Unreported Schenkung (Gift) in Germany: From What Amount to Notify and How to Catch Up

From what amount do I have to report a gift?

The decisive provision is § 30 ErbStG. Subsection 1 reads:

“Every acquisition subject to inheritance tax (§ 1) must be notified in writing by the acquirer, in the case of a purpose-bound grant (Zweckzuwendung) by the person charged with it, within a period of three months after obtaining knowledge of the accrual or of the occurrence of the obligation, to the tax office responsible for administering inheritance tax.”

Under § 1 (1) no. 2 ErbStG, “gifts between living persons” are subject to inheritance tax (gift tax). Under § 7 (1) no. 1 ErbStG, such gifts include, among other things, “every gratuitous transfer between living persons, insofar as the beneficiary is enriched by it at the expense of the transferor”.

For the question of the amount, this means:

• No value threshold in the wording. § 30 ErbStG names no amount below which notification falls away.
• Allowance and notification are separate questions. Whether tax ultimately arises depends, among other things, on tax class, allowance and earlier acquisitions. The exceptions in § 30 (3) ErbStG do not mention an acquisition within the allowance.
• Form and deadline: in writing, within three months after obtaining knowledge of the accrual.
• Donor: § 30 (2) ErbStG reads: “Where the taxable acquisition results from a legal transaction between living persons, the person from whose assets the acquisition derives is also obliged to notify.” Whether “taxable acquisition” here also covers an acquisition within the allowance is an open question of interpretation that this article does not decide.

Under § 20 (1) ErbStG, the person liable for the tax is “the acquirer, in the case of a gift also the donor”. For gifts between living persons, the tax arises under § 9 (1) no. 2 ErbStG “at the time the transfer is carried out”.

Allowances under § 16 ErbStG

Whether tax arises depends first on the allowance. In cases of unlimited tax liability, the acquisition remains tax-free under § 16 (1) ErbStG in the following amounts; the tax classes follow from § 15 ErbStG:

Under § 15 (1) ErbStG, parents and ancestors belong to tax class I only for acquisitions on death; for gifts they belong to tax class II. With limited tax liability, the allowance is reduced under § 16 (2) ErbStG.

Earlier gifts from the same person count

§ 14 (1) sentence 1 ErbStG reads: “Several pecuniary advantages accruing from the same person within ten years are aggregated in such a way that the earlier acquisitions are added to the most recent acquisition at their earlier value.” How the tax is then calculated is governed by sentences 2 to 5.

Example, for the calculation logic only: A parent gives their child EUR 50,000 every year for eight years without notifying the gifts. Assumed are unlimited tax liability, cash gifts only and no further acquisitions from this parent. After eight years, the aggregate reaches EUR 400,000, i.e. the allowance under § 16 (1) no. 2 ErbStG. Any further gift from the same parent within the ten-year period goes beyond the allowance. Because § 14 refers to “the same person”, gifts from the other parent are considered separately.

When does your own notification fall away?

§ 30 (3) ErbStG has two sentences. For gifts between living persons, sentence 2 applies:

“No notification is required either where a gift between living persons or a purpose-bound grant is recorded by a court or a notary.”

Sentence 1, by contrast, concerns acquisitions on death and reads:

“No notification is required where the acquisition is based on a disposition mortis causa opened by a German court, a German notary or a German consul and the relationship of the acquirer to the deceased is evident beyond doubt from the disposition; this does not apply where the acquisition includes real property, business assets, shares in corporations that are not subject to the notification duty under § 33, or foreign assets.”

For a gift between living persons, only recording by a court or a notary under sentence 2 is decisive.

In addition, § 34 ErbStG lays down a reporting duty: courts, notaries and German consuls notify the tax office of, among other things, “the recorded gifts and purpose-bound grants” (subsection 2 no. 3).

Two points you should not assume without checking:

• Transfers of real property: § 30 (3) sentence 2 ErbStG requires that the gift is recorded. Whether a notarial transfer of real property in your case is a recorded gift in this sense, for example where the deed does not reveal that the transfer is gratuitous, was not evaluated here.
• Customary occasional gifts: They are not listed in § 30 (3) ErbStG. Under § 13 (1) no. 14 ErbStG, “customary occasional gifts” remain tax-exempt. Whether notification also falls away for them is not addressed by the wording. The same applies, for example, to transfers between living persons for the purpose of appropriate maintenance or the education of the beneficiary (no. 12). For the payments listed in § 13 (1) no. 19 ErbStG, by contrast, the statute expressly provides that § 30 (1) and (2) apply with the proviso “that a notification duty exists solely for the party making the payment”.

Florian Enders discusses the gift reporting duty in a modern Frankfurt advisory office

What are the consequences if a gift was not reported?

That depends above all on whether taxes were understated or unwarranted tax advantages were obtained, and on how the omission is to be assessed.

• Tax evasion: Under § 370 AO (1) no. 2, anyone who, in breach of duty, leaves the tax authorities unaware of facts relevant for tax purposes and thereby understates taxes or obtains unwarranted tax advantages for themselves or another person is punished with imprisonment of up to five years or a fine. Attempt is punishable (subsection 2). In particularly serious cases, the penalty is imprisonment from six months to ten years; under subsection 3 sentence 2 no. 1, such a case generally exists where the offender “understates taxes on a large scale or obtains unwarranted tax advantages”. The statute names no amount for this. Under subsection 4 sentence 1, taxes are understated in particular where they are not assessed, not assessed in full or not assessed on time.
• Reckless understatement of tax: Under § 378 AO, anyone who, as a taxpayer or when handling the affairs of a taxpayer, recklessly commits one of the acts described in § 370 (1) commits an administrative offence. The offence can be punished with an administrative fine of up to fifty thousand euros (subsection 2). Under subsection 3, no fine is imposed insofar as the offender corrects the incorrect information, completes the incomplete information or supplies the omitted information vis-à-vis the tax authority before the initiation of criminal or administrative fine proceedings in respect of the act has been notified to them or their representative. Where understatements of tax have already occurred or tax advantages have been obtained, this applies only if they additionally pay the taxes understated in their favour as a result of the act within the reasonable period set for them.
• Without a tax shortfall: § 370 (1) AO for the completed offence and § 378 AO are linked to an understatement or an unwarranted tax advantage. Under § 370 (2) AO, attempt is punishable. Whether an attempt or another sanction comes into consideration for mere failure to notify without an actual tax shortfall is not answered by the provisions evaluated here. That remains a question for professional advice.

The mental element required for § 370 AO follows from general criminal law provisions that were not evaluated here. Whether an omission falls under § 370 AO, under § 378 AO or under neither is an assessment in the individual case.

Notification and tax return are separate steps. Under § 31 ErbStG, the tax office can require any party involved in a gift, regardless of whether that party is itself liable to tax, to file a return within a period of at least one month. The late-filing surcharge (Verspätungszuschlag) under § 152 AO (1) is linked to the tax return, not to the notification.

Case groups at a glance

Several gifts over the years not notified? Whether a plain late notification, a procedure under § 378 (3) AO or a voluntary disclosure under § 371 AO comes into consideration can only be said after reviewing your facts. In a free introductory call, we briefly discuss your concern. Book a free initial consultation

Interest on evaded taxes

Under § 235 AO (1), evaded taxes bear interest. The person liable for the interest is the one to whose advantage the taxes were evaded. Interest begins to run when the understatement occurs or the tax advantage is obtained, unless the evaded amounts would only have fallen due later without the tax evasion (subsection 2). It ends with payment of the evaded taxes (subsection 3 sentence 1). For any period for which a late-payment surcharge (Säumniszuschlag) has been incurred, payment has been deferred or enforcement has been suspended, interest under this provision is not charged (subsection 3 sentence 2).

The amount is governed by § 238 AO: interest is one half percent for each month and is payable only for full months (subsection 1). The amount bearing interest is rounded down to the next amount divisible by 50 euros (subsection 2). The lower rate of 0.15 percent per month applies under subsection 1a only “in the cases of § 233a”. § 233a AO (1) names income, corporation, wealth, turnover and trade tax, not inheritance tax.

When interest begins to run in a specific case of omitted notification, and who among donor and recipient is liable for the interest, must be determined in the individual case.

Worked examples: tax and interest in tax class II

The examples show only the calculation logic according to the wording. They are not a forecast for your case.

Assumptions: Gift between siblings, i.e. tax class II (§ 15 (1) ErbStG); unlimited tax liability and allowance of EUR 20,000 (§ 16 (1) no. 5 ErbStG); pure cash gift without deductions and without exemption under § 13 ErbStG; no earlier acquisitions from the same person (§ 14 ErbStG); tax rates under § 19 (1) ErbStG. The interest column applies only insofar as taxes were evaded (§ 235 AO). It assumes 60 full interest-bearing months between the start of interest and payment, i.e. no periods for which a late-payment surcharge was incurred, payment deferred or enforcement suspended (§ 235 (3) sentence 2 AO). Rounding rules of § 10 ErbStG were not evaluated; the example values are whole hundreds and divisible by 50.

The hardship relief under § 19 (3) ErbStG does not apply in any row: in the first row, no value threshold is exceeded. In the other rows, the difference from the tax at the respective preceding value threshold (EUR 24,750, 60,000 and 144,000) is covered by half of the amount exceeding the threshold (EUR 52,500, 90,000 and 190,000).

How long can the tax office assess the tax?

Under § 169 AO (2) sentence 1, the assessment period (Festsetzungsfrist) is one year for excise duties and four years for taxes that are not excise duties or import and export duties. Under sentence 2, it is ten years insofar as a tax has been evaded and five years insofar as it has been recklessly understated. Sentence 3 reads:

“This also applies where the tax evasion or reckless understatement of tax was not committed by the person liable for the tax or by a person whom they use to fulfil their tax obligations, unless the person liable for the tax proves that they obtained no pecuniary advantage from the offence and that it was not due to their failure to take the precautions customarily required to prevent understatements of tax.”

The start of the period is governed by § 170 AO:

• Subsection 1: In principle, it begins at the end of the calendar year in which the tax arose.
• Subsection 2 no. 1: Where a tax return or a tax self-assessment must be filed or a notification must be made, it begins at the end of the calendar year in which the tax return, the tax self-assessment or the notification is filed, but at the latest at the end of the third calendar year following the calendar year in which the tax arose, unless the assessment period begins later under subsection 1.
• Subsection 5 no. 2: For inheritance tax (gift tax), the assessment period under subsections 1 or 2 begins “in the case of a gift, not before the end of the calendar year in which the donor died or the tax authority obtained knowledge of the completed gift”.

How these rules interact in your case, for example where the tax office has requested a return under § 31 ErbStG, can only be assessed individually. The periods imply neither that an assessment is already excluded nor that it remains possible indefinitely.

Voluntary disclosure under § 371 AO: when the case belongs in professional advice

Under § 371 AO (1), anyone who, vis-à-vis the tax authority, corrects the incorrect information, completes the incomplete information or supplies the omitted information in full for all tax offences of one type of tax is not punished under § 370 for these tax offences. The information must be provided “for all tax offences of one type of tax that are not yet statute-barred, but at least for all tax offences of one type of tax within the last ten calendar years”. Which transactions are included can extend beyond the individual gift.

Grounds for exclusion under § 371 (2) sentence 1 AO. Exemption from punishment does not occur where

1. in relation to one of the tax offences included in the voluntary disclosure that are not yet statute-barred, before the correction, completion or supplying of information
   • a) an audit order under § 196 AO has been notified to the party involved in the offence, their representative, the beneficiary within the meaning of § 370 (1) AO or that beneficiary's representative, limited to the substantive and temporal scope of the announced external audit,
   • b) the initiation of criminal or administrative fine proceedings has been notified to the party involved in the offence or their representative,
   • c) an official of the tax authority has appeared for a tax audit, limited to the substantive and temporal scope of the external audit,
   • d) an official has appeared to investigate a tax offence or a tax-related administrative offence, or
   • e) an official of the tax authority has appeared for a VAT inspection, a wage tax inspection or an inspection under other tax provisions and has shown identification,
2. one of the tax offences had already been wholly or partly discovered at the time of the correction, completion or supplying of information and the offender knew this or, on a reasonable assessment of the facts, had to expect it,
3. the tax understated under § 370 (1) AO or the unwarranted tax advantage obtained for oneself or another exceeds an amount of EUR 25,000 per offence, or
4. a particularly serious case listed in § 370 (3) sentence 2 nos. 2 to 6 AO exists.

Under sentence 2, exclusion under no. 1 letters a and c does not prevent a correction under subsection 1 for those tax offences of one type of tax that do not fall under no. 1 letters a and c. No. 4 does not mention the large scale under § 370 (3) sentence 2 no. 1 AO. How “per offence” in no. 3 is to be understood for donor and recipient was not evaluated here.

Payment as a condition (subsection 3): Where understatements of tax have already occurred or tax advantages have been obtained, exemption from punishment occurs for the party involved in the offence only if they pay the taxes evaded in their favour as a result of the act, the interest on evaded taxes under § 235 AO and the further interest listed there within the reasonable period set for them. Since § 233a (1) AO does not name inheritance tax, for gift tax the interest on evaded taxes under § 235 AO is the main item alongside the tax.

§ 398a AO: In cases where exemption from punishment does not occur solely because of § 371 (2) sentence 1 no. 3 or 4 AO, prosecution of a tax offence is dispensed with if the party involved in the offence, within a reasonable period set for them, pays the taxes evaded in their favour as a result of the act and the interest listed there and additionally pays a sum of money to the public treasury:

• 10 percent of the evaded tax where the evaded amount does not exceed EUR 100,000,
• 15 percent where it exceeds EUR 100,000 and does not exceed EUR 1,000,000,
• 20 percent where it exceeds EUR 1,000,000.

The legal consequence is that prosecution is dispensed with, not exemption from punishment under § 371 AO. Proceedings concluded in this way may be reopened if the tax authority recognises that the information in the voluntary disclosure was incomplete or incorrect (subsection 3). The sum is not refunded if the legal consequence does not occur; the court may credit it against a fine (subsection 4).

When you should not act without support:

• Tax may have arisen on your gift.
• There are several transfers from the same person within ten years.
• The gift includes real property or company shares.
• You have already received letters from the tax office or another authority about this matter.

Whether a plain notification suffices, whether catching up under § 378 (3) AO is the appropriate route or whether a voluntary disclosure under § 371 AO comes into consideration can only be assessed after reviewing the specific facts. This article cannot promise any particular legal outcome, in particular exemption from punishment.

How to catch up on the notification

1. List the transfers. Record all transfers from the same person within ten years (§ 14 ErbStG) with the time the transfer was carried out, object, value, donor and recipient. For a possible voluntary disclosure, the scope under § 371 (1) AO may extend further.
2. Secure letters from authorities. Keep every letter from the tax office or other authorities about this matter at hand. Whether it excludes a voluntary disclosure or a fine-free catch-up depends on its exact content (§ 371 (2), § 378 (3) AO).
3. Have the tax relevance clarified. Tax class (§ 15), allowance (§ 16), aggregation (§ 14), possible exemptions (§ 13), tax rate (§ 19 ErbStG) and valuation decide whether tax arises.
4. Decide on the route before you submit. Plain notification, catch-up under § 378 (3) AO or voluntary disclosure under § 371 AO: where tax may be involved, this decision belongs in professional advice.
5. Coordinate donor and recipient. Both may be obliged to notify (§ 30 (1) and (2) ErbStG) and are liable for the tax (§ 20 (1) ErbStG). Who is a party involved in the offence within the meaning of §§ 371 and 398a AO or liable for interest under § 235 AO should be clarified in professional advice.
6. Submit the notification in writing. The addressee is the tax office responsible for administering inheritance tax. Designate the letter as a notification under § 30 ErbStG; if a procedure under § 371 AO has been chosen in advice, agree its form and designation there. Under § 30 (4) ErbStG, the notification should contain:
   • first name and surname, tax identification number, occupation and residence of the donor and of the acquirer
   • time at which the gift was carried out
   • object and value of the acquisition
   • legal basis of the acquisition
   • personal relationship of the acquirer to the donor
   • earlier transfers from the donor to the acquirer by type, value and date of each individual transfer
7. Observe follow-up deadlines. If the tax office requests a return, the period it sets, of at least one month, applies (§ 31 (1) ErbStG). If the person liable for the tax has calculated the tax themselves on request, they must pay it within one month of filing the return (§ 31 (7) ErbStG). Where understatements of tax have already occurred or tax advantages have been obtained, catching up under § 371 or § 378 (3) AO additionally depends on payment within the reasonable period set.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to report a cash gift to my child below the allowance?

§ 30 (1) ErbStG refers to every acquisition subject to inheritance tax and names no value threshold; the exceptions in § 30 (3) ErbStG do not mention an acquisition within the allowance. If the gift is not recorded by a court or a notary, you should therefore not assume that notification is unnecessary. Whether the donor is also obliged to notify under subsection 2 in this case remains an open question of interpretation.

Do I have to report customary birthday or Christmas presents?

Under § 13 (1) no. 14 ErbStG, customary occasional gifts remain tax-exempt. Whether notification under § 30 ErbStG also falls away for them is not addressed by the wording; § 30 (3) ErbStG does not mention them. If in doubt, clarify this in professional advice.

Does the notary report a recorded gift themselves?

Under § 34 (2) no. 3 ErbStG, courts, notaries and German consuls notify the tax office of recorded gifts. If the gift is recorded by a court or a notary, no notification of your own is required under § 30 (3) sentence 2 ErbStG. For informal transfers without a deed, this exception does not apply.

How does the tax office learn about a gift?

The reporting duty expressly regulated is that in § 34 ErbStG: courts, authorities, officials and notaries notify recordings, certificates and orders that may be relevant to the assessment of inheritance tax, including recorded gifts. Other information channels were not evaluated for this article.

Does gift tax become time-barred if nobody reports anything?

Under § 169 (2) AO, the assessment period is four years, ten years insofar as a tax has been evaded, and five years insofar as it has been recklessly understated. For a gift, it begins under § 170 (5) no. 2 AO not before the end of the calendar year in which the donor died or the tax authority obtained knowledge of the completed gift. When the period ends in your case is a question for the individual case.

Who owes the gift tax, the donor or the recipient?

Under § 20 (1) ErbStG, the person liable for the tax is the acquirer, in the case of a gift also the donor. Whom the tax office calls upon is not governed by this provision; that was not evaluated here.

Sources, assumptions and limits of this article

• Sources: The provisions evaluated are each linked once in the text to gesetze-im-internet.de: §§ 1, 7, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 30, 31 and 34 ErbStG and §§ 152, 169, 170, 233a, 235, 238, 370, 371, 378 and 398a AO. Retrieved on: 11 October 2026.
• Not evaluated: case law, administrative guidance, the Inheritance Tax Implementing Ordinance (Erbschaftsteuer-Durchführungsverordnung), § 10 ErbStG, the application rules for older gifts (§ 37 ErbStG, Introductory Act to the Fiscal Code), the general criminal law provisions on the mental element and on attempt in relation to § 370 AO, and the correction provisions of the Fiscal Code.
• Open questions that can only be clarified in the individual case: whether customary occasional gifts and other acquisitions exempt under § 13 ErbStG without a notification rule of their own must be notified; whether the donor is obliged to notify under § 30 (2) ErbStG even for an acquisition within the allowance; whether a notarial transfer of real property is always a recorded gift within the meaning of § 30 (3) sentence 2 ErbStG; whether mere failure to notify without a tax shortfall is sanctioned, including whether an attempt under § 370 (2) AO then comes into consideration; how “per offence” in § 371 (2) sentence 1 no. 3 AO is to be understood and who among donor and recipient is a party involved in the offence or liable for interest; when interest begins to run under § 235 (2) AO; whether § 152 (2) AO applies to gift tax returns.
• Assumptions: The examples are based exclusively on the assumptions stated there.
• Limits of advice: This article reproduces the statutory wording in general terms. It does not replace individual tax or criminal law advice and does not promise any particular consequence, amount of tax or exemption from punishment.

Next steps

If you have not notified one or more gifts, first clarify whether tax may arise on the transfers, and then decide on the route. For orientation, you can use the inheritance tax calculator and the inheritance navigator; neither replaces a review of your facts. For an individual assessment, arrange an initial consultation.

Related topics

• Gift tax allowance: allowances and the ten-year period for gifts.
• Ten-year period for gifts: the various periods relating to a gift.
• Gifts to children: gifts from parents to children.
• Transferring a house: transferring a property during one's lifetime.
• Inheritance not reported to the tax office: notification for acquisitions on death.

A personal conversation?

With unreported gifts, the criminal law side (§ 370 AO) may be affected in addition to the tax. Whether a voluntary disclosure under § 371 AO comes into consideration and how it is to be drafted completely can only be assessed after reviewing your facts. In a free 15-minute introductory call, you briefly describe your concern and we clarify whether and to what extent further advice is possible.

Book a free initial consultation

---