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The legal basis is § 32 of the Grundsteuergesetz (Property Tax Act), which provides for a full or partial exemption from property tax for cultural assets and green spaces as well as for listed historic buildings under certain conditions.
The owner must regularly demonstrate that the costs of maintaining the historic building permanently exceed the income generated, for example from letting.
The corresponding application must be submitted to the responsible tax office or municipality and frequently requires a detailed cost and income statement covering several years.
Mere registration as a listed historic building is not sufficient on its own for an exemption – it must additionally be demonstrated over several years that maintenance costs permanently exceed the achievable income.
This so-called lack of profitability is assessed on the basis of a detailed, multi-year cost and income statement, which must be attached to the application submitted to the responsible tax office.