Immobilienpartner Sachsen
Guide7 min read

Emigrating with a property: the 12-month plan for your move

The move itself is done in four weeks, the property occupies you for another eighteen months. This timeline brings property, tax, authorities and bank together in five phases, from twelve months before departure to the obligations that follow.

emigration property timeline12 month moving abroad checklistselling property before emigratingnotarised power of attorney emigrationauthorised recipient § 123 AOderegistration EinwohnermeldeamtGerman bank account after moving abroad

How far in advance should I plan my move abroad if I own a property in Germany?

Allow twelve months. Five items must be settled before you leave: the notarised power of attorney (notarielle Vollmacht), a German bank account kept open, the full set of property documents, an engaged tax adviser (Steuerberater) and an authorised recipient for tax notices (Zustellungsbevollmächtigter, § 123 AO). Each of these can only be arranged from abroad with considerably more time and cost.

97,000

German nationals moved away in 2025 (2024: 81,000). Source: Federal Statistical Office

12 months

realistic lead time once a property is involved

5 items

must be settled before departure, not after

What belongs before departure, and why

Strictly speaking almost everything can be caught up on. But these five items become noticeably slower and more expensive from abroad. Settle them while you are still registered in Germany.

The five critical items

Notarised power of attorney

Without it nobody can sign the purchase contract for you. It must expressly cover the sale, the signing and receipt of the purchase price. Notarisation costs roughly 50 to 200 euros depending on the transaction value. From abroad it only works through a German consulate.

Secure a German bank account

The purchase price flows to the account named in the purchase contract. Many banks require a German registered address to open a new account. Get written confirmation, before you deregister, that the account continues with a foreign address.

Obtain the documents

Land register extract (Grundbuchauszug), energy performance certificate (Energieausweis), building plans, declaration of division, service-charge statements, evidence of modernisation. Dealing with authorities from abroad costs weeks instead of days.

Engage a tax adviser

The year of departure is a special year for tax purposes. Anyone who starts looking once the assessment notice arrives will miss deadlines.

Authorised recipient (§ 123 AO)

A person with a German address to whom the tax office can serve notices. Appeal deadlines run from service, not from the day the letter reaches you. In practice the tax adviser usually takes this on.

The timeline in five phases

The phases interlock. Phase 3 is the critical one: whatever is left undone there can only be made up from abroad at considerable extra cost.

1
12 to 9 months before

The fundamental decision: sell or let

Both are legitimate, but the decision rests on figures you need now.

  • Have the property valued as the basis for tax and yield calculations
  • Check the speculation period (Spekulationsfrist): 10 years under § 23 EStG, counted to the day between the notarised purchase and sale contracts
  • Check the owner-occupation exemption: use in the year of sale and the two preceding calendar years
  • Find a tax adviser versed in international tax law (residence under § 8 and § 9 AO, inheritance tax treaty of your destination country)
2
9 to 6 months before

Documents and financing

This sounds mundane and is the point at which sales most often stall.

  • Request the land register extract, cadastral map, building plans and building description
  • Commission the energy performance certificate: mandatory for sale and letting, to be presented at the viewing at the latest
  • For flats: declaration of division, minutes of owners' meetings, annual budget, service-charge statements
  • Have the bank calculate the early repayment penalty (Vorfälligkeitsentschädigung) in writing before you set a price
3
6 to 3 months beforeCritical phase

Power of attorney, account, tax office, start of marketing

Here sit the items that become expensive to catch up on from abroad.

  • Have the notarised power of attorney executed and discuss its scope with the notary (template texts serve only as a drafting aid for that meeting)
  • Clarify in writing that the German account continues with a foreign address
  • Name an authorised recipient under § 123 AO to the tax office
  • Start marketing so that the notary appointment can, if possible, still take place with you present
4
3 months to departure

Sale and official formalities in parallel

Now marketing and deregistration formalities run side by side.

  • Viewings, price negotiation, review of the draft purchase contract, notary appointment (where a consumer is involved, a statutory two-week waiting period lies between draft and notarisation)
  • Deregister at the residents' registration office within the two-week window around your move-out date and keep several copies of the certificate
  • Adjust insurance: vacancy frequently triggers a duty to notify the buildings insurer
  • Set up mail forwarding, deregister the broadcasting fee, settle energy and water contracts, document meter readings
5
After the move

Tax return, transfer, land register

Your German obligations do not end with the flight.

  • File the tax return for the year of departure covering the period of unlimited tax liability, with any gain within the 10-year period in Annex SO
  • Limited tax liability under § 49 EStG: rental income stays taxable in Germany under the situs principle (Art. 6 OECD Model Convention), and the basic tax-free allowance is generally not granted (§ 50 (1) EStG)
  • Transferring the purchase price: keep the purchase contract, the notary's statement of account and the bank statement ready for the receiving bank's anti-money-laundering checks, ideally translated
  • Have the notary confirm the land register transfer, which only follows payment of the purchase price and release of encumbrances

What becomes difficult after you leave

This comparison shows why timing matters. On the left the effort while you are still registered, on the right the same task from abroad.

TaskBefore departureAfter departure
Notarised power of attorneyAt the notary on site, roughly 50 to 200 euros depending on transaction valueOnly via a German consulate, with lead time and travel
German bank accountContinue the existing account, with written confirmationOpening a new one fails at many banks for lack of a German registered address
Land register and building filesRequested directly from the land registry and building archiveLaborious without representation on site, plus postal delays
Deregistration at the registration officeIn person or in writing within two weeks around the move-out dateRetrospectively only via the German mission abroad, and the certificate is needed for bank and destination country
Authorised recipientNamed to the tax office in advance, so notices reach you reliablyNotices count as served and appeal deadlines run without your knowledge
Tax adviser engagementChosen at leisure, year of departure discussed in advanceSearch under time pressure, often only after the first assessment notice
If you take one thing from this: settle the power of attorney and the bank account before you deregister. Those two items cost you a morning beforehand and possibly a return flight afterwards.

Calvin Linke, Immobilienpartner Sachsen

Further reading

Calculate speculation taxExit taxation (Section 6 AStG)Property and emigration at a glance

Let us walk through the timeline together

You have a departure date and a property in Dresden or the surrounding area? Then we sort the phases along your date and clarify what comes first. Free of charge and without obligation.

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Tax note: Non-binding guidance, without warranty – not a substitute for tax advice.

Sources & data basis

The market figures and legal statements on this page are based on the following public primary sources:

Calvin Linke

Managing Director & Property Adviser

Calvin Linke

Dresden local expert — with many years of experience supporting property acquisitions and brokerage in the Elbe valley.

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Open the checklistDiscuss selling when you move
When should I start planning my move abroad if I own a property?
Twelve months before your planned departure is the right moment. In this phase you decide whether to sell or let, and you have the property valued. It is also the point at which the speculation period (Spekulationsfrist, § 23 EStG) can still be managed sensibly: if the ten-year period expires in a few months, waiting can save the entire tax amount. Anyone starting only three months in advance no longer has that choice.
Which steps can I no longer catch up on after leaving Germany?
Strictly speaking almost everything can be caught up on, but four things become noticeably slower and more expensive from abroad. The notarised power of attorney then has to be executed at a German consulate, with lead time and travel. Opening a new German bank account is impossible at many banks without a German registered address. Obtaining official documents such as a land register extract (Grundbuchauszug) takes considerable effort without representation on site. And deregistration at the residents' registration office (Einwohnermeldeamt) is tied to a two-week window around your move-out date.
What is an authorised recipient under § 123 AO?
An authorised recipient (Zustellungsbevollmächtigter) is a person with a German address to whom the tax office can serve notices on your behalf. § 123 AO allows the tax office to require people resident abroad to name such a recipient. This matters in practice because appeal deadlines run from the date of service, and international post is unreliable. The usual choice is your tax adviser, a family member or the representative handling your property sale.
Do I need to keep my German bank account when I emigrate?
If you hold or sell a German property, several reasons speak for it. The notary transfers the purchase price to the account named in the purchase contract, and a German account avoids queries and delays. Service charges, property tax (Grundsteuer), service-charge payments and refunds from the tax office also continue to run through it. Opening an account later often fails because banks require a German registered address. Ask your bank in writing, before you deregister, whether the account will continue with a foreign address.
What tax obligations do I have in Germany after moving away?
For the year of departure you file a German income tax return covering the period of unlimited tax liability. If you sell the property within the ten-year period, the gain belongs in Annex SO (Anlage SO). After that you remain liable for tax on German real estate and rental income through limited tax liability (beschränkte Steuerpflicht, § 49 EStG). Note that people with limited tax liability generally do not receive the basic tax-free allowance (Grundfreibetrag, § 50 (1) EStG). Your tax adviser will assess your individual case.
How long does a property sale take once I am already abroad?
Plan marketing, draft purchase contract, notary appointment and subsequent completion as four separate blocks. Completion after the notary appointment runs through priority notice of conveyance (Auflassungsvormerkung), release of encumbrances and the notary's due-date notice, and cannot be accelerated. From abroad, the time difference adds to every query. This is why marketing should ideally start six to three months before departure, so that the notary appointment can still take place with you present.
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