As is well known, the basic time limit for speculation tax is 10 years.
However, in the case of owner-occupation of a property, only a period of 3 years applies. If the seller has lived in the property in the year of the sale and in the two years before, no speculation tax has to be paid on the sale of the property. It is sufficient if the house or condominium was only used as a second home or as a holiday home, as long as the property was not intended for rental. Own use also counts if one's own child, who was entitled to child benefit, lived in the property free of charge.
Calculation of the speculation period in case of owner-occupation
To determine the speculation period, only the calendar year in which the property was lived in is used. It is therefore sufficient, for example, to have lived in the property from December 2021 to January 2023 in order to comply with the 3-year speculation period and to save speculation tax.
In concrete terms, it is therefore required for a tax-free sale that a property has been used by the owner in the year of sale and in the two preceding years. However, a seller does not have to occupy the property from January to December. The Federal Fiscal Court says that the use must extend over a continuous period of three calendar years. Thus, the required criteria are already fulfilled if the seller uses his property continuously in the middle year and for one day in each of the other two years - i.e. the last as well as the first day in the respective year.
