Exempt a secondary residence from the Rundfunkbeitrag

Not automatically – but you can be exempted. Since the fee is charged per dwelling under § 2 Abs. 1 RBStV, a second residence would incur a second fee. The Federal Constitutional Court declared this double burden unconstitutional on 18 July 2018, and since then § 4a RBStV has provided for an exemption for secondary residences. What is decisive, however, is the qualification: only on application. Nothing is checked ex officio – not even where both homes have long been registered in your name and the double payment is obvious. Anyone who, after the ruling, assumed the matter would resolve itself has been overpaying by €220.32 every year since.

No, and this is the most important misunderstanding about this benefit. The three-month rule is not a cut-off period, but a rule about the retroactive effect. § 4a RBStV provides that the exemption “[begins] on the first of the month in which the requirements … are met, if the application is submitted within three months …”. If the application is submitted later, the exemption simply begins only with the month of application – the entitlement as such continues to exist. In practice, this means: anyone who has been paying double for years does not get the past back, but saves €220.32 a year from now on. Every further month of delay costs €18.36. The expired deadline is therefore a reason to apply today, not a reason to leave it.

Yes. This is the second major misconception, and it costs couples in particular their entitlement. § 4a RBStV does not require that you pay the fee for the principal residence yourself: the right to apply exists where “they themselves, their spouse or their registered civil partner” pay the Rundfunkbeitrag for the principal residence. So if the contribution account for the principal residence is in the name of your wife, your husband or your registered civil partner, you are nevertheless entitled to apply. In that case, state their contribution number; the provision also provides that, on request, an “official document showing the status of the marriage or registered civil partnership” must be produced. Payment by flatmates without this status is not sufficient.

Under § 4a Abs. 4 RBStV, “the submission of proof under registration law or of a second home tax notice” – that is, either one of the two, not both. This is practically relevant because registration certificates cost a fee depending on the local authority and are incurred twice for two homes: anyone who already pays second home tax for the secondary residence already has the required notice and can simply enclose it. In addition, the provision requires the designation of the principal and secondary residences with their classification under registration law, as well as, if you are relying on payment by your partner, proof of the marriage or registered civil partnership on request. Check beforehand whether your registration status is correct – an application based on incorrect registration data is rejected.

The principal residence under registration law – not the one where you stay more often or that matters more to you. § 4a RBStV links to the registration (Anmeldung) with the registration authority, and that is precisely why the required proof is a document under registration law or a second home tax notice. If your registration status does not match the actual circumstances, the right first step is not the application for an exemption, but a correction at the Bürgeramt: an application on an incorrect basis is rejected and would have to be repeated afterwards in any case, while the three-month rule keeps running in the meantime. Also note that the classification under registration law has consequences beyond the Rundfunkbeitrag, for example for second home tax – do not change it solely because of this application.

For a home abroad, the question does not arise: the Rundfunkbeitrag is tied to dwellings in Germany, and for a dwelling beyond the border it is not payable in any event. For a holiday home in Germany, what matters is whether it is recorded under registration law as a secondary residence – in that case § 4a applies under the same requirements as for any other second residence. If, on the other hand, it is not registered as a place of residence at all, precisely the proof the provision requires is missing; here, the second home tax notice is often of help, as many holiday municipalities issue one anyway. Check both before submitting the application, and enclose the notice you already have.

Then, depending on the circumstances, the requirements cease to apply, and this must be reported. Typical cases: the principal residence is given up, the classification under registration law of the principal and secondary residence is swapped, or the fee for the principal residence is no longer paid – for example after a separation, if the account for the principal residence was held by the partner. In all these cases, the exemption no longer holds. If the change is not reported, the Landesrundfunkanstalt revokes the exemption retroactively, and the fees are demanded afterwards for the entire period – all at once and, where applicable, with a late-payment penalty. So report changes at the same time as you make them under registration law, and keep the confirmation.

Yes, and immediately. As a rule, you will not get the past fees back, because the retroactive effect is tied to the three-month rule. But the application takes effect from the month of application, and that means €220.32 less per year, permanently. Think of it the other way round: every month you still postpone the application costs you €18.36 that nobody will get back. The application itself is free of charge, requires two items of information and one piece of proof, which you already have if you pay second home tax. If there is one thing on this page that should be dealt with immediately, it is this – the missed deadline is the worst conceivable reason to keep paying double.