Property tax reform: Treasurer of the city of Bocholt promotes submission of property tax return

Bocholt's treasurer Jennifer Schlaghecken appeals to all property owners in the city of Bocholt to submit the declaration for the determination of the property tax value (Feststellungserklärung) to their tax office. Her advice: "Do not put off submitting the property tax declaration. Take advantage of the assistance offered by the tax authorities and submit the declaration as soon as possible."

Property tax is one of the city's most important revenues. It is used, for example, to pay for the operation of the theater, daycare facilities and schools.

Property owners can find all important information on the digital information platform of the tax offices at www.grundsteuer.nrw.de. The property tax portal (geodata portal) for retrieving important information about the parcel, such as the district, the standard land value or the land register sheet number, can also be accessed via the platform. "The data stored in the property tax portal reflects the status of the information in the real estate cadastre and the standard land value of the appraisal committees as of the cut-off date of January 1, 2022," explains treasurer Schlaghecken. "The query in the surveying and cadastral office is therefore not necessary."

In addition, explanatory videos and click instructions are available at www.grundsteuer.nrw.de to guide owners through the forms in the online tax office ELSTER. The guides show step-by-step completion using examples and can also be downloaded for reference.

In addition, checklists for compiling the data for the assessment declaration and an extensive FAQ with answers to the most frequently asked questions can be found on the portal.

For individual queries, the specially set up property tax hotline is available Monday to Friday from 9 am to 6 pm. The hotline of the Borken tax office can be reached at 02861/938-1959.

What citizens need to know aboutdetermining the value of property tax

• A declaration of assessment must be submitted for each plot of land and each agricultural and forestry business.
  
  Real property is, for example
  - undeveloped land
  - residential land (single-family houses, two-family houses, rented residential land, condominiums)
  - business properties (mixed-use properties, business properties, partial ownership)
  
  
• In May and June, owners of residential properties and agricultural and forestry businesses received an individual letter from their tax office with data and information to assist them in preparing their declarations (such as the file number, property area and standard land value). This data can be transferred to the declaratory statement after checking for completeness and accuracy.

If citizens have misplaced the letter or have not received a letter, the data can also be accessed in the digital property tax portal. This can be accessed at www.grundsteuer.nrw.de. It is not necessary to call or request this data from the cadastral offices.

Options for submission

• Online with ELSTER: elster.de
• Electronically via other software providers offering this service.
• If online submission is not possible: fill out forms by hand and submit. Paper forms are available from the tax office.

Services offered by the tax authorities

• Detailed information, checklists, completion instructions for ELSTER and explanatory videos on the property tax portal: grundsteuer .nrw.de
• Explanatory videos on YouTube: youtube.com/c/FinanzverwaltungNRW
• Property tax hotline at 02861/938-1959 (Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.)
• Property tax portal (geodata portal): grundsteuer-geodaten.nrw.de

Deadline

The assessment declaration must be submitted to the responsible tax office by October 31, 2022. The tax office responsible is the one in whose district the real property is located.

Until the end of the calendar year 2024, the municipalities will continue to calculate and levy the property tax according to the previous legal situation. From January 2025, the newly determined property tax value will be decisive for the property tax to be paid to the cities and municipalities. Consequently, property tax payments are to be made under the new law from January 1, 2025.