Compensation or one-time compensation for easement for company land

For the supply of electricity, water, gas or district heating as well as the disposal of wastewater, it is sometimes necessary for lines to be routed across private or company property. This use is usually secured by entering a limited personal easement in the land register in return for one-time compensation.

The German Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzhof) has ruled in the case of a property that is to be Private assets The Court of Justice of the Federal Republic of Germany ruled that such compensation for the registration of a limited personal easement without time limit is neither part of the income from renting and leasing nor part of the other income, since the granting of such a right is not a transfer of use but a transaction similar to a sale.

However, in a recent decision, the Federal Fiscal Court assumed taxable income for the granting of a corresponding easement for a plot of land belonging to the business assets. The compensation is directly related to the business and must therefore be recognized as operating income.

The court also stated that the compensation is taxable in the year of receipt if the profit is determined by means of a surplus income statement.

Distribution over several years (Sec. 11 (1) Sentence 3 EStG) is not possible, as this is not a (temporary) transfer of use, but a transaction similar to a sale.