City sends out property tax notices

Following a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court, the federal government and the federal states have revised the calculation of property tax. The reform came into force on January 1, 2025. The aim of the reform is to eliminate existing injustices that previously arose due to different calculations of the value of comparable properties. As a result, the amount of property tax for all properties will change upwards or downwards from this year. The new property tax assessment notices that the city will be sending out to property owners in the coming days will provide clarity.

Because the property tax assessment amounts have fallen significantly in some cases due to the new uniform calculation method used by the tax offices throughout Hesse, the assessment rate had to be raised in return so that the city can continue to generate around 46 million euros a year in property tax revenue. The new assessment rate was approved by the city council on March 20, 2025 and stands at 370 percentage points for property tax A and 1,230 percentage points for property tax B. City Treasurer Martin Wilhelm emphasizes: "Despite the difficult budget situation, we have succeeded in implementing the property tax reform for 2025 and 2026 in such a way that the city does not generate less, but also no more revenue than before. With these new assessment rates, we will achieve the revenue neutrality that was the aim of the reform."

Achieving this goal has been in question in the meantime, as the city's budget situation has deteriorated drastically since mid-2024. "Offenbach is by no means alone in this situation. Around 60 percent of Hessian local authorities have recently had to increase their property tax as a matter of principle due to a drop in revenue. And this has happened at the same time as the reform, which is leading to higher property tax rates for many properties anyway. In Offenbach, however, we have succeeded in not having to increase the assessment rate any further for the time being than was necessary to ensure revenue neutrality. Ultimately, this relieves the burden on all those affected."

In concrete terms, this means that the majority of Offenbach property owners (around 61% of all properties) will even benefit from the higher rate of assessment as a result of the reform. However, around 39% will have to pay considerably more than in the past - even without an additional tax increase. It will usually be more expensive for those buildings that have not been revalued for a very long time.

The property tax notices, which are now gradually being sent out, provide information on the exact amount to be paid. As property tax is usually debited four times a year, two payments are due once in May after receipt of the notice: retroactively for the first quarter (January to March) and for the second quarter of 2025 (April to June). Nothing has yet to be paid for the first quarter, as the new assessment rate could only be decided at the end of March.

The fact that the new property tax assessment notices can only be sent out now is due to the delayed preparation of the 2025 municipal budget. Because the city of Offenbach was only informed of its income from the municipal financial equalization scheme in November 2024, the budget could not be approved at the end of the year as usual. If the city had decided on an assessment rate at that time without having all the information, it would most likely have been necessary to adjust it again. In order to avoid confronting property owners with changed amounts and the necessary adjustments to their payments in a short space of time, the city decided not to do so.

"Unfortunately, the nationwide property tax reform comes at a time when the financial situation of local authorities is increasingly deteriorating. I keep emphasizing that the next two to three years will be difficult for Offenbach," said City Treasurer Wilhelm. "Due to this development, the City of Offenbach's budgets up to 2028 can only be approved with an increase in property tax of 300 points from 2027. What other municipalities already have to do now, Offenbach will have to do by then at the latest. It is important to me to say this openly and honestly now. I therefore have very clear expectations of the new federal government. For some time now, I have been fighting for adequate funding for local authorities from the federal and state governments. Something has to change fundamentally here."

In the event of payment difficulties, please inform the financial accounting department of the municipal treasury in good time.

If you have any questions, please contact the tax department by telephone on 069 8065-2212 or by email at grundsteueroffenbachde. However, anyone with questions about the property tax assessment notice is requested to contact the tax office exclusively. The City of Offenbach cannot provide any information in this regard.