Real Estate Transfer Tax (Grunderwerbsteuer) is subject to the fiscal soverenity of the German federal states. Therefore every German state has the right to set ist own tax rate.

The government of the Federal State of Berlin decided to increase the tax rate from currently 5% to 6% with effect from 1 January 2014. The Federal State of Schleswig Holstein also plans to increase ist tax rate to a record high of 6.5%.