---
title: "Gift Tax Calculator"
description: "Calculate German gift tax: allowances by relationship, tax classes, 10-year rule, and optimal transfer strategy."
canonical: "https://investboard.de/en/rechner/schenkungsteuer"
language: "en"
modified: "2026-07-09"
author: "Investboard"
---

# Gift Tax Calculator

Calculate tax-free allowances and tax liability

## How German gift tax works

German **gift tax (Schenkungsteuer)** applies when assets are transferred during the donor's lifetime and the personal allowance is exceeded. Three factors determine the result: the allowance by degree of kinship (Section 16 ErbStG), the tax class (Section 15 ErbStG) and the tax rate on the taxable acquisition (Section 19 ErbStG).

### Allowances by degree of kinship

| Relationship to the donor | Allowance | Tax class |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Spouse, registered partner | EUR 500,000 | I |
| Child, stepchild | EUR 400,000 | I |
| Grandchild (parents alive) | EUR 200,000 | I |
| Siblings, nieces, nephews | EUR 20,000 | II |
| Unrelated persons | EUR 20,000 | III |

One property is easy to miss and decisive: the allowance applies **per donor and per recipient**. Father and mother each have their own allowance towards each child, so a couple can transfer up to EUR 800,000 to one child tax-free, EUR 400,000 from each parent. The calculator models this through the number of donors.

### The 10-year window

The allowance renews every ten years. Whoever starts early can use it several times: a gift today and another in ten years use two full allowances.

Within the ten-year window the opposite applies: several gifts to the same person are added together. Transferring EUR 250,000 to a child in one year and another EUR 250,000 three years later exceeds the EUR 400,000 allowance by EUR 100,000, and gift tax is due on that part.

Gifts must generally be reported to the Finanzamt (tax office) within three months (Section 30 ErbStG), even when they fall below the allowance. For notarised gifts the notary files the report.

## How the calculator works

### Taxable acquisition

```text
Taxable = gift + prior gifts (10 years) − allowance × number of donors

Gift tax = taxable amount × rate under Section 19 ErbStG
```

The rate depends on the tax class and the size of the taxable acquisition: in tax class I it rises in steps from 7% (up to EUR 75,000) to 30%, in class II from 15% to 43%, in class III from 30% to 50%. Each rate applies to the entire taxable amount; near bracket boundaries the calculator applies the hardship adjustment of Section 19(3) ErbStG.

In optimisation mode the calculator also shows how a larger total transfer can be split into allowance-sized tranches on a ten-year rhythm, and how much tax that staging saves compared with a lump-sum transfer.

The calculator shows the computed tax for financial assets. For property, business holdings or usufruct structures the result depends on tax valuation, and the exemptions of Section 13 ErbStG are not modelled. Seek professional tax advice for concrete transfers.