Property tax reform Hessen: Citizens defend themselves against priceless increases!

Property tax reform Hessen: Citizens defend themselves against priceless increases!

At the beginning of 2025, a far -reaching reform of property tax came into force in Hesse, which presents both owners and municipalities with great challenges. Millions of property tax notices were sent in the course of this, which led to numerous objections and discrepancies between the new sentences and the previous ones. Hessenschau reports that alone in Hesse have received around 280,000 objections against the new property tax notices. This corresponds to about 10% of the notices sent over 2.7 million.

An example is Erich Jöckel, a 70-year-old home owner from Dreieich, who is badly affected by the reform with his apartment building in Mühlheim. According to the introduction of the new regulations, Jöckel should now pay around 1,520 euros in property tax annually, which represents a drastic increase compared to previously 490 euros. In 2022, Jöckel appealed to the Office Tax Measurement notification of the Offenbach tax office because he considered the landing value to be excessive. The tax office has confirmed the entrance to its appeal, but has not yet shown any further reaction.

objections and lifting rates in Hesse

The large number of objections shows the discomfort of many citizens compared to the new regulations. According to the information from hessen.de , the tax office received several hundred calls as well as numerous written contradictions, especially in the municipalities with greatly increased lifting rates. The Federation of Taxpayers Hessen found that 60% of the municipalities have raised their lifting rates beyond the country's recommendations. Heusenstamm leads with the highest rate of 1,327 points, followed by Löhnberg, where an increase of 131% took place.

In addition, the city of Lindenfels plans to increase its lifting rate to more than 380 points to 990 in order to generate additional income of 1.9 million euros. In this context, Younes Frank Ehrhardt, Managing Director of the House and Grund owners' association, advises to only object in certain cases, since many objections may not be able to succeed.

background of the reform

The property tax reform in Hesse follows a system change from a value -addict to an property tax. The new decision on the property tax measurement amount is determined on the basis of various parameters such as the floor area, living or usage area and location of the property. While large land and buildings tend to pay more property tax, this happens according to a so-called area-factor procedure. This procedure means that differences between old unit values ​​and new property tax measurements can occur, both up and down.

For determining the landing value, which represents a central factor in the property tax calculation, expert committees use various data. These values ​​are available free of charge via the Boris Hessen portal. Jöckel itself has already transferred the increased property tax amounts and intended to pass them on to his tenants via the additional costs. In the political discussion, associations such as house and land require a property tax brake and hardship regulations to alleviate the financial burdens for owners.