Selling shares in German corporations
Anyone who held at least 1 % of a GmbH or AG at any point in the last five years sells not under the flat withholding tax but under section 17 EStG. The first module draws the dividing line, including for gifted shares and hidden contributions. The second computes the gain: price minus costs minus acquisition costs, 60 % of it taxable, then the pro-rata allowance of 9,060 € that tapers from 36,100 €. Plus the limits on losses. Two modules with fully worked case studies.
Intermediate2 modules40 minModule 1 free to read
2026 rules — verified on September 23, 2026
Figures are tied to dated, sourced tax constants. A module whose rules have changed is flagged for review, and is unpublished automatically beyond 90 days.
By the end of this course, you can…
These outcomes are the modules' own: the promise cannot say anything the course does not teach.
- tell apart the two provisions that can catch a sale of privately held GmbH shares or stock
- apply the threshold of section 17(1) EStG and its five-year look-back to an actual history of holdings
- recognise which events other than a sale are treated as a disposal
- explain why the classification decides the rate, the deduction of costs and the use of losses
- assign shares held as business assets, and a sale by a corporation, to the right rules
- compute the capital gain under section 17(2) EStG from price, costs and acquisition costs
- recognise which contributions, loan losses and guarantee losses raise the acquisition costs
- apply the partial-income method to price and costs
- compute the pro-rata allowance of section 17(3) and its tapering
- judge whether, and to what extent, a loss on disposal is taken into account
The programme, module by module
Each module has its own page. Durations are derived from the actual text, never announced by hand.
- Module 119 minFree — no accountSection 17 or capital income: which rule catches a sale of sharesWhat you will be able to do
- tell apart the two provisions that can catch a sale of privately held GmbH shares or stock
- apply the threshold of section 17(1) EStG and its five-year look-back to an actual history of holdings
- recognise which events other than a sale are treated as a disposal
- explain why the classification decides the rate, the deduction of costs and the use of losses
- assign shares held as business assets, and a sale by a corporation, to the right rules
- Module 221 minIncluded in the full courseComputing the section 17 gain: partial income, allowance and lossesWhat you will be able to do
- compute the capital gain under section 17(2) EStG from price, costs and acquisition costs
- recognise which contributions, loan losses and guarantee losses raise the acquisition costs
- apply the partial-income method to price and costs
- compute the pro-rata allowance of section 17(3) and its tapering
- judge whether, and to what extent, a loss on disposal is taken into account
What you take away
A handout you keep, not just a page you read. The sections are derived from the course itself: what is announced here is exactly what gets generated.
Participant handout (PDF)
PDF
- Learning objectives (2)
- Key figures (3)
- Mistakes to avoid (2)
- Official sources (2)
Exercise workbook (Word)
Word
- Learning objectives (2)
- Key figures (3)
- Mistakes to avoid (2)
- Official sources (2)
Answers live in a separate appendix: the participant handout and the workbook stay distributable before the exercise.
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Educational content, current with the sources cited. It does not replace advice tailored to your situation. These courses are neither certifying nor CPF-eligible: they prepare for no certification registered with the French RNCP or specific register.