Holiday apartments experience a real hype, also through portals such as Airbnb and reinforced by the Covid-19 pandemic. More and more people use the opportunity to rent rooms or apartments for a few days or even weeks away from the big city. But what actually applies to holiday apartments in the tax declaration? What income is generated, where are these to be stated and what costs can private landlords claim?
First principle: A holiday apartment leads to income from rental
According to § 21 EStG, income from renting and leasing includes, among other things, income from the transfer of real estate. “Real estate” means both land and buildings, so that the rental of a single room can also fall under the regulation.
According to § 2 (1) EStG, the “final” income corresponds to the surplus of revenue over the expenses, which are referred to as “advertising costs” according to § 9 EStG. If landlords deduct the advertising costs from the income, either a positive surplus or a loss arises. While income tax is payable on the surplus, a loss is offset against other income. This may result in a tax saving, because the income is lower overall.
2. Determination of income for renting holiday apartments
The rental of a holiday apartment only becomes relevant for tax purposes if the landlord wants to achieve sustainably positive surpluses with it. This so-called intention to achieve income is therefore a prerequisite for a surplus or loss to be recognized by the tax office. If there is no intention to generate income, profits are not taxed; At the same time, losses have no tax impact (BFH, judgment of 25.06.1984, GrS 4/82).
The intention to obtain income is a subjective criterion that is verified by the tax office at the time of the assessment. If only losses are incurred from the rental of the holiday apartment in the initial period, the authority will first provisionally issue the tax notices (§ 165 AO).
The decisive factor for rental income is always the surplus of income over advertising costs.
2.1. Revenue: These items are included
The income from renting a holiday apartment includes all funds and monetary benefits (§ 8 EStG). They must flow to the landlord and represent a consideration for the provision of the premises. Also another connection is sufficient, so that, for example, interest according to § 20 paragraph 8 EStG can also belong to the rental income.
Classically, the following funds and monetary benefits are attributed to the income from renting a holiday apartment:
This article does not replace tax or legal advice in an individual case. Facts, current law, jurisdiction, documentation and implementation remain decisive.