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Moving abroad as a deemed sale: who is caught, what triggers it and how the gain arises
The module’s worked examples, then cases to attempt before revealing their solution · 3 sections · 398 words · 4 min
Worked example
Gifted shares, little time of her own
Leonie has lived in Munich for four years, her mother in Germany since Leonie was born. The mother gives her the GmbH shares, and two years later Leonie moves to Zurich. On her own, Leonie reaches six years. Adding the mother's years and counting the shared ones once fills the whole twelve-year window, so the move triggers the tax.
Worked example
The figures for Jonas
Jonas paid in 25,000 € of share capital and never added anything. The investor offered 2,400,000 € for the company. A valuation based on expected earnings confirms a fair market value of 2,400,000 € for his shares; a mere offer is not a sale between unrelated parties. The deemed gain is 2,400,000 € minus 25,000 €, or 2,375,000 €. Sixty percent of it, 1,425,000 €, is taxable in the year of the move.
Practical case
Mara moves to Stockholm
Mara Lindqvist moved to Hamburg in January 2017 and founded a GmbH there in 2018, holding all its shares ever since. She paid in 25,000 € of share capital and in 2021 made an open contribution of 75,000 € to the capital reserve. In June 2026 she gives notice on her Hamburg flat and moves to Stockholm. An expert valuation puts the fair market value of her shares at that moment at 1,300,000 €. Is she caught by § 6 AStG, and what amount enters her 2026 taxable income?
Hint: First count the years of unlimited tax liability within the twelve-year window before the move. Then check everything that belongs to acquisition costs.
Show the solution
The window runs from June 2014 to June 2026. Mara had unlimited tax liability within it from January 2017 to June 2026, roughly nine and a half years, so the seven-year minimum of § 6(2) AStG is met. As sole shareholder she is far above the § 17 threshold. Giving up her flat ends her unlimited liability, so the trigger is § 6(1) sentence 1 no. 1 AStG. Acquisition costs are 25,000 € plus the open contribution of 75,000 € as subsequent acquisition costs under § 17(2a) EStG, 100,000 € in total. The deemed gain is 1,300,000 € minus 100,000 €, or 1,200,000 €. Under the partial income method sixty percent is taxable: 720,000 €. With a gain this size the § 17(3) allowance has melted away entirely.
Answer: Yes, she is caught; 720,000 € of taxable gain in 2026
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