Private sale – tickets – taxable?

The sale of tickets

for sold-out concert or sporting events can be very lucrative in individual cases. Sales do not have to take place on the “black market”; official ticket retailers now also offer platforms for resale. Irrespective of the question of the legality of such sales, the question arises as to the income tax liability of profits from such transactions.

A fiscal court

considers corresponding profits not to be taxable as a matter of principle. It considers admission tickets to be securities, but not securities that belong to income from capital assets; consequently, there are no facts that could lead to the tax liability of profits from their sale. Moreover, the tax authorities cannot ensure the taxation of profits from ticket sales in organizational terms; the taxation of individual ticket sales is therefore unconstitutional due to the “structural enforcement deficit”.

It is questionable whether the tax authorities will endorse this view and whether the decision will stand up before the Federal Fiscal Court. However, one will be able to assume that profits are at most taxable if the limit for so-called speculative profits of 600 euros per year is reached (cf. Section 23 EStG).

(Further comments & information on this can be found in our information letter 10/2018 under item 7.)