In 2025, German tax authorities assessed inheritance and gift taxes amounting to 21.4 billion euros. According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), this figure represents a significant increase of 60.8 percent compared to the previous year, reaching a new record high.
This sharp rise is primarily attributed to large asset transfers. Tax assessed on major wealth transfers exceeding 20 million euros more than doubled, surging by 146.8 percent. It is important to note that these statistics only reflect transfers for which inheritance or gift tax was levied, as most asset transfers fall within tax-exempt allowances and are therefore not included in the data.
Looking at the specific types of tax, the assessed inheritance tax rose to 13.3 billion euros in 2025, a 57.1 percent increase year-on-year. This leap surpassed the previous record set in 2021, which stood at 9.0 billion euros. Following decreases in 2022 and 2023, the assessed tax on inheritances rebounded in 2024, and this upward trend continued strongly into 2025.
The assessed gift tax also reached a new peak in 2025, increasing by 67.3 percent to 8.1 billion euros. Since 2019 (when it was 1.2 billion euros), gift tax has shown continuous growth, and compared to 2023 (4.1 billion euros), it has almost doubled.
In total, assets were transferred through inheritance and gifts in 2025 amounting to 141.1 billion euros, marking a 23.1 percent increase from the prior year.
The higher assessment figures compared to the previous year are driven by several factors. Corporate assets transferred increased by 19.0 percent to 25.6 billion euros, including major holdings (Großerwerbe), which grew by 14.1 percent to 9.8 billion euros. Furthermore, significantly more shares in corporations were assessed-up by 128.9 percent to 16.8 billion euros. Other increases included transferred real estate (both developed and undeveloped), which climbed to 51.6 billion euros (+11.2 percent), residual assets such as bank balances and securities (45.3 billion euros, +19.7 percent), and agricultural and forestry assets (1.8 billion euros, +15.7 percent).
After factoring in estate liabilities and other acquisitions, the total taxable transferred assets were 150.5 billion euros. Consequently, the taxable inherited and gifted assets increased by 32.9 percent in 2025, hitting a new high.
Statisticians further detail the inheritances and bequests, which totaled 77.9 billion euros (+18.1 percent year-on-year). A noticeable increase occurred in shares of corporations, rising by 71.8 percent to 3.2 billion euros. This included 33.0 billion euros in real estate (+20.3 percent), 36.6 billion euros in other residual assets (+17.1 percent), and 0.6 billion euros in agricultural and forestry assets (+11.7 percent). Conversely, inherited business assets decreased by 8.8 percent to 4.4 billion euros. Among major inherited business assets (over 26 million euros), the transfer saw a significant drop of 58.9 percent, falling to 0.5 billion euros year-on-year. Accounting for liabilities and acquisitions, the taxable amount from inheritances increased by 36.2 percent, reaching 87.3 billion euros.
In the realm of gifts, asset transfers rose by 28.7 percent to 63.2 billion euros compared to the previous year, thereby surpassing 2023 levels following a decline in 2024. Notably, shares in corporations increased substantially by 148.4 percent to 13.6 billion euros, and gifted business assets rose by 27.0 percent to 21.2 billion euros. The major gifts (over 26 million euros) of business assets grew by 26.3 percent to 9.3 billion euros. Additionally, gifted residual assets reached 8.7 billion euros (+32.3 percent), and gifted agricultural and forestry assets increased to 1.2 billion euros (+18.0 percent). In contrast, gifted real estate slightly decreased by 2.1 percent to 18.6 billion euros.
