If an operating capital or partnership requires real estate to carry out its activities, they are gladly positioned in a rental company. Thus, the operating company can deduct the rental payments with a tax burden between 30% and 45%, while in the rental company they are subject to taxation of only 15%. This design can be optimized by agreeing on a so-called sales rental. For the rent of turnover, the rent to be paid annually depends on the amount of turnover.

1st starting case: sister structure with operating and rental companies

In our initial case, a tax-optimized structure already exists. The entrepreneur has set up his operating company in a GmbH and rents the necessary rooms from his rental company. Both companies, usually GmbHs, are positioned under a common holding company. It holds a 100% stake in each of the companies, thus acting as the sole shareholder.

Through this structure, the entrepreneur can tax the rental payments in the operating company, saving here 30 % corporate and business tax. In the rental company, the income arrives as operating income, but is subject to taxation of only 15 % due to the extended reduction under § 9 GewStG. With an annual rent of EUR 100,000, the tax savings are already EUR 15,000.

Additional optimization potential can be exploited, however, by agreeing on a customary sales rent between the company units. Here, the rental rate is variable, i.e. depends on the economic success of the operating company.

Design and impact of the rental of sales

If operative GmbH agrees to proceeds-based rental payments, a so-called turnover rental, the amount of the annual payments depends on the turnover achieved. For example, it can be agreed that the rent for business premises is 10% of the previous year’s turnover, but at least EUR 100,000.

In the current year, the operating company pays EUR 100,000 in rental payments to the rental company. At the beginning of the following year, however, it is clear that a total of EUR 2.000.000 in sales was achieved. The operating company now pays a further EUR 100,000 to the rental company, can deduct it as operating expenses and saves around EUR 30,000 in corporate and business tax.

In order to avoid hidden distributions of profits (vGA) between sister companies, the agreed conditions must be external. Depending on the industry, a sales rent of around 10% is recognized, although there can also be significant deviations up and down in individual cases. This is mainly due to the average return on sales in the industry in which the operating company operates.

Example: The statistical return on sales of medium-sized service providers in 2022 was around 11%. If a company now achieves EUR 2.000.000 in turnover, a profit of around EUR 220.000 can be assumed. However, the fact that the sales rent is measured by the gross proceeds and not by the profit, the tax saving potential is considerable. Sometimes even a large part of the actual profit can be transferred to the tax-cheaper rental company.

Further advantages of the rental of sales

Sales rentals offer further advantages beyond the mere tax option, but these are particularly evident when renting to third parties: