Overview
- The Federal Statistical Office, which published the data on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, said authorities set €21.4 billion in inheritance and gift taxes for 2025, a 60.8% increase over 2024.
- The jump was concentrated in transfers of €20 million or more, where tax assessments more than doubled, while taxable wealth accounted for about €150.5 billion after adjustments.
- Destatis separately reported €3.7 billion of tax reliefs granted under the Verschonungsbedarfsprüfung, a hardship review that can spare heirs of large businesses from paying most of the assessed tax.
- Campaign groups and unions say roughly 34 very large heirs received those waivers, inheriting about €12 billion and paying an average effective tax near 2%, and critics argue this deepens wealth inequality.
- The figures sharpen the political debate and matter for the law: most transfers fall below personal allowances and are excluded from the stats, reforms have been proposed by the SPD, and the Federal Constitutional Court will hear challenges to business‑relief rules in October 2026.