Public subsidies, grants and loans are granted on application for the preservation and conservation of listed buildings. In addition to this direct support, tax relief is also available to compensate for the costs incurred by the owners for the preservation of the monument.

In order to be able to claim tax relief, you need a special tax certificate (basic certificate), which must be submitted to the tax office. You can obtain this certificate on request from your local monument authority.

The tax certificate is only issued by the relevant monument authority for

• buildings or
• parts of buildings,

on which construction work is carried out which, in terms of type and scope

• contribute to the preservation of the building as a listed building or
• the appropriate use of the listed building

are necessary.

For a building or part of a building that does not meet the requirements for a listed building on its own, but is part of an overall complex (ensemble of listed buildings), you will receive tax privileges for construction measures that are necessary in terms of type and scope to preserve the external appearance of the overall complex, which is worthy of protection.

The form in which you benefit from the tax relief depends on the use of the listed building and the type of expenditure:

a. Use for the generation of income

Production costs

If you generate income with the listed property (e.g. business, freelance work, letting and leasing), you can claim increased depreciation in your income tax return. In the first 8 years, you can deduct up to 9 percent and in the following 4 years up to 7 percent of the production costs - as operating expenses or income-related expenses, depending on the type of income (Section 7i of the Income Tax Act).

Maintenance expenses

There is an option for maintenance expenses (§ 11b Income Tax Act). You can spread the maintenance expenses

• either spread evenly over 2 - 5 years
• or deduct the full amount in the year in which it is paid or incurred.

b. Use for own residential purposes

Production costs

If you do not use the listed building to generate income, but for your own residential purposes, you can deduct the expenses for your own building as special expenses and claim up to 9 percent of the expenses in your income tax return in the year in which the construction work is completed and in each of the following 9 years (Section 10 f (1) of the Income Tax Act).

Maintenance expenses

You can deduct up to 9% of maintenance costs each year, spread over 10 years, as special expenses (Section 10f (2) of the Income Tax Act).

Note: Acquisition costs attributable to corresponding construction measures can be taken into account if they are incurred after the conclusion of a purchase agreement (measures within the framework of purchaser models); however, the purchase price attributable to the existing building is not eligible.

Please note: If public subsidies were granted, these must be offset against the eligible expenses.

Your building project must have been agreed with the certifying authority prior to the start of the project, and a listed building permit or planning permission must also be available.