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File the Grundsteuer change notification

Mein ELSTER · § 228 BewG

Electronic onlyDepending on the federal state

The big Grundsteuer (property tax) return for the main valuation is history – what remains is the ongoing duty to notify changes. And hardly anyone knows about that, because it only becomes relevant when something changes about the property.

The deadline is clear, yet it is still often stated incorrectly. § 228 Abs. 2 Valuation Act (Bewertungsgesetz, BewG) gives three months for the notification, starting “with the end of the calendar year in which the actual circumstances changed”. That results in 31 March of the following year – not 30 April. The same date also applies in the federal states with their own model.

Two things make this procedure unusual. First, the notification must be submitted under § 228 Abs. 6 BewG electronically, in the officially prescribed data format; a paper route exists only where the Finanzamt (tax office) waives it to avoid undue hardship. Second, every federal state has its own form in ELSTER, because five federal states apply their own Grundsteuer model. The wrong form is a more common mistake here than the wrong figure.

Last updated27 August 2026
Legal basis§ 228 BewG · GrStG · § 153 AO
VerificationChecked against gesetze-im-internet.de and elster.de
Written and reviewed byAndrés Sánchez Botta
Independent information website: we are not ELSTER or the tax administration, not an authority and not a paid advice service — we do not submit applications on your behalf. All information comes from official sources and is explained here in plain language; binding information always comes from the competent body. Not tax advice. Five federal states apply their own Grundsteuer models; details may differ. All information is provided without guarantee. We are neither lawyers nor tax consultants: we document official procedures and check the information against the official source — this is information, not legal or tax advice.
Deadline31 MarchOf the following year
How the deadline runsThree monthsFrom the end of the year
FormElectronicOfficial data format
FormPer federal stateOwn models
Required documents

What you need

File reference from the property tax assessment notice (Grundsteuermessbescheid)

The most important reference number. Without the file reference of the valuation notice or assessment notice, the notification cannot be matched to your file. It is shown on the notice (Bescheid) you received after the main valuation.

Information on the plot of land

The Gemarkung (cadastral district), Flur (cadastral section) and Flurstück (land parcel), the land register page, the area and the location. This data comes from the Grundbuch (land register) or the land cadastre, and is the same as in the original return.

Description of the change

What has actually changed: an extension, adding a storey, demolition, a change of use from residential to commercial or the other way round, a division or merger, or the loss or creation of a tax exemption. Pure changes in market value do not count – what matters is the actual circumstances.

New area details

Residential and usable floor space after the change, and under the federal model also the year of construction and the type of property. In the area-based models of individual federal states, different details are required – another reason to work with the correct state form.

Evidence of the change

The building permit (Baugenehmigung), the certificate of self-containment (Abgeschlossenheitsbescheinigung), the declaration of division, the purchase agreement or the demolition certificate. Not always to be submitted, but the basis for your own information – and the proof of when the change took effect.

Step by step

How to proceed

  1. 1

    Check whether a duty to notify exists at all

    What must be notified are changes to the actual circumstances that affect the amount or type of the valuation – an extension, demolition, change of use, division, or loss of an exemption. What does not have to be notified are mere fluctuations in market value or a change of owner, which the Grundbuchamt (land registry) reports anyway.

  2. 2

    Calculate the deadline correctly

    § 228 Abs. 2 BewG gives three months from the end of the calendar year in which the circumstances changed. A change in March 2026 therefore does not have to be notified in June 2026, but by 31 March 2027. All changes within a year are notified together.

  3. 3

    Choose the correct state form

    In ELSTER, the Grundsteuer change notification exists separately per federal state – for the federal model, and in separate versions for, among others, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse and Lower Saxony, because these federal states apply their own models. What is decisive is the location of the property, not your place of residence. The wrong form leads to rejection.

  4. 4

    Carry over the details from the last notice

    Work with the valuation notice or assessment notice in front of you, and change only what has actually changed. Anyone who assembles the details afresh produces discrepancies that will be read as further changes.

  5. 5

    Submit electronically

    Under § 228 Abs. 6 BewG, the officially prescribed data set must be submitted electronically. The Finanzamt can only waive this to avoid undue hardship – the paper form is the exception that requires justification, not an equivalent alternative.

  6. 6

    Check the new notice

    The notification is followed by an amended valuation notice or assessment notice. Check it like any tax notice: the period for objection (Einspruch) is one month from notification. The order matters – you can no longer raise, against the later Grundsteuer bill from the municipality, what should have been objected to against the assessment notice.

Fee information

Costs and payment

Deadline and responsibilityTwo authorities, two notices
NotificationFree of charge
Deadline31 March of the following year
How the deadline runsThree months from the end of the year
FormElectronic, official data format
FormOwn form per federal state
The Grundsteuer itselfSet by the municipality

The notification costs nothing. More important than the price is the deadline, which is often stated incorrectly: § 228 Abs. 2 BewG allows three months from the end of the calendar year in which the actual circumstances changed – that is, until 31 March of the following year, not until 30 April. The federal states with their own model state the same date. It is equally important to understand who does what. The Finanzamt determines the Grundsteuer value and issues the Grundsteuermessbescheid (property tax assessment notice); the municipality then applies its Hebesatz (municipal multiplier) to it and sets the Grundsteuer. This produces an order in which many objections fail: anyone who disagrees with the underlying basis – area, type, valuation – must proceed against the assessment notice. This cannot be made up for later against the municipality's later Grundsteuer bill; there, only the Hebesatz is at issue. The amount of the Grundsteuer itself cannot be given here: the Hebesatz is set independently by each municipality and differs considerably.

Good to know

Important notes

The deadline is 31 March, not 30 April. § 228 Abs. 2 BewG gives three months from the end of the year of the change. The same date applies in the federal states with their own model.

The deadline only begins at the end of the year. A change in February does not have to be notified in May of the same year, but by 31 March of the following year. All changes within a year go together.

Every federal state has its own ELSTER form. Five federal states apply their own Grundsteuer models, and ELSTER keeps the change notification correspondingly separate. What is decisive is the location of the property, not your place of residence.

Electronic submission is mandatory. Under § 228 Abs. 6 BewG, the officially prescribed data set must be submitted; paper only where the Finanzamt waives this to avoid undue hardship.

What must be notified are actual circumstances, not values. An extension, demolition, change of use, division, loss of an exemption – not the trend in property prices.

You generally do not need to notify a change of owner. It is reported via the Grundbuchamt and the notary. Structural changes, by contrast, are not something the Finanzamt finds out about on its own.

Two authorities, two notices. The Finanzamt issues the assessment notice; the municipality uses its Hebesatz to set the Grundsteuer. Objections to the valuation belong with the assessment notice.

Where the valuation was set too low, § 153 Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung, AO) additionally applies. Anyone who realises that a detail was incorrect and that too little tax resulted from it must notify this without delay – independently of the deadline under § 228 BewG.

Avoid these mistakes

Common mistakes

Expecting 30 April. The deadline is 31 March of the following year. A one-month difference that puts you on the wrong side of a deadline.

Counting the deadline from the day of the change. It only begins at the end of the calendar year. Anyone who counts from earlier notifies in unnecessary haste; anyone who overlooks the turn of the year notifies too late.

Using the form for the wrong federal state. ELSTER keeps the change notification separate by federal state, because five apply their own model. What matters is the location of the property.

Putting together all the details from scratch. Carry over the data from the last notice and change only what has actually changed. Discrepancies due to carelessness are read as further changes.

Challenging the valuation against the municipality's Grundsteuer bill. Only the Hebesatz is at issue there. Objections to area, type or value belong with the assessment notice issued by the Finanzamt – and only within its period for objection.

Assuming a change of use is irrelevant. Switching between residential and commercial use affects the valuation and must be notified, even where nothing has changed structurally.

Frequently asked questions

Questions and answers

By when must I notify a change?

By 31 March of the following year. § 228 Abs. 2 BewG provides that the deadline is three months and begins “with the end of the calendar year” in which the actual circumstances changed. A change in March 2026 therefore has to be notified by 31 March 2027 – not three months after the event. The frequently cited deadline of 30 April is not correct; the same date also applies in the federal states with their own Grundsteuer model.

What exactly must I notify?

Changes to the actual circumstances that affect the amount or the type of the valuation: an extension or an added storey, demolition, a change of use between residential and commercial, a division or merger of plots of land, and the loss or creation of a tax exemption. Not to be notified are changes in property market values – what matters is the actual circumstances, not the price.

Must I report a change of owner?

As a rule, no. The change is reported to the tax administration via the notary and the Grundbuchamt (land registry). What the Finanzamt does not find out on its own, by contrast, are structural changes and changes of use – which is exactly why the duty to notify under § 228 BewG exists.

Why are there several Grundsteuer forms in ELSTER?

Because the Grundsteuer reform gave the federal states an opening clause, and several of them have made use of it. Besides the federal model, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse and Lower Saxony, among others, apply their own models, which require different details. ELSTER therefore keeps the change notification separate per federal state. What is decisive is the location of the property, not your place of residence – anyone who lives in Hamburg and has a property in Bavaria uses the Bavarian form.

Can I submit the notification on paper?

As a rule, no. § 228 Abs. 6 BewG requires submission in the officially prescribed data format, by electronic means. The Finanzamt can only waive this to avoid undue hardship – so paper is the exception that requires justification, not an equivalent alternative.

Who actually sets the Grundsteuer?

Two bodies, one after the other. The Finanzamt determines the Grundsteuer value and issues the Grundsteuermessbescheid. The municipality then applies its Hebesatz to it and sets the actual Grundsteuer. That is why you receive two notices from two authorities – and why it matters to challenge the right one.

I think the valuation is wrong — what should I challenge?

The assessment notice issued by the Finanzamt, within one month of notification. That is the point where most objections fail: against the municipality's later Grundsteuer bill, you can no longer argue that the area, the type of property or the valuation were incorrect – there, only the Hebesatz is at issue. Anyone who lets the assessment notice become final has lost these objections.

How much will my Grundsteuer be?

This cannot be given as a general figure, and we deliberately quote no number. The Grundsteuer results from the base amount (Messbetrag) set by the Finanzamt multiplied by the municipality's Hebesatz – and each municipality sets this Hebesatz independently. It differs considerably between neighbouring towns and is, moreover, adjusted regularly. The only reliable source is therefore the information from your municipality, or your own Grundsteuer notice.

Related official procedures

File a tax return
Deadlines for 2026 and 2027
Free of charge
Retrieve the tax notice
Objection within one month
Free of charge
Register an ELSTER account
Here it is mandatory
Free of charge

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