Gift tax exemption temporarily raised to EUR 100.000
- Housing Market
The tax exemption for gifts used to finance a home has been raised to EUR 100,000. Under this temporary measure, which came into force on 1 October 2013, tax payers may receive gifts of up to EUR 100,000 in one calendar year without having to pay gift tax, on one condition: the money must be used for their own home. The measure will remain in force until 31 December 2014.
To remain tax exempt, the gift must be used in one of the following ways:
To purchase an owner-occupied home
To pay down a mortgage loan on an owner-occupied home
To finance improvements and maintenance to an owner-occupied home
To pay ground rent for an owner-occupied home
To pay down a residual debt after the sale of an owner-occupied home
The temporary extra exemption may not be spread across several years. Tax payers who have already received a separate gift in 2014 (that was not earmarked for their owner-occupied home) can still enjoy tax exemption for any top-up of this gift to the maximum of EUR 100,000.