The Steuermesszahl is a fixed coefficient that the German tax office applies to an assessed value to calculate the base figure for property tax (Grundsteuer) or trade tax (Gewerbesteuer). For residential buildings under the federal property-tax model it sits at 0.31‰; for trade tax it is a uniform 3.5% across the country. The number does not produce your final bill. It produces an intermediate figure called the Steuermessbetrag, which your municipality then multiplies by its own rate (the Hebesatz) to arrive at what you actually owe.
How the Steuermesszahl Fits Into the Calculation
German property and trade tax both run on the same three-step logic.1buzer.de. Grundsteuergesetz 13 – Steuermesszahl und Steuermessbetrag First, the Finanzamt determines an assessed value: the Grundsteuerwert for a property, or the adjusted Gewerbeertrag for a business. Second, that value is multiplied by the Steuermesszahl to produce the Steuermessbetrag. Third, your municipality multiplies the Steuermessbetrag by its Hebesatz to generate the tax bill.
A worked example makes the role of the coefficient visible. Take a residential apartment with a Grundsteuerwert of €200,000. Apply the federal Steuermesszahl of 0.31‰ and you get a Steuermessbetrag of €62. If the municipality’s Hebesatz is 400%, the annual property tax is €248. Change the assessed value, the Steuermesszahl, or the Hebesatz, and the final figure moves with it.
The Steuermesszahl is the only one of the three inputs that is set by statute and stays constant from year to year. The assessed value changes when the Finanzamt revalues the property, and the Hebesatz changes whenever the municipal council decides it should.
Property Tax Rates Under the Federal Model
Under the federal model that took effect in January 2025, property tax splits into two main categories.2buzer.de. Grundsteuergesetz – Abschnitt II Bemessung der Grundsteuer Grundsteuer A covers agricultural and forestry land. Grundsteuer B covers everything else. The rate you get depends on which category applies and, within Grundsteuer B, what sits on the land and how it is used.
The statutory rates under § 15 of the Grundsteuergesetz are:3Gesetze im Internet. Grundsteuergesetz 15 – Steuermesszahl fuer Grundstuecke
- Agricultural and forestry land (Grundsteuer A): 0.55‰
- Undeveloped land: 0.34‰
- Residential buildings, including single-family homes, two-family homes, apartments, and mixed-use buildings with a residential share: 0.31‰
- Non-residential buildings, including commercial properties, business premises, and other developed land: 0.34‰
The lower rate for residential buildings is deliberate. Lawmakers wanted to prevent housing costs from climbing too steeply under the new valuation system, which generally produces higher assessed values than the old Einheitswert method it replaced. The gap between 0.31‰ and 0.34‰ looks small, but on a property valued at several hundred thousand euros it shows up noticeably in the annual bill.
Your State May Use Different Rates
An opening clause in the reform legislation lets individual states replace the federal model or adjust specific parameters, and seven states have done so. If your property is in one of them, the federal rates above do not apply to you.
Five states use fundamentally different systems:
- Baden-Württemberg uses a pure land-value model. Only the plot’s value matters; the building on it is irrelevant. The Steuermesszahl is 1.3‰ for non-agricultural land and 0.55‰ for agricultural and forestry land.
- Bavaria uses an area-based model with no property values at all. Fixed euro amounts called Äquivalenzzahlen apply instead: €0.04 per square meter of land and €0.50 per square meter of building floor space. Predominantly residential buildings receive a 50% discount on the land portion exceeding ten times the living space.4Gesetze Bayern. Bayerisches Grundsteuergesetz Art 3 – Aequivalenzzahlen
- Hamburg uses a residential-location model, with Steuermesszahl equivalents of 0.7 for residential use and 0.87 for commercial use.
- Hesse applies a floor-area-and-factor model. The base figure is 100% for land and non-residential buildings, dropping to 70% for residential floor space, with further reductions for listed buildings and subsidized housing.
- Lower Saxony uses a similar area-location approach, with 100% for land and commercial buildings and 70% for residential floor space.
Two further states keep the federal valuation methodology but change the Steuermesszahl itself. Saarland sets its rate at 0.64‰ for undeveloped land and properties valued under the cost-based method, and 0.34‰ for properties valued under the income-capitalization method.5Germany Trade and Invest. Taxation of Real Estate Saxony also uses adjusted rates within the federal framework. The remaining nine states apply the federal model and its rates without modification.
Two identical buildings in different states can therefore generate very different Steuermessbeträge before the municipal multiplier even enters the picture. The assessment notice you receive reflects whichever model your state has adopted.
The Trade-Tax Steuermesszahl
Trade tax is simpler. The Steuermesszahl is a uniform 3.5%, applied to the adjusted Gewerbeertrag, and the rate is the same across all of Germany.6Gesetze im Internet. Gewerbesteuergesetz 11 – Steuermesszahl und Steuermessbetrag Every commercial enterprise uses the same percentage, from a sole trader to a multinational.
Sole proprietors and partnerships get a tax-free allowance of €24,500 before the Steuermesszahl is applied. Corporations get no such allowance. After the allowance is deducted and the base is rounded down to the nearest €100, the 3.5% rate produces the Steuermessbetrag. The municipality then applies its trade-tax Hebesatz, which must be at least 200%.7dejure.org. Gewerbesteuergesetz 16 – Hebesatz
A worked example: a partnership earning a Gewerbeertrag of €100,000 keeps €24,500 under the allowance, leaving a taxable base of €75,500. Applying 3.5% yields a Steuermessbetrag of roughly €2,643. At a municipal Hebesatz of 400%, the annual trade tax comes to about €10,570.
Why the Hebesatz Matters as Much as the Coefficient
The Steuermesszahl is uniform or at least fixed by law. The Hebesatz is not. Germany has roughly 11,000 municipalities, each setting its own multiplier, and there is no federal cap. Property-tax Hebesätze typically fall between 400% and 450%, but the full range runs from around 200% to over 900% in some cities.
The practical consequence is that a property with a Steuermessbetrag of €62 might generate €248 in a town with a 400% Hebesatz and €558 in a city at 900%. Two neighbors on opposite sides of a municipal boundary can pay very different property taxes on nearly identical homes. When you are estimating what a property or business will cost you, the Hebesatz deserves at least as much attention as the Steuermesszahl.
The Assessment Notice and How to Object
Once the Finanzamt has calculated your Steuermessbetrag it issues a formal document called the Steuermessbetragsbescheid. The notice tells you the assessed value, the Steuermesszahl applied, and the resulting Steuermessbetrag. It does not demand payment; it establishes the base figure that the municipality will later use to generate the actual bill.8Finanzamt Hessen. Bescheid ueber den Grundsteuermessbetrag
You have one month after receiving the Steuermessbetragsbescheid to file a written objection (Einspruch) with the issuing Finanzamt. The clock starts on the fourth day after the office mails the notice, not on the day you open it. If that fourth day falls on a weekend or public holiday, the deemed delivery date shifts to the next business day. You can submit the objection by letter, fax, email, or in person. Phone calls do not count. Once the deadline passes without an objection, the assessment becomes legally binding.
Pay attention to which notice you are challenging. The Steuermessbetragsbescheid from the Finanzamt and the final tax bill from the municipality are separate administrative acts. If your complaint is about the assessed value or the Steuermesszahl applied, the Finanzamt’s notice is the one to dispute. If your issue is with the Hebesatz, that is a matter for the municipality.