The occasion
Why the standard depreciation rarely fits the building
Rented buildings are depreciated for tax purposes at a fixed rate, regardless of the condition they are actually in. For residential buildings completed before 2023 that rate is two percent a year under section 7 (4) sentence 1 no. 2 of the German Income Tax Act, which works out at fifty years. Where the actual remaining useful life is shorter, depreciation may follow that shorter period under section 7 (4) sentence 2. The expert report establishes that shorter remaining useful life.
A worked example
What the reduction means per year
Apartment building, built in 1968, rented out.
| Acquisition cost | 900.000 € |
| building share (70%) | 630.000 € |
| depreciation so far, 2% a year | 12.600 € |
| depreciation per report, 25 years remaining useful life | 25.200 € |
| additional depreciation per year | 12.600 € |
At a marginal tax rate of 42 percent that would correspond to roughly 5,300 euros less income tax a year, provided the tax office accepts the remaining useful life.
A rounded worked example, not a commitment. The actual remaining useful life follows from the property and may be higher or lower. The resulting tax effect depends on your personal tax rate and is determined by your tax adviser.
Who prepares the report
Qualification and legal position
Ali Yasin holds the designation expert for building fabric and useful life of buildings. The report is prepared personally, following an on-site inspection and based on the building fabric recorded at the property.
In its judgment of 28 July 2021, IX R 25/19, the Federal Fiscal Court held that a taxpayer may use any method of demonstration that appears suitable for providing the evidence in the individual case; a building fabric report is not a precondition. The Federal Ministry of Finance circular of 22 February 2023, which had restricted the evidence to publicly appointed experts or experts certified under DIN EN ISO/IEC 17024, was repealed by the circular of 1 December 2025. There is therefore currently no binding administrative requirement as to qualification. That makes it all the more important to have a report that derives the remaining useful life at the property and evidences every assumption.
Tax offices handle this differently. The report prepares the ground for recognition; it does not guarantee it.
The process
From enquiry to report
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01
Enquiry
You state the property type, year of construction and location and send the purchase contract or the property particulars.
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02
Appointment
We agree the site visit and state the fee before we travel out. You receive the engagement agreement and the document checklist in advance.
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03
On-site inspection
Recording the building fabric and state of maintenance: load-bearing elements, roof, façade, building services, damage, modernisations.
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04
Report
Written report deriving the remaining useful life, for submission to the tax office by your tax adviser.
A fixed price, stated before the site visit
| Useful life report | ab 799,00 € netto |
| plus 19% VAT | ab 151,81 € |
| Final price | ab 950,81 € |
Depending on the size of the property, the number of units and the distance travelled. We state the amount for your property before the site visit takes place.
Not to be confused with the online valuation
The valuation calculator on this website gives an order of magnitude for the market value, computed from the postcode and your input, without an inspection. The expert report makes a statement about the remaining useful life for depreciation purposes and is based on an on-site inspection. Two different questions, two different documents. One does not replace the other.
Submit a property
Tell us the property type, year of construction and location – we check in advance whether a report is viable in your case.