Money in Germany, explained in English
Practical guides to the money decisions internationals face here: what each choice turns on, and what to check before you sign.
Buying a home
From the viewing to the notary, the mortgage and paying it down.
Buying Property in Germany: Additional Costs
The steps from reservation to keys, the priority notice and land register, transfer tax by state, notary, registry and agent costs, the equity lenders expect, and the interpreter rule at the notary.
10 min read · Updated 2 November 2026
Finding and Checking a Property in Germany
Where homes are listed, reading a listing, what to look at in a viewing, the papers to ask for, a viewing checklist to print, and what a home is worth.
6 min read · Updated 2 November 2026
Energy Certificate in Germany: Buyer's Guide
What an energy certificate is, the two kinds, reading the class and figures, what the seller has to show you, heating costs, duties that come with a house, and 2027.
8 min read · Updated 2 November 2026
Reservation and Notary Draft: What Binds You
Offers, reservations and financing confirmations, which bind nobody, the two things to do once you agree a price, the loan before the notary, and the signature that binds.
4 min read · Updated 29 October 2026
Hausgeld: What Flat Owners in Germany Pay
What Hausgeld is and how your share is worked out, what it pays for, the plan, the statement and the owners' vote, special levies, buying a flat, and tax.
8 min read · Updated 29 October 2026
Mortgage in Germany as a Foreigner
What lenders must check, how residence status, probation, self-employment and foreign income are treated, why financing experts compare lenders, how annuity loans work, KfW loans and the 14-day right of withdrawal.
10 min read · Updated 1 November 2026
Compare Mortgage Offers in Germany
The terms that decide what a mortgage costs, and up to three offers side by side: the payment, what's still owed when the rate ends, and where rates are.
5 min read · Updated 30 October 2026
KfW Loans for Buying a Home in Germany
What KfW is and how its loans reach you, the programmes for buyers, the family income limits, Jung kauft Alt, applying before you sign, and the trade-offs.
8 min read · Updated 2 November 2026
Notary Appointment in Germany, in English
Choosing a notary, the draft and what to check in it, the reading and the interpreter rule, payment, the keys, the land register, and what to do after the keys.
6 min read · Updated 29 October 2026
Paying Off a Mortgage Early in Germany
Repaying against investing, special repayments (Sondertilgung), a higher repayment rate, the end of the fixed rate, the ten-year exit, and early repayment charges.
3 min read · Updated 26 October 2026
Fixed Rate Ending on Your German Mortgage?
Renewing versus switching lender, forward loans and their surcharge, the ten-year exit under § 489 BGB, when early repayment penalties do and do not apply, land charge assignment costs and a timeline.
10 min read · Updated 1 November 2026
Buying to let
What the rent really leaves you, old or new, and a flat that comes with its tenant.
Buy-to-Let in Germany: Net Yield and Tax
Gross and net yield, Hausgeld and the maintenance reserve, vacancy and management, tax on rent and depreciation (AfA), the ten-year rule, the Mietpreisbremse, a flat that's let, empty or new, financing a rental versus a home, and your year as a landlord.
10 min read · Updated 2 November 2026
Old or New Rental Flat: Tax and Rent Caps
Depreciation on an existing flat and a new build, the special allowance, renovations in the first three years, your flat both ways, and a rent check under the rent brake.
6 min read · Updated 2 November 2026
Buying a Flat with Tenants in Germany
What passes to you with the lease, raising the rent within its limits, and the papers on the tenancy to ask for before you buy.
4 min read · Updated 2 November 2026
Health insurance
Public or private, what private costs over the years, and switching.
German Health Insurance: Public vs Private
Public and private side by side: who joins which, what each costs, family cover, sick pay, and what changes as you get older.
6 min read · Updated 31 October 2026
Lifetime Cost of Private Health Insurance
Why premiums rise with age, a spouse and children, retirement, the narrow way back to public insurance, and an illustration from 35 to 85.
7 min read · Updated 1 November 2026
PKV Premium Increase: What You Can Do
Why private premiums rise, what the letter must say and when it applies, when a rise isn't valid, switching tariffs and keeping your reserve, other ways to pay less, and the special right to cancel.
8 min read · Updated 1 November 2026
Switching to Private Health Insurance
Choosing a tariff, the health questions, being accepted, notice to your public fund, waiting periods, and keeping cover until the switch is done.
5 min read · Updated 26 October 2026
Switching Health Insurance in Germany (2026)
Switching public funds (the 12-month minimum, notice and the special right to leave after a Zusatzbeitrag rise), going private above the 2026 threshold, changing tariff under § 204 VVG, changing private insurer, and returning to public insurance before and after 55.
10 min read · Updated 1 November 2026
Family Insurance in Germany: Who's Covered
Who can be covered through a public member, the 2026 income limit and minijobs, children's age limits, a privately insured parent, what is covered, the 2028 spouse surcharge and its exceptions, and signing up.
8 min read · Updated 31 October 2026
Health Insurance for Freelancers in Germany
Who can join voluntary public insurance, how contributions follow income (2026 minimum base and ceiling), private cover, the Künstlersozialkasse, sick pay options, long-term care insurance and what arrears lead to.
10 min read · Updated 1 November 2026
Financial planning
Your money at each stage: arriving, moving in together, a baby, building up and retirement.
New in Germany: Your Money in the First Year
Your pension from the first payslip, what to set up first, the cover worth having, and what to know if you might not stay.
4 min read · Updated 3 November 2026
Kindergeld for Foreigners in Germany
The three-month wait for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens, the permit-based test for everyone else, how much is paid and for which children, and the six-month limit on backdating a claim.
6 min read · Updated 3 November 2026
Money as a Couple in Germany: Tax and Cover
Tax as a couple, the cover you can share and what stays separate, what protects a partner, and two incomes and two pensions planned together.
4 min read · Updated 31 October 2026
Having a Baby in Germany: Money Checklist
The first-weeks deadlines, Elterngeld and its €175,000 limit, Kindergeld in 2026, the baby's health insurance, liability and life cover, a will and a guardian, and saving in a child's name.
10 min read · Updated 3 November 2026
Saving for Retirement in Germany
A cushion first, the three pension pillars and what each pays, and your income protected while your savings grow.
4 min read · Updated 26 October 2026
Pension Gap Calculator for Germany
The three pillars in plain English, the new pension account from 2027, and a check-up of your gap, pillar by pillar, on your own figures.
6 min read · Updated 26 October 2026