,945€32,945€119,875€143,850
Lübeck€445,500€3,185€27,005€106,375€127,650
Leipzig€445,500€3,185€27,005€106,375€127,650
Dresden€445,500€3,185€27,005€106,375€127,650
Rhein-Erft district€432,000€2,240€25,520€103,000€123,600
Dortmund€418,500€1,295€24,035€99,625€119,550
Bochum€418,500€1,295€24,035€99,625€119,550
Erfurt€391,5000 €€21,065€92,875€111,450
Duisburg€391,5000 €€21,065€92,875€111,450
Bocholt€337,5000 €€15,125€68,750€95,250
Hamm€337,5000 €€15,125€68,750€95,250
Chemnitz€256,5000 €€3,955€47,300€70,950
Ludwigslust-Parchim district€189,0000 €0 €€33,800€50,700

Work out inheritance tax with your numbers

When there is no tax

  • Spouses have a €500,000 allowance plus a €256,000 pension allowance, and inherit the family home tax-free if they live in it for ten years.
  • Children who move in: a child who lives in the parents' home straight away and for ten years inherits it tax-free, up to 200 m² of living space (§ 13 (1) no. 4c ErbStG).
  • Several heirs: the allowance applies per heir and per parent. Two children inheriting from both parents have €400,000 four times between them.
  • Gifts during one's lifetime: the allowance renews every ten years.

How we calculated

  • Prices: GREIX (German Real Estate Index by the Kiel Institute, ECONtribute and the local valuation boards), average sale price per m² from actual sales, annual, nominal. For Hamburg and Dresden, 2024 is the latest full year. Berlin is missing because the GREIX shows no euro prices for it.
  • Typical home: the median of the average living space of homes sold in the GREIX cities, rounded to 5 m²: a 70 m² flat, a 135 m² house.
  • Tax: today's law (§§ 15, 16, 19 ErbStG with the hardship relief), one person inherits the whole home at market value, no debt, no other assets, no family home exemption. As in the inheritance tax calculator.
  • Allowance with inflation: consumer prices 2009 to 2025 (Destatis, ×1.40); with house prices: the GREIX index of all cities (×2.29).

Use the data

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Sources

Prices retrieved . Model calculations with today's rules, not tax advice. How Zenarios calculates