The tax office wants to know how we are financing our construction project

The tax office simply has no business knowing how you finance your property/house.

That is not entirely correct. If the previous income is not high enough to expect a lot of equity and no gift has been taxed with the tax office so far, but on the other hand the property is acquired without registering a land charge, then of course the suspicion arises that some taxable event has been concealed in the income tax or gift tax. It is no coincidence that the letter refers to the tax returns.

However, it may turn out that the equity contributed is not actually own equity, but an interest-free loan from the parents.

Perhaps also the question of whether you are using black money that the tax office does not know about ...

I can clearly answer that with no.

My impression is rather that based on the known financial data, they are asking where the money for the purchase comes from.
Do you have special circumstances like self-employment, just started working (=low income according to previous tax returns) or something like that?
The tax office probably wants to check whether there is wealth/income they did not know about so far ...

Both have been employed at the same company for 10+ years.

Hello Superaggy

Usually not. Obviously, there is an overzealous tax officer trying to save the world.
Just take a look at the § cited as justification. If it does not explain the matter, ask for the exact legal basis for this inquiry. Usually, something like “then I decide based on the file” comes up. That then means, “I just tried it.”
The tax office simply has no business to know how you finance your property/house.

Steven

I will take another look at the paragraph. Let's see.

That is not quite correct.
If the previous income is not high enough to expect a lot of equity and no gift has been taxed at the tax office so far, but the property is acquired without a land charge in return, then of course it is obvious to think that some taxable event regarding income or gift tax was concealed. It is no coincidence that the letter refers to the tax returns.

However, it may turn out that the equity brought in is not own equity, but an interest-free loan from the parents.

We are using 15% equity. I also now count the interest-free loan from the parents-in-law as part of that. The notary also applied directly for the land charge, otherwise the bank would not pay out money. The only thing that might possibly be seen as unusual is that we are not married. Only I was contacted.

Thank you all for the much feedback.

We are using 15% equity. I am also counting the interest-free loan from the parents-in-law for this. The notary also applied for the land charge registration at the same time, otherwise the bank would not disburse any money. The only thing that might be considered unusual is that we are not married. Only I was contacted.

Thank you all for the many feedbacks.

You can save yourself the trouble of reading paragraphs. That is just the general duty to cooperate that you have as a citizen. Being married or not should no longer play a big role nowadays. 15% equity is not unusual now either, so you are not falling outside the standard case here. So I really can’t think of anything else now.

Since tax offices are state authorities, this could by now also be standard for construction projects in Saxony or at least for the Leipzig tax office, so the letter is not specifically targeted at you.

I would simply try to make contact and inquire here.

However, it may well turn out that the contributed equity is not actually own equity, but an interest-free loan from the parents.

then there is already the general excuse. just say that the money comes as an interest-free loan from relatives/acquaintances etc. (without specifying any names).

Did not know the questionnaire either.... Had not many building clients yet: Ad hoc I can think of:

Gifts that must be reported
Private loans whose interest is taxable
Foreign accounts that are currently often being closed and reduced
Received undeclared money from self-employed/commercial, especially part-time activities