ᐅ Is a Tax Advisor Useful? Home Construction, Rental Income, Depreciation, Photovoltaic Systems, and More

Hello everyone,

I would like to know if, in your opinion, it might be worthwhile to consult with a tax advisor during the course of a new build. So far, we have always handled everything ourselves. However, the following situations apply to us, and I would like to avoid “saving” in the wrong places and not taking full advantage of all possibilities. Perhaps there are even tips relevant to the construction phase?

• New build with a granny flat (secondary unit / accessory dwelling unit)
• Possible rental of the granny flat
• Consequently: special depreciation for newly built rental housing
• “Straight-line” depreciation for rental property
• Re-rental of existing condominium
• Possible photovoltaic system
• Part-time work, parental leave (all within last year, this year, next year)
• Several small businesses in addition to regular employment
• ...

By the way, what are/were your experiences?

Thank you!

If I were to do everything myself

The big WISO software and a bit of self-study.

Last year we handled the construction of the apartment, which was no problem, as well as reclaiming the VAT for the photovoltaic system.

Then this year, I completed the VAT pre-declaration 12 times using Elster, which was very easy.

I still have some concerns about the taxation of self-consumption and the profit and loss statement I need to prepare for the photovoltaic system... but apparently there is a paid Excel tool from some hobbyist that generates everything in a format compatible with Elster.

allstar83 schrieb:

Possibly photovoltaics

Regarding photovoltaics alone, I strongly advise against consulting a tax advisor for this. Firstly, they usually have little knowledge of this special case, and secondly, it reduces the return on investment. If you only earn a few hundred per year, it would be unwise to spend three-digit amounts on tax advice.

allstar83 schrieb:

Multiple small businesses versus regular employee status

Then you probably already know that an individual is either a small business owner or not.
That means the total revenue from all self-employed activities determines whether you can opt in at all.
Usually, with photovoltaics, you want to reclaim the input tax from the investment, which means you cannot operate other side businesses as a small business owner.
Since my wife is a small business owner and will remain so, the photovoltaics business is solely in my name.

allstar83 schrieb:

Part-time, parental leave (all within last year, this year, next year)

Change tax classes one year in advance so that the parent taking longer parental leave artificially increases their net income, as parental allowance is based on this.

allstar83 schrieb:

By the way, what do you think? What are/were your experiences?

Just get a one-time consultation; it doesn’t have to be an ongoing engagement with bookkeeping and so on.

fragg schrieb:

The comprehensive tax software and investing a bit of time to learn it.

I have the “comprehensive” tax return software with a photovoltaics module. It works. It also includes comparison calculators for self-consumption and similar features.
Of course, the software costs are now part of the business expenses.

guckuck2 schrieb:

Then you surely already know that a natural person is either a small business owner or not.
That means the revenue from all self-employed activities determines whether one can opt in at all.

This statement is incorrect. Operating photovoltaics as a business, including as a small business (even multiple), without VAT obligation is perfectly possible.

nordanney schrieb:

The statement is incorrect. Photovoltaic systems operated as sole proprietorships or small businesses (even multiple ones) without VAT obligation are not a problem at all.

No, I strongly disagree. The small business status is tied to the individual person.
That means you can run 20 partnerships, but the turnover limit applies cumulatively to all of them.
I had this explicitly checked back then.

See VAT law §19 item 3
“Total turnover is the sum of the taxable sales made by the entrepreneur according to § 1 para. 1 no. 1, minus the following sales:”