Broker fraud or tax evasion?

Hello everyone,

We are currently buying a house and something very strange has happened, and I am not sure if and what I should do.
Briefly to the background: after a very long search and countless viewings, we managed to get a house.
The viewing had to take place on very short notice, and there was no time for my partner to attend. (wisely, I filmed everything)
My partner has never seen the house from the inside but was still convinced because of the videos and the location, and we signed the purchase contract.

Now to the situation:
We (almost) saw the real estate agent for the first time at the signing of the purchase contract; otherwise, there were only a few phone calls where he asked for the financing confirmation and informed us of the notary appointment.
All other contact and also the viewing were done with the neighbor, who is a friend of the owner.
Shortly before the notary appointment, the agent wanted to meet again; there he offered me to pay the €20,000 broker’s commission in cash right after the notary appointment, and that we could save the tax, which would be almost €3,000.
(I have to admit that at the moment I thought he meant we could save the 3%, I also said that it shouldn’t be that much.)
Therefore, I declined the offer, which visibly did not please him very much...
In hindsight, I told someone else and then realized myself that he actually meant under the table, completely without 16% or 19% tax.
A recalculation confirmed that; we would then have paid about €17,000.
Nevertheless, I was glad to have declined since we finance the commission and would then also have had no proof of payment.

Now comes the funny part.
We have now received an invoice for the full amount of €20,000, and on the invoice it says that due to the small business regulation no tax is due.
That confuses me a lot now. If he doesn’t have to pay tax, how could he then make us the previous offer?
The company also makes a big impression, offering many services, on the website they say for 20 years. (theoretically, it is of course still possible that he is a small business owner)
I don’t understand all this.
At the same time, he is apparently a very good friend of the owner, and of course, we don’t want to upset him because we haven’t taken over the house yet.
The payment deadline on the invoice is the day after tomorrow.

I ask for advice.
Best regards

A broker who is a small business owner? Does he only handle 2 deals a year or what? With these amounts, you quickly exceed the small business status. That's kind of curious. Such a commission is already high, but in this case, with so little work and so much criminal energy, it's almost ridiculous. But well, unfortunately, you have to swallow it, meaning the commission.

well, firstly this is always subject to tax as a service, so I don't know of any regulation that just casually forbids it. But the amount of the commission is also stated in the notary contract. So if the amount is not mentioned there, or a different amount is demanded, both are formal tax fraud. Secondly, the broker's fee only becomes due when the transaction is completed, at the earliest with the notarial confirmation of the purchase price payment towards the tax office regarding real estate transfer tax. In terms of content, it could be irrelevant to you, because you have signed the contract and no financial damage. Informally, this is the usual practice of many brokers and partly also owners. Often you don't even get a chance if you don't accept the rules. It confirms, as so often, the bad reputation of brokers. (Sorry to the honest brokers, but you seem to be in the minority)

The small business regulation only applies up to 22,000 p.a. It is tax evasion. If you want to do this, you should consider the following: VAT is a pass-through item, the buyer benefits from it, but the broker does not suffer a disadvantage. However, there are about 40% more taxes for the broker afterwards. Fairness among crooks would mean invoice amount net minus 20%. Then, of course, a two-liner from the broker stating that he makes no claims against you.

The small business regulation only applies up to 22,000 p.a.

Assuming as a buyer I receive the invoice as shown above for 20K€. That means he is initially below this limit with this transaction (and as a non-entrepreneur you first have to know about this). How is a buyer supposed to know if this is legally correct? I only know the broker for this one transaction, after all. I would basically assume that the broker knows how to issue his invoice properly, pays the 20k, and forwards the invoice to the bank. At least if he hadn’t made me such an offer beforehand.

We saw the broker (almost) for the first time when signing the purchase contract; otherwise, there were only a few phone calls where he requested the financing confirmation and informed us of the notary appointment.

Did you even conclude a brokerage contract including a revocation instruction? How is it designed?

that no tax is due because of the small business regulation.

If he writes it like that, I would accept it. It is not your task to scrutinize or advise him on tax matters.

Secondly, the broker's fee is only due when the transaction is completed, at the earliest with the notarial confirmation of the purchase price payment to the tax office regarding the real estate transfer tax. Content-wise, it could be irrelevant to you because you have signed the contract and do not have financial damage.

No. It is a brokerage contract (normally, see § 652 German Civil Code). Due and payable after the conclusion of the purchase contract.

P.S. A broker is not obliged to perform any activities. Precisely that harms the brokerage business immensely.