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Closing costs in Germany: 5.5 to 12% explained

Updated: 2026-07-12 · Reading time: 13 min · ImmoLens editorial team

Buying a property costs more than the purchase price. The Kaufnebenkosten (purchase-related costs) come to 5.5 to 8.5 % of the purchase price without an estate agent, depending on the federal state, and to around 9 to 12 % with one. The common rule of thumb "7 to 12 %" quietly assumes an agent, which makes it too high for a private sale and too low for Nordrhein-Westfalen with an agent. The decisive point is a different one: you have to raise this sum from your own equity. As a rule the bank will not finance it, and the reason is not malice, it is systematic.

1. Grunderwerbsteuer: the largest item

§ 11 GrEStG sets a standard rate of 3.5 percent for the property transfer tax. Today only buyers in Bayern still pay that rate. Every other state has used its power to set the rate itself. The range runs from 3.5 % to 6.5 %, so almost a factor of two.

Three things about this tax matter, because they shape how the purchase runs:

• Who owes it? Under § 13 no. 1 GrEStG, both contracting parties are liable for the tax. The purchase contract usually places payment on the buyer, but towards the tax office the seller remains on the hook. That is why every seller insists that you pay promptly.
• When is it due? After notarisation, the tax office issues an assessment. Only once the tax has been paid does it issue the Unbedenklichkeitsbescheinigung (tax clearance certificate). Without that certificate the land registry may not enter you as the owner at all (§ 22 GrEStG). The tax is therefore not a trailing item, it sits on the critical path to ownership.
• When does it not apply? § 3 GrEStG lists the exemptions: where the consideration is no more than €2,500 (no. 1), where the buyer is the seller's spouse or registered partner (no. 4), and where the buyer is a relative in the direct line, so parents, children, grandchildren, including stepchildren and their spouses (no. 6). Buying from your brother is taxable, buying from your parents is not.

2. Notary and land register: the real fee calculation

A notary is required by law when buying a property, and there is nothing to negotiate: the fees are set in the Gerichts- und Notarkostengesetz (GNotKG) and are identical across Germany. A "cheap notary" does not exist. All that varies is the scope of the work.

The bill is built in two steps. First, a basic fee is read off Tabelle B of the GNotKG for the transaction value. For a value of up to €350,000 that is €685, for a value of up to €320,000 it is €635. That basic fee is then multiplied by the factor set out in the schedule of costs.

You do not have to work through this by hand: the notary cost calculator uses the same Tabelle B and itemises every fee position for your purchase price and loan amount.

3. Agent's commission: what really changed in 2020

On 23 December 2020 §§ 656a to 656d BGB came into force. The term "Bestellerprinzip" (the party who orders, pays), often used for this, is misleading: the true Bestellerprinzip applies to letting. For purchases, what has applied since 2020 is something else, namely a rule of equal sharing.

In practice the total commission is usually 6 to 7.14 % including VAT, so once split, 3 to 3.57 % for the buyer. The rate varies regionally and is freely negotiable, there is no statutory ceiling. The calculator above uses 3.57 %, the most widespread buyer's share.

4. Why the bank wants the additional costs covered by equity

This is the section where most financings fail, and the logic behind it is strict.

A bank lends against security, and the security is the property. What it can realise in an emergency is the house, not the property transfer tax and not the agent's invoice. The moment they are paid, the additional costs are economically destroyed: they create no value that stays inside the object. Anyone financing 12 % of additional costs has, the day after the purchase, a debt 12 % above what the security is worth.

On top of that, the bank does not calculate with the purchase price at all, but with the Beleihungswert (mortgage lending value), the value achievable sustainably and even in a crisis. Speculative elements must expressly be left out of account (§ 16 PfandBG). The Beleihungswert is typically around 10 % below the purchase price. Both effects together produce the calculation that catches buyers out:

5. The full example: Baden-Württemberg

The extremes of the range: in Bayern without an agent you pay around €19,250 on €350,000 (5.5 %). In Nordrhein-Westfalen with an agent it is around €42,245 (12.1 %). Between those two points lie €23,000 that depend purely on the federal state and the sales channel, not on the house.

6. What comes on top and is happily forgotten

7. Where you can genuinely save

1. Buy commission-free. The only item that can disappear entirely. On €350,000 that is around €12,495. The portals have filters for commission-free listings, and property developers almost always sell without an agent.
2. List the contents separately in the contract. Property transfer tax is charged only on the land and the building, not on movable items such as a fitted kitchen, an awning or a garden shed. Taking €20,000 of contents out of the price saves €1,300 of tax in Nordrhein-Westfalen. This only holds up with an itemised list at realistic current values. A flat-rate figure without evidence collapses under scrutiny.
3. Do not register a larger Grundschuld than you need. The notary and land register fees for the land charge depend on its amount, not on the purchase price. Limiting the Grundschuld to the actual loan amount rather than the purchase price saves real money.
4. Clear up the seller's old land charges. Deleting legacy entries in the land register costs fees. Who bears them is a matter of negotiation and belongs before the notarisation, not after it.

8. Frequently asked questions about closing costs in Germany (FAQ)

How high are closing costs when buying a house in Germany?

5.5 to 8.5 % of the purchase price without an estate agent, and around 9 to 12 % with one. What decides it is almost entirely the federal state and the sales channel: on a purchase price of €350,000 you pay around €19,250 in Bayern without an agent, and around €42,245 in Nordrhein-Westfalen with one. That is €23,000 of spread on an identical house. The familiar "7 to 12 %" rule quietly assumes an agent, so it fits neither a private sale nor the top end.

How much is the German property transfer tax in 2026?

Between 3.5 and 6.5 % of the purchase price, depending on the federal state. The standard rate of 3.5 % in § 11 GrEStG is now paid only by buyers in Bayern; at the top end sit Nordrhein-Westfalen, Brandenburg, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein at 6.5 %. What decides it is where the property lies, not where you live. Plan the tax in early: without payment there is no Unbedenklichkeitsbescheinigung, and without that the land registry may not enter you as owner (§ 22 GrEStG).

What do notary and land register cost when buying property in Germany?

Plan with around 1.5 % for the notary and 0.5 % for the land register, so roughly 2 % in total. The bare notarisation and registration fees come out lower: on a purchase price of €350,000 with a €300,000 Grundschuld they add up to around €4,050, which is 1.2 %. The gap is made up of execution and supervision fees, disbursements and the deletion of old land charges. For the exact positions in your case, use the notary cost calculator.

How much estate agent commission does the buyer pay?

Usually 3 to 3.57 % for the buyer, out of a total commission of 6 to 7.14 % including VAT. Since 23 December 2020, flats and single-family houses are subject to equal sharing: the seller has to bear at least the same amount, and your payment only falls due once the seller has demonstrably paid their half. For an apartment block, an undeveloped plot or a commercial property this rule does not apply, and the full commission can end up with the buyer.

Why does the bank insist that closing costs come out of equity?

Because closing costs create no value the bank could realise in an emergency. Its security is the house, not the transfer tax and not the agent's invoice. On top of that comes the Beleihungswert, typically around 10 % below the purchase price. In the example with €350,000 and €90,000 of equity, the buyer counts 86.4 % while the bank sees a loan-to-value of 96.0 %. To see which purchase price your equity actually supports, use the budget calculator.

When is no property transfer tax due?

In three cases: where the consideration is no more than €2,500, where you buy from your spouse or registered partner, and where you buy from a relative in the direct line, so parents, children and grandchildren, including stepchildren and their spouses (§ 3 nos. 1, 4 and 6 GrEStG). The line is drawn more tightly than most expect: buy from a brother and you pay in full, buy from your parents and you pay nothing. Under § 13 no. 1 GrEStG both contracting parties are liable anyway, so the seller stays on the hook.

9. Further reading

• Grunderwerbsteuergesetz, full text
• Gerichts- und Notarkostengesetz (GNotKG) with Tabelle B
• § 656d BGB, agreements on agent's costs
• Bundesnotarkammer, find a notary