Gift of Building Plot: Valuation and Procedure

Hello everyone. I am very fortunate that my parents own a building plot which they want to give me as a gift. My girlfriend and I want to build a house there. We are not married but both want to be listed at 50% each in the land register and are not quite sure how to arrange this best. Maybe someone can help? There are several questions in total:

1.) The plot is about 2200m2 in size, but the building area according to maps and also information from the building authority is limited to the first approximately 800m2 adjacent to the road. How is the value of the plot determined? According to BORIS, the price for building land in our area is around 120 euros, for garden/arable land about 6 euros. The plot is relatively narrow and long, and the rear part borders on a stream, which is a floodplain, meaning that theoretically no building land could ever be created there. I would have assumed that the 800m2 building land is calculated at 120 euros each, and the rest is calculated at around 6 euros?

2.) We understand that the cheapest and easiest option would be if we quickly got married before the gift, then no taxes/fees would apply. But that is rather unromantic and not really an option for us, even though marriage is planned in principle. But how is it done most economically if unmarried? Gifting 50% to my girlfriend would certainly not be so clever, since the gift tax is quite high after the 20k exemption. It would be cheaper if my parents gifted me 50% and sold her 50% (keeping the 20k exemption in mind!) so that real estate transfer tax would be due on her part. Or am I wrong there?

Thanks in advance for answers!

It is always tax-wise disadvantageous if your girlfriend or wife is to receive 50% as a gift, so I would reflect on whether that is really important. Otherwise, just pay the gift tax.

Why don’t you give her 50% after the wedding?

2x notary fees - correct?

The property is therefore worth about 105,000 euros in the eyes of the tax office.

Have your parents owned the property for more than 10 years? Otherwise: what was the purchase price?

Your parents could sell you the property for 60,000 euros at 1/2 each.
Grunderwerbsteuer only applies to your girlfriend's portion: 30,000 euros x 3.5 - 6.5% = 1,050 to 1,950 euros tax.
In the best case, it will simply be accepted. In the worst case, gift tax would also apply; however, this amount would be minimal.

Why don't you gift her 50% after the wedding?

I did exactly that. Only the notary fees apply, but it's better than the property transfer tax. So the transfer/gift between spouses. The cheapest option would indeed be for your parents to gift it to you before the wedding.