Overview
- The Federal Constitutional Court will hold oral hearings on Monday and Tuesday, 12–13 October 2026, on two separate constitutional complaints that together call into question core rules of Germany’s inheritance tax.
- Bavaria asks the court to strike down parts of federal inheritance law by arguing the Bund lacks competence and by challenging personal tax-free allowances that have not been adjusted since 2009, a point prosecutors say raises unfair regional burdens on heirs of real estate.
- A private complainant contends heirs of private assets are treated worse than heirs of business assets and targets the Verschonungsregime that leaves 85 percent of qualifying Betriebsvermögen tax-free after five years and 100 percent after seven years under stricter conditions.
- Official data cited in court papers show large reliefs: the Federal Statistical Office recorded about €3.7 billion of tax forgiven through Verschonungsbedarfsprüfungen in the recent year, while the SPD points to roughly €6.7 billion in inheritance-tax receipts in Bavaria as evidence of the tax’s fiscal importance.
- Observers say Karlsruhe may issue a targeted ruling that narrows exemptions or keeps laws temporarily in force to give Parliament time to act, with a final judgment realistically expected in 2027 and precedents from 2006 and 2014 likely to shape any transition rules.