Filling out Anlage V: the landlord's guide (2026)

Updated: 10 September 2026 · approx. 8 min read

Anyone letting a property in Germany has to report the income in Anlage V of their income tax return. The form looks intimidating – but it follows a simple logic: income at the top, deductible expenses below, the result at the bottom. This guide walks you through the key items line by line.

What is Anlage V?

Anlage V records income from letting and leasing (§ 21 EStG). As a rule you fill in a separate Anlage V per property. The underlying principle is a simple calculation:

Rental income − deductible expenses = surplus (or loss). A loss is not a mistake: in the first years after purchase or a major renovation it is often normal – driven by depreciation and loan interest – and it lowers your tax burden.

Part 1: The income

Here you enter what you actually received in rent and service-charge advances – on a cash basis, i.e. in the year of payment.

Item	What belongs here
Net cold rent	The net cold rent (Kaltmiete) received for the property in the tax year.
Service charges	Apportionable operating costs paid by the tenant (advance payments and back payments).
Other income	e.g. income from parking spaces or garages, or a retained deposit where it becomes taxable.

Important: the service charges paid by the tenant are first of all income. You deduct the operating costs you actually incurred further down as expenses – on balance this nets out as long as the charges cover the costs.

Where the agreed rent sits well below what the market would pay – because the flat is let to a family member, for instance – how much of Part 2 survives is already decided here. The thresholds that govern it are explained in the article on renting below market to relatives and the 66 % rule.

Part 2: The deductible expenses

Deductible expenses (Werbungskosten) are all costs connected with the letting. They are the lever with which you reduce your taxable result. The four most important blocks:

1. Depreciation (AfA)

You depreciate the building portion of the purchase price over its useful life – the land portion is not depreciated. For residential buildings the rate is typically 2% or 2.5% per year depending on the year of construction (for completion from 2023 the straight-line rate was raised to 3%). For residential buildings a declining-balance method is available as an alternative: 5% of the remaining book value each year – not of the purchase price, so the deduction shrinks year by year. It requires construction to have started after 30 September 2023 and before 1 October 2029 (§ 7 (5a) EStG).

On top of that there is the special depreciation under § 7b EStG – but it applies only to newly created rental dwellings. Merely modernising or renovating existing living space does not create a new dwelling, however high the cost and however much the fittings improve, and not even where the existing dwelling is enlarged. What does qualify is new construction, plus extensions and conversions to the extent that they create living space for the first time (converting a previously unused loft, for example).

Important if you renovate: if there was no dwelling within the meaning of § 7b EStG before the works – uninhabitable building stock, say, or commercial space being converted – and the requirements are met afterwards, then a new dwelling has come into being. In that constellation the special depreciation is available even after a renovation.

For building applications from 2023 onwards the property must also meet the "Effizienzhaus 40" standard with a QNG sustainability certificate, and it must be let to third parties for residential use for ten years. How much longer the special depreciation remains available depends on which wave of applications your property falls under: § 52 (15a) sentence 1 EStG limits the claim to assessment periods 2018 to 2026, but expressly only for "§ 7b in the version of Article 1 of the Act of 4 August 2019" – that is, the old wave. For building applications after 31 December 2022, § 7b (2) EStG sets the limit itself: before 1 October 2029. Covered in detail in the guide to building depreciation.

2. Loan interest

The interest (not the principal repayment!) on the property loan is fully deductible. So out of the monthly annuity only the interest portion counts, and it decreases over the term. Commitment interest and financing incidental costs also belong here. The interest is only fully deductible, however, if the loan actually paid for the let property. If you occupy part of the building yourself, how much survives is already decided by the allocation made when the purchase price is paid — the details are in deducting loan interest on a mixed-use property.

3. Maintenance expense

Repairs and maintenance (a broken heating system, painting, replacement windows in an existing building) are immediately deductible maintenance expense. Watch the 15% threshold: if net renovation costs within three years of purchase exceed 15% of the building's acquisition cost, they are reclassified as acquisition-related production cost – deductible only via depreciation instead of immediately. Keeping an eye on this threshold often saves several thousand euros. If it stays maintenance expense, the deduction need not fall into a single year: you may spread larger maintenance costs over two to five years.

4. Other deductible expenses

Non-apportionable management costs (e.g. property-management fees, bank charges)
Property tax, insurance, membership fees (owners' association)
Travel to the property, postage, listings when re-letting
Tax-advisor fees, insofar as they relate to the letting

Not deductible are the principal repayment (a reshuffling of assets, not a cost) and notional maintenance reserves as long as they have not actually been spent.

Part 3: The result

At the end the tax office subtracts the total deductible expenses from the income. A surplus increases your taxable income; a loss is offset against other income and reduces your tax burden. With joint ownership (e.g. a married couple) the result is split between the owners in proportion. A loss arises particularly often in a year without a tenant — what evidence belongs with the return in that case is covered in our article on deducting the costs of a vacant rental property.

The most common mistakes

Treating principal repayment as a cost – only the interest portion counts.
Overlooking the 15% threshold – a large renovation shortly after purchase booked incorrectly.
Depreciating the land portion too – only the building is depreciated.
Forgetting service charges – apportioned operating costs are income and expense.
Poorly filed receipts – no receipt, no deduction.

Anlage V without the paper chaos

RenoDiary prepares the matching Anlage V lines per property and year – from your loan, rent and receipt data. Including depreciation, § 7b special depreciation, the 15% threshold and CSV export.

Try it for free

What the courts have decided

Two judgments of the Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzhof, BFH) concern lines of the Anlage V that are regularly filled in wrongly: the owners' association reserve, and the point at which the tax office actually tests the intention to generate income.

BFH, judgment of 14 January 2025 – IX R 19/24

The service charge paid to the owners' association is not deductible in full in the year it is paid: the share flowing into the maintenance reserve only becomes a deductible expense once the association actually spends the money on maintenance. The 2020 reform of the German condominium act changed nothing here, even though the association has been fully legally capable since. For the Anlage V: strip the reserve share out of the service charge statement — and claim it in the year it is used.

BFH, judgment of 20 June 2023 – IX R 17/21

For a letting intended to be permanent, the tax office assumes the intention to generate income without demanding a forecast — losses in the early years are therefore unproblematic. The court confirms the exception for large properties, though: above 250 sq m of living space the intention is tested against a total-surplus forecast. Anyone letting a property that size should have the forecast ready before the tax office asks for it.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a separate Anlage V per apartment?

As a rule one Anlage V per property or economic unit. With several properties you fill in several forms accordingly.

What if I make a loss?

A loss from letting is generally offset against your other income and lowers your income tax. In the first years after purchase this is common, driven by depreciation and interest.

Does a partly owner-occupied property count?

Only the let share of the area is relevant. Owner-occupied areas generate no rental income, and the proportional costs are not deductible as expenses.

Update of 29 July 2026: The depreciation section has been corrected and expanded. An earlier version implied that any renovation could trigger the special depreciation under § 7b EStG. It does not: merely modernising or renovating existing living space creates no new dwelling. The exception that matters for renovators has been added (BMF decree of 21 May 2025, margin no. 27), along with the declining-balance depreciation under § 7 (5a) EStG – 5% of the remaining book value, not of the purchase price – and the conditions and time limit of § 7b EStG.

Update of 3 August 2026: The statement on the time limit of the special depreciation was drawn too broadly. An earlier version said § 7b EStG could be claimed "for the last time in the 2026 assessment period". Checking the full text shows: § 52 (15a) sentence 1 EStG applies that limit expressly only to "§ 7b in the version of Article 1 of the Act of 4 August 2019" – that is, to the wave of applications from 2018 to 2021. For building applications after 31 December 2022, the limit in § 7b (2) EStG applies instead: before 1 October 2029; § 52 (15a) sentence 3 EStG refers to exactly that period. For owners this means: if you are building today, you do not lose the special depreciation at the turn of the year 2026/2027 – the date of the building application governs.

Sources

§ 21 EStG (income from letting and leasing) — Gesetze im Internet (retrieved on 3 August 2026)
§ 7 EStG (depreciation, building rates, declining balance) — Gesetze im Internet (retrieved on 3 August 2026)
§ 6 EStG (post-purchase production costs, 15% threshold) — Gesetze im Internet (retrieved on 3 August 2026)
§ 52 EStG (application provisions) — Gesetze im Internet (retrieved on 3 August 2026)
BMF, decree on § 7b EStG of 21 May 2025 — PDF at the BMF (retrieved on 3 August 2026)
BFH, judgment of 14 January 2025 – IX R 19/24 (maintenance reserve deductible only when spent) — Federal Fiscal Court (retrieved on 25 August 2026)
BFH, judgment of 20 June 2023 – IX R 17/21 (total-surplus forecast above 250 sq m) — Federal Fiscal Court (retrieved on 25 August 2026)

This article provides general orientation and does not replace individual tax advice within the meaning of § 3 StBerG. Specific line numbers and percentages can change from one tax year to the next – the official form and advice from an authorized professional are what count.