Schenkung an Kinder 2026: Pflichtteil, Clawback, Special Cases

Why lifetime Schenkungen to children make sense

A lifetime Schenkung is the most important instrument for tax-free wealth transfer to the next generation. The reason is Freibetrag recycling: while the Freibetrag in inheritance is available only once, it is available again every ten years for Schenkungen. With assets of EUR 800,000 and one child, a single Schenkung 20 years before the inheritance is enough to transfer the entire wealth tax-free.

Beyond pure tax savings the Schenkung offers further structuring advantages. The recipient child can already use the transferred wealth — for example to buy a property or start a business. Conditions, charges and clawback rights can be agreed contractually — a flexibility that is missing in inheritance. Schenkungen performed more than ten years before the inheritance also no longer feed into the Pflichtteil calculation (§ 2325 (3) BGB), which can defuse considerable conflict potential with Pflichtteil-entitled third parties. What is settled during lifetime is also significantly harder to challenge after death.

Freibetraege on Schenkungen to children

The key Freibetrag: EUR 400,000 per child per parent

Each child has a personal Freibetrag of EUR 400,000 against each parent (§ 16 (1) no. 2 ErbStG). This Freibetrag applies per donor and per donee. It is fully renewed every ten years — the period runs from the date of the previous Schenkung.

Freibetraege in the family context

The Freibetraege under § 16 ErbStG range from EUR 500,000 for spouses down to EUR 20,000 for unrelated persons. The full table with every degree of relationship is in our overview of Schenkungsfreibetraege. The Freibetrag relevant for children is EUR 400,000 per parent, so EUR 800,000 if both parents make a Schenkung. Children-in-law fall in tax class II with only EUR 20,000 of Freibetrag — a constellation that regularly leads to bad structurings in practice.

Worked example: family with two children over 20 years

The power of Freibetrag recycling becomes especially visible with long-term planning. Take a family with two parents and two children:

Schenkung plan over 20 years

Over 20 years the parents can pass EUR 3.2 million tax-free to their children. If everything were inherited in one go, each child would have to pay Erbschaftsteuer on the amount over EUR 400,000.

Tax saving in concrete terms

Had the parents bequeathed the EUR 3.2 million (so EUR 1.6 million per child), the taxable acquisition per child would have been EUR 1,200,000. In tax class I and at that level the rate is 19 percent. Erbschaftsteuer would have come to EUR 228,000 per child, EUR 456,000 in total. Use the Erbschaftsteuer calculator to model your individual tax burden.

Kettenschenkung via the spouse

A frequently discussed special structure: the father wants to gift EUR 600,000 to the son, while having only EUR 400,000 of Freibetrag. The mother owns no significant wealth of her own; she could in theory use her own child Freibetrag. The route: the father first gifts EUR 200,000 to the mother (spousal Freibetrag EUR 500,000); the mother then gifts EUR 200,000 to the son (child Freibetrag EUR 400,000).

Caution is needed on abuse-of-structuring grounds: the Bundesfinanzhof (Federal Fiscal Court, BFH) scrutinises Kettenschenkungen strictly through § 42 AO. The question is whether the intermediate person had real free disposition over the assets in between (BFH, judgment of 18 July 2013, II R 37/11). An immediate pass-through without any recognisable freedom of decision is qualified as a covert direct Schenkung — then the mother's intermediate Freibetrag falls away and Schenkungsteuer arises retroactively on the direct father-son relationship. Practitioner's rule of thumb: at least six months between the two Schenkungen, and the intermediate station must have documented freedom of disposition.

Pflichtteilsergaenzung under § 2325 BGB: the underrated trap

Anyone with Pflichtteil-entitled family members has to reckon with the inheritance-law after-effects of the Schenkung. § 2325 BGB governs the Pflichtteilsergaenzungsanspruch: Schenkungen by the Erblasser (decedent under German law) in the last ten years before the inheritance are notionally added back to the estate for the purposes of calculating the Pflichtteil. This mechanism is regularly underestimated in advisory practice — especially in patchwork constellations with children from previous marriages, where it can blow up the entire transfer concept.

Melt-down regime since the 2010 reform

Before 2010 a cliff-edge rule applied: Schenkungen were fully counted up to the ten-year mark, and not at all afterwards. Since 1 January 2010 the counting has melted down by 10 per cent per year (§ 2325 (3) BGB):

The period starts with the performance of the Schenkung — for real estate that means with the entry in the Grundbuch (German land register). An in-depth treatment of the special constellations (care-need Schenkung, indirect real-estate Schenkung) is in the article on the ten-year clawback period for Schenkungen.

The Niessbrauch trap: period does not start

Where a Schenkung is made with a Vorbehaltsniessbrauch, the ten-year period under § 2325 (3) sentence 2 BGB does not start — the donor continues to use the asset economically and so does not part with it within the meaning of the provision. Consequence: a real-estate Schenkung with a lifetime Niessbrauchsvorbehalt remains subject to Pflichtteilsergaenzung in inheritance law right up to the donor's death — regardless of whether 5, 15 or 30 years lie between the Schenkung and the inheritance.

The Oberlandesgericht Saarbruecken confirmed this line in its judgment of 15 November 2023 (5 U 35/23) also for the Zuwendungsniessbrauch (granted usufruct), thereby reinforcing settled case law. Anyone who wants to exclude this risk has two realistic paths: a contractual Pflichtteilsverzicht with the potential Pflichtteil-entitled persons, or the contractual order that the Schenkung be counted against the Pflichtteil under § 2315 BGB.

Pflichtteilsergaenzung — worked example

Mark (son from the first marriage) has a statutory share of one quarter. His Pflichtteil is one eighth (half the value of the statutory share, § 2303 BGB). If the Erblasser gifted a property worth EUR 600,000 to wife and joint son five years before the inheritance, 60 per cent of that (i.e. EUR 360,000) still flows into the Pflichtteil calculation. Mark's Pflichtteilsergaenzungsanspruch then comes to one eighth of EUR 360,000, that is EUR 45,000 — on top of his Pflichtteil from the remaining estate. Had the Schenkung been made with a Niessbrauchsvorbehalt, the full 100 per cent (so EUR 600,000) would have to be applied instead of 60 per cent — Mark's claim would rise to EUR 75,000.

A common misunderstanding with Schenkungen to children is that the ten-year period always runs automatically. With a Vorbehaltsniessbrauch, a lifetime Wohnrecht or Schenkungen between spouses, it only starts once the donor actually gives up the economic use.

Niessbrauch and real-estate Schenkungen

The Niessbrauchsvorbehalt is the most important structuring instrument for Schenkungen of real estate to children. The donor transfers ownership but reserves the right to use the property themselves or to continue receiving rental income.

Advantages of a Niessbrauchsvorbehalt

The Niessbrauch substantially reduces the taxable value of the Schenkung — the younger the donor, the higher the deduction, because of the longer statistical remaining life. The donor keeps the economic use of the property, which secures the running rental income especially with let properties. Schenkungen to children in direct line are also exempt from Grunderwerbsteuer (real-estate transfer tax) (§ 3 no. 6 GrEStG). Important to keep in mind: the Niessbrauch deduction works only for Schenkungsteuer, not for inheritance law. For Pflichtteilsergaenzung the full market value applies.

Calculating the Niessbrauch value

The value of the Niessbrauch is calculated from the annual value of the use multiplied by a factor that depends on the age of the holder (annex to § 14 BewG). A cap on the annual value follows from § 16 BewG.

Example: A 55-year-old father gifts his child a property with a market value of EUR 600,000 subject to a Niessbrauchsvorbehalt. Annual rental income is EUR 12,000. The Niessbrauch value comes to EUR 149,784. The Schenkungsteuer value of the transfer is therefore EUR 450,216. Since the Freibetrag of EUR 400,000 is exceeded, Schenkungsteuer arises on the EUR 50,216 difference. Without the Niessbrauchsvorbehalt the taxable acquisition would have been EUR 200,000 — the Niessbrauch has reduced the taxable amount by EUR 149,784.

Grunderwerbsteuer exemption in direct line

Schenkungen to relatives in direct line (parents to children, grandparents to grandchildren) are exempt from Grunderwerbsteuer (real-estate transfer tax) (§ 3 no. 6 GrEStG). This exemption does not apply to Schenkungen to siblings, nieces, nephews or children-in-law.

Valuation of real estate under BewG

The tax office values real estate under the Bewertungsgesetz (BewG). Since the property-valuation reform by the Jahressteuergesetz 2022 (in force 1 January 2023), this leads in many constellations to significantly higher values than before — the effects are noticeable in 2026 Schenkungsteuer practice. A qualified expert valuation can be useful where the actual market value is below the typified tax value.

The Bundesfinanzhof clarified the treatment of the Vorbehaltsniessbrauch in its judgment of 6 May 2020 (II R 8/19): a lifetime Niessbrauch reserved by the donor reduces the acquisition of the donee even where a lifetime Niessbrauch of a third party already burdens the object. The donor's Niessbrauch takes a rank behind that of the third party. Practical consequence: even with multiply burdened real estate (e.g. grandparent reservation plus parent reservation), the Schenkung can be optimised for tax — the later Schenkung value drops by the sum of all capital values.

Grundbuch entry and notary fees

The transfer of a property requires notarial certification and entry in the Grundbuch. Costs are calculated on the market value and typically come to between 1.0 and 1.5 per cent. A Niessbrauchsvorbehalt is also entered in the Grundbuch, as well as any clawback rights arising out of clawback clauses (typically as a Vormerkung (priority notice) subject to a condition precedent).

Agreeing a clawback right

To gift is to give. As a rule, a Schenkung cannot be clawed back. Statutory and contractual clawback rights do exist that should be considered in the structuring.

Statutory clawback rights

• Impoverishment of the donor (§ 528 BGB): if the donor can no longer cover their maintenance, the Schenkung can be clawed back. The child can ward off the clawback by paying the missing maintenance.
• Gross ingratitude (§ 530 BGB): for serious wrongdoing of the donee against the donor, the Schenkung can be revoked. The courts set high requirements: insults alone are not enough; bodily injury or property offences usually are.

Contractual clawback rights

Further clawback grounds can be agreed in the Schenkungsvertrag. Common clauses cover insolvency of the child (assets revert to the parents before creditors can reach them), divorce of the child in a community-of-accrued-gains regime, sale of the property without parental consent, and predeceasing of the child (assets revert to the parents instead of going to children-in-law). Sharp legal-technical drafting is decisive — vague clauses are routinely not enforced.

Protective clauses with Schenkungen to young adults

Anyone gifting to 18- to 30-year-old children faces different risks than with Schenkungen to those in their mid-forties. Career breaks, early marriage, early entrepreneurial mistakes leading to insolvency — these scenarios are markedly more frequent in the early phase of life. Three protective mechanisms have proven themselves in practice: a clawback right entered in the Grundbuch subject to a condition precedent, a contractual reservation of consent for dispositions over certain thresholds (e.g. EUR 50,000), and counting clauses under § 2315 BGB for the later Pflichtteil. The decisive thing is the legally clear definition of triggers — formulations like "moral misconduct" cannot be enforced.

The most common mistakes with Schenkungen to children

Mistake 1: Schenkung not notified to the tax office

Every Schenkung must be notified to the competent tax office within three months (§ 30 ErbStG). This also applies to Schenkungen below the Freibetrag. The consequences of failing to notify are in the guide Schenkung not reported: risks and catch-up window.

Mistake 2: started too late

The Freibetrag is renewed every ten years. Anyone who only starts at 75 can use the rhythm once. Anyone who starts at 55 exhausts it three times (at 55, 65 and 75). Planning early means transferring more wealth tax-free. A well-thought-through Nachfolgeplanung therefore starts as early as possible.

Mistake 3: no clawback right agreed

Without a contractual clawback right donors are restricted to the statutory grounds (impoverishment, gross ingratitude). A clawback right in case of insolvency, divorce or predeceasing of the child significantly increases security.

Mistake 4: Schenkung to the wrong recipient

Children-in-law have only EUR 20,000 of Freibetrag. Gift directly to your child, who will then decide within their own marriage what happens with the wealth. Direct Schenkung to the child-in-law produces Schenkungsteuer from the 20,001st euro.

Mistake 5: no Niessbrauch reserved

With real-estate Schenkungen many parents do without the Niessbrauchsvorbehalt so as not to burden the child. In tax terms that is an expensive decision: the Niessbrauch often substantially reduces the Schenkungsteuer value and can drop the taxable acquisition below the Freibetrag.

Mistake 6: ignoring the overall tax plan

Schenkungen within a ten-year window are aggregated (§ 14 ErbStG). Anyone who in year 1 gifts a property worth EUR 350,000 and in year 3 a further EUR 100,000 in cash blows the Freibetrag. Plan all Schenkungen within the decade together. Helpful for the overview: the article on the ten-year clawback period for Schenkungen.

Frequently asked questions

How high is the Freibetrag on Schenkungen to children?

Each child has a personal Freibetrag of EUR 400,000 against each parent (§ 16 (1) no. 2 ErbStG). With two parents that is EUR 800,000 of Freibetrag per child. The Freibetrag is renewed every ten years.

Are there downsides to Schenkungen to children?

Yes, the Schenkung has structural downsides. It is fundamentally final — statutory clawback rights only apply in case of impoverishment of the donor or gross ingratitude of the donee (§§ 528, 530 BGB). Gifted wealth can flow to the child's divorced family, in insolvency to creditors, or via Pflichtteilsergaenzung to half-siblings. Anyone gifting without a Niessbrauchsvorbehalt loses the running income from the asset. A well-drafted contract with clawback clauses and Niessbrauch catches most of the risks.

How do I avoid the tax trap with Schenkungen to children?

Three stumbling blocks recur regularly: the underestimated aggregation of all Schenkungen within ten years (§ 14 ErbStG), the missed notification to the tax office within three months (§ 30 ErbStG) and the overlooked Pflichtteilsergaenzung with Vorbehaltsniessbrauch. A complete overview of the ten-year clawback period for Schenkungen with all constellations is in the linked guide. Anyone planning within a family that includes Pflichtteil-entitled half-siblings should also consider the Pflichtteilsverzicht as a structuring option.

Does a Schenkung to my child have to be reported to the tax office?

Yes. Every Schenkung has to be notified to the tax office within three months (§ 30 ErbStG). This applies even if the amount is below the Freibetrag. The duty to notify falls on both the donor and the donee.

Can I reverse a Schenkung to my child?

In principle, no. There are statutory clawback rights for impoverishment of the donor (§ 528 BGB) and for gross ingratitude of the donee (§ 530 BGB). Beyond that, contractual clawback grounds can be agreed in the Schenkungsvertrag (insolvency, divorce, predeceasing).

Is there Grunderwerbsteuer when I gift a property to my child?

No. Schenkungen to relatives in direct line (children, grandchildren) are exempt from Grunderwerbsteuer (§ 3 no. 6 GrEStG). The exemption does not apply to Schenkungen to siblings or children-in-law.

Should I gift to my child or to my grandchild?

That depends on the family constellation. The Freibetrag for grandchildren is only EUR 200,000 (where the parent is still alive); for children it is EUR 400,000. By Schenkungen across several generations the Freibetraege can be stacked, however — a so-called generation-skipping structure can be attractive in tax terms where the child is themselves already sufficiently wealthy.

Practitioner's case from my advisory work: Schenkung with Niessbrauch and Pflichtteilsergaenzung

An anonymised case shows the interplay of Niessbrauch, Freibetrag and Pflichtteilsergaenzung. A 64-year-old Frankfurt architect came in 2025 with the plan to gift her daughter (30 years old, three children) a let condominium in the Westend district. Market value per expert report EUR 580,000; net rental income EUR 21,600 per year. Complication: the mother has two further children from a first marriage (38 and 42), who would be entitled to a Pflichtteil.

We implemented three levers. First: lifetime Niessbrauchsvorbehalt in favour of the mother — capital value under the BewG tables for a 64-year-old donor of around EUR 244,000. The Schenkungsteuer-relevant acquisition therefore fell to EUR 336,000 — fully inside the child Freibetrag of EUR 400,000 per parent, no Schenkungsteuer. Second: contractual clawback right in case of insolvency, divorce and predeceasing of the daughter — protects the asset against follow-up conflicts. Third: notarial order under § 2315 BGB that the Schenkung be counted against the daughter's later Pflichtteil — protects against double-benefiting in the later inheritance if the daughter were to claim the full Pflichtteil on top of the gifted asset.

Important legal clarification in this case: § 2315 BGB does not directly protect against Pflichtteilsergaenzungsansprueche of the half-siblings under § 2325 BGB. Because the Schenkung was made with a Vorbehaltsniessbrauch, the ten-year melt-down does not run — the half-siblings retain, without time limit, a Pflichtteilsergaenzungsanspruch in the full amount of the market value. This residual risk could only be finally cleared by a Pflichtteilsverzicht by the half-siblings. In the actual case this was openly communicated; a Pflichtteilsverzichtserklaerung against settlement was notarised with both half-siblings in 2026.

The result: EUR 580,000 of assets transferred free of Schenkungsteuer; the mother continues to receive the rental income (lifetime support); the Pflichtteil risk of the half-siblings is neutralised by waiver. Notary and advisory costs together about EUR 6,300 (including the Pflichtteilsverzicht). The alternative would have been Schenkungsteuer on EUR 180,000 above the Freibetrag (at 11 per cent around EUR 19,800) plus a Pflichtteilsergaenzungsrisiko of around EUR 87,000 each against two half-siblings. ROI clearly positive.

From my work with patchwork families I know: the Schenkung with a Niessbrauchsvorbehalt is only half the solution. Anyone who gifts in patchwork constellations without ordering the Pflichtteil counting via § 2315 BGB and also clearing up the Pflichtteilsverzicht strategy with the non-gifted Pflichtteil-entitled relatives is building the inheritance-time conflicts into the Schenkungsvertrag itself — they will then come, delayed but reliably.

Conclusion

A Schenkung to children during the lifetime is the most effective instrument for tax-free wealth transfer. The key is early planning: the earlier you start, the more often the ten-year rhythm can be used and the more wealth migrates tax-free to the next generation. As of 2026 the Freibetrag of EUR 400,000 per parent remains unchanged — political reform plans to raise it remain under discussion without being adopted.

The right structuring is what counts. Niessbrauchsvorbehalte, contractual clawback rights, Pflichtteilsanrechnung under § 2315 BGB and, where appropriate, Pflichtteilsverzichte by non-gifted siblings make the difference between a clean wealth transfer and an expensive follow-on conflict. Get a second opinion before you act.

External sources and statutory texts

• § 16 ErbStG at gesetze-im-internet.de — personal Freibetraege
• § 14 ErbStG at gesetze-im-internet.de — ten-year period and aggregation
• § 30 ErbStG at gesetze-im-internet.de — duty to notify Schenkungen
• § 3 no. 6 GrEStG at gesetze-im-internet.de — Grunderwerbsteuer exemption for relatives in direct line
• § 528 BGB at dejure.org — clawback for impoverishment of the donor
• § 530 BGB at dejure.org — revocation for gross ingratitude
• § 2315 BGB at dejure.org — counting of the Schenkung against the Pflichtteil
• § 2325 BGB at dejure.org — Pflichtteilsergaenzung for Schenkungen
• § 16 BewG at gesetze-im-internet.de — cap on annual value for Niessbrauch
• BFH, judgment of 6 May 2020 — II R 8/19 — Vorbehaltsniessbrauch with an existing third-party Niessbrauch
• BFH, judgment of 18 July 2013 — II R 37/11 — Kettenschenkung and abuse of structuring
• BFH, judgment of 8 May 2019 — II R 11/17 — aggregation of prior acquisitions without binding effect of a preliminary ruling
• OLG Saarbruecken, judgment of 15 November 2023 — 5 U 35/23 — Pflichtteilsergaenzung with Zuwendungsniessbrauch

---

---

Planning a Schenkung to your children? As a Steuerberater (German tax advisor) specialising in succession planning I will support you in finding the optimal structure. Arrange a no-obligation first meeting.