Verschonungsabschlag § 13a ErbStG: Up to 100% Tax-Free

What is the Verschonungsabschlag § 13a ErbStG?

The Verschonungsabschlag is a tax exemption for beguenstigtes Betriebsvermoegen (privileged business assets) under § 13b ErbStG. If you transfer a business, a partnership interest or a GmbH shareholding of more than 25 %, a considerable part of these assets remains tax-free.

Under § 13a Abs. 1 ErbStG, 85 % of the privileged assets are deducted from the assessment base — this is the so-called Regelverschonung. On application, § 13a Abs. 10 ErbStG even allows an Optionsverschonung of 100 %. Both routes have their own rules, their own deadlines and their own risks.

The legislator pursues a clear aim with this: families should be able to continue companies across generations without having to break them up to pay the tax. The flip side: anyone who fails to meet the conditions loses the exemption — proportionately or in full.

Regelverschonung vs. Optionsverschonung compared

The choice between the two models is the central strategic decision in any business succession with tax-optimised planning. The following table shows the differences for 2026 at a glance.

In my advisory work I see again and again: clients allow themselves to be dazzled by the 100 % figure and overlook that the Optionsverschonung only works if the company is set up in a very operational way. If the Verwaltungsvermoegen sits at 22 % instead of 19 %, the Optionsverschonung falls away in full — and there is not even an automatic fallback to the 85 % Regelverschonung if the application was filed incorrectly.

Regelverschonung: the practical standard case

The Regelverschonung is the more solid choice for most mid-sized handovers. It forgives more fluctuations in the Lohnsumme, it forgives a higher level of Verwaltungsvermoegen, and it ties heirs in for "only" five years.

In addition, § 13a Abs. 2 ErbStG provides a sliding Abzugsbetrag of EUR 150,000 for the non-privileged 15 %. The Abzugsbetrag melts down from a remaining value of EUR 150,000 and is fully consumed at EUR 450,000.

Optionsverschonung: full exemption with high risk

The Optionsverschonung is worthwhile if the company is cleanly operational, a stable Lohnsumme can be kept up over seven years, and the family wants to hold the company for the long term. The hurdle of the 20 % Verwaltungsvermoegen test is hard: a single rented office wing can break it.

Requirements: Lohnsumme and Behaltensfrist

The Verschonungsabschlag is no gift. It is a conditional tax exemption. The two most important conditions are the Lohnsumme rule and the Behaltensfrist.

Lohnsumme rule under § 13a Abs. 3 ErbStG

The heirs must keep the sum of annual Lohnsummen over five or seven years at a defined level. The minimum Lohnsumme depends on the headcount of the business at the time of the transfer.

If the minimum Lohnsumme is undercut, the Verschonungsabschlag is reduced proportionately. An example: if the Lohnsumme over five years only reaches 350 % rather than the required 400 %, that is 87.5 % of the target — the Verschonungsabschlag is cut accordingly.

Behaltensfrist under § 13a Abs. 6 ErbStG

Within five or seven years of the transfer, heirs may not sell the company, give it up, or withdraw key operational assets. Excess withdrawals (Ueberentnahmen) over EUR 150,000 are also damaging.

If the heir breaches the Behaltensfrist, the exemption falls away on a pro-rata-temporis basis for the years not yet elapsed. Anyone selling after three years loses 2/5 of the Regelverschonung discount — and has to pay back tax proportionately. The tax office learns of it because the heir is under a duty to notify under § 13a Abs. 7 ErbStG.

Verwaltungsvermoegen — the underestimated pitfall

This is where most structurings fail in practice. Only productive Betriebsvermoegen is privileged. Verwaltungsvermoegen — assets that do not serve operational business — is either not privileged at all or only on a limited basis.

According to § 13b Abs. 4 ErbStG, Verwaltungsvermoegen includes in particular:

• Real estate let to third parties (for example the rented warehouse next to the production site)
• Shareholdings in corporations with an interest of 25 % or less
• Securities and comparable receivables
• Works of art, collections, yachts and classic cars
• Cash and receivables, to the extent they exceed 15 % of the company value (Sockelbetrag, the base allowance)

The central trap: anyone who chooses the Optionsverschonung and whose Verwaltungsvermoegen is above 20 % loses the full exemption and cannot automatically "fall back" to the Regelverschonung. If Verwaltungsvermoegen is even above 90 %, the exemption falls away completely (§ 13b Abs. 2 Satz 2 ErbStG).

What I often see with clients: a GmbH grown over decades has accumulated liquid funds, plus a stake in the neighbouring plot, perhaps some securities. On paper a healthy balance sheet. For the Verschonungsabschlag a time bomb. The only remedy is a structured pre-check at least two years before the handover, in order to cleanly trim down the Verwaltungsvermoegen.

Large acquisitions from EUR 26 million: § 13c and § 28a ErbStG

If the acquisition exceeds EUR 26 million, the corrective forced by the Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court) kicks in. The heir has two options:

Variant 1 — melting-down model under § 13c ErbStG: the Verschonungsabschlag melts down by one percentage point for every full EUR 750,000 by which the acquisition exceeds EUR 26 million. At EUR 90 million the discount is fully consumed.

Variant 2 — Verschonungsbedarfspruefung under § 28a ErbStG: the heir has to demonstrate that they cannot pay the tax from their available assets. Up to 50 % of their existing private assets are counted in — which surprises many clients who have worked structurally with a family pool as a GmbH & Co. KG.

In practice the needs test is the more painful route, because it puts private wealth on the table. The melting-down is mathematical, but it penalises large acquisitions on a linear basis.

Practical example: GmbH transfer to the daughter

A concrete numerical example makes the lever visible.

Starting position: father transfers 100 % of a Holding GmbH (German tax-optimised holding company under § 8b KStG) to the daughter during his lifetime. Company value under IDW S1: EUR 5,000,000. Verwaltungsvermoegen ratio: 12 %. Employees: 22.

Variant A — Regelverschonung (85 %):

• Privileged assets: EUR 5,000,000
• Verschonungsabschlag 85 %: EUR 4,250,000
• Remaining assessment base: EUR 750,000
• Less personal Freibetrag for daughter (§ 16 ErbStG): EUR 400,000
• Taxable: EUR 350,000
• Schenkungsteuer tax class I (15 %): EUR 52,500

Variant B — Optionsverschonung (100 %):

• Privileged assets: EUR 5,000,000
• Verschonungsabschlag 100 %: EUR 5,000,000
• Remaining assessment base: EUR 0
• Schenkungsteuer: EUR 0

The difference: EUR 52,500 in tax savings. The price: two additional years of Behaltensfrist and a 700 % minimum Lohnsumme instead of 400 %. In this case the Optionsverschonung pays off — provided the daughter keeps the structures stable.

You will find more on the Freibetraege (personal tax-free allowances under § 16 ErbStG) in my piece on Erbschaftsteuer 2026 with table and tax classes.

The BVerfG ruling of 2014 and the 2016 reform

Today's Verschonungsabschlag is the result of constitutional intervention. The Bundesverfassungsgericht held in its judgment of 17 December 2014 (1 BvL 21/12) that §§ 13a, 13b ErbStG, in conjunction with § 19 Abs. 1 ErbStG, were incompatible with the general principle of equality under Art. 3 Abs. 1 GG (Grundgesetz).

The court criticised three points in particular: unlimited exemption of large business assets without a needs test, the overly generous Lohnsumme exemption for small businesses, and structuring options with a high level of Verwaltungsvermoegen. The legislator was given a deadline of 30 June 2016 to create new rules — the version in force today is the answer to that. The full text of the judgment is available at rechtsprechung-im-internet.de.

In practical terms: anyone planning today with "the old 13a models" is planning with knowledge from a different legal world. I occasionally see Steuerberater (German tax advisors) or financial planners still working with structures that worked before 2016. With large acquisitions that can become genuinely expensive.

Frequent mistakes from my advisory practice

What I see again and again as a Steuerberater in client conversations are fewer dogmatic mistakes than human ones. The statutory provisions are complex but solvable. The family is usually the bigger building site.

Mistake 1 — transfer without family consensus: father transfers the GmbH to the eldest son because "he runs the business". The sister is paid off in cash. Three years later the siblings are in dispute, the son sells parts of the company, the Behaltensfrist is breached. Tax repayment: EUR 200,000. The real trigger turned out to be a sibling conflict that was never mediated, not a tax issue.

Mistake 2 — Verwaltungsvermoegen not cleaned up in advance: I regularly see clients who, two years before the planned handover, bring a rented condominium into the Holding. "It's just practical." No, it is catastrophic — the Verwaltungsvermoegen rises, the Optionsverschonung is in jeopardy.

Mistake 3 — Lohnsumme risk underestimated: for manufacturing businesses with cyclical swings, a 7-year 700 % Lohnsumme test is ambitious. Anyone transferring in 2026 and walking into a recession in 2028 has a problem.

Mistake 4 — no plan for the transferor's Wegzug (relocation away from Germany, triggering exit taxation on substantial shareholdings): if the transferor later moves abroad, the Wegzugsbesteuerung under § 6 AStG with deferral and return option can trigger additional taxes that were not priced into the succession plan.

In my experience, a successful succession rarely fails because of tax law. It fails because of unspoken expectations in the family. The Steuerberater who only knows the statutes overlooks this. The Steuerberater who keeps the family in view structures things so that the exemption still holds in five years' time.

Frequently asked questions

How high is the Verschonungsabschlag § 13a ErbStG in 2026?

The Verschonungsabschlag amounts to 85 % under the Regelverschonung and 100 % under the Optionsverschonung. For acquisitions over EUR 26 million, the discount melts down or is replaced by a needs test.

What is privileged Vermoegen under § 13b ErbStG?

Privileged are domestic and EU/EEA Betriebsvermoegen, interests in partnerships, shareholdings in corporations over 25 %, as well as agricultural and forestry assets. Verwaltungsvermoegen is generally not privileged and is filtered out through a complex test.

What happens if the Lohnsumme is undercut?

The Verschonungsabschlag is cut proportionately, in the ratio by which the actual Lohnsumme falls short of the minimum. The tax is collected retrospectively.

Can I switch later from the Optionsverschonung to the Regelverschonung?

No. The application for the Optionsverschonung under § 13a Abs. 10 ErbStG is irrevocable. If the strict conditions of the option later break, there is no automatic fallback to the 85 % rule. The application should therefore only be filed after a comprehensive check.

When does the Optionsverschonung really pay off?

The Optionsverschonung pays off if the Verwaltungsvermoegen is below 20 %, the Lohnsumme is stable, and the company is to stay in the family for at least seven years. For volatile sectors or with a planned sale after a few years, the Regelverschonung is the safer route.

Does the Verschonungsabschlag also apply to lifetime gifts?

Yes. § 13a ErbStG applies both to acquisitions on death and to gifts inter vivos. Lifetime transfers often have the advantage that the transferor can deliberately clean up Verwaltungsvermoegen beforehand.

What is the 90 % limit on Verwaltungsvermoegen?

If Verwaltungsvermoegen is above 90 % of the company value, the exemption falls away completely under § 13b Abs. 2 Satz 2 ErbStG — even the Regelverschonung. This limit is the absolute threshold below which any privilege at all is possible.

Next step: structured pre-check

The Verschonungsabschlag § 13a ErbStG is powerful — but it only works with clean preparation. In practice this means: at least two years before the planned handover, identify Verwaltungsvermoegen, model Lohnsumme risks, and bring the family around the table.

If you are planning a business succession in five strategic steps or need a second opinion on an existing structure, get in touch. In a first meeting we will clarify whether Regel- or Optionsverschonung is the right fit, where your Verwaltungsvermoegen stands today, and which family topics we should address up front, so that the Behaltensfrist does not become a trap later on.

You can book appointments directly via sprichmit.florian-enders.de.