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Who taxes the rent from a flat in Albania if you live in Germany? Albania does, at 15%. Germany exempts that rent under the double tax treaty of 6 April 2010, but adds it when it calculates the rate on the rest of your income, so it still belongs in your German tax return. The same split applies to a gain when you sell. Below is each tax, the treaty article behind it, and the points we could not verify. This is a summary of the rules, not tax advice; for your own return, ask a tax adviser who knows both systems.
| Income | Who may tax it | How Germany treats it |
|---|---|---|
| Rent from Albanian property | Albania (Article 6) | Exempt, used for the rate (Article 23(1)(a) and (d)) |
| Gain on selling Albanian property | Albania (Article 13(1)) | Exempt, used for the rate (Article 23(1)(a) and (d)) |
| Gain on shares in a company holding mostly Albanian property | Albania (Article 13(2)) | Taxed, Albanian tax credited (Article 23(1)(b)) |
| German statutory pension of someone living in Albania | Albania only (Article 18) | Not taxed in Germany |
The treaty was signed in Berlin and published in the Federal Law Gazette (BGBl. 2011 II p. 1186). A protocol amending it was signed on 9 June 2026; at the time of writing it was still going through the Bundestag and is not in force. It changes Article 13(2) and adds a principal-purpose test, and leaves Articles 6, 18 and 23 as they are.
Article 23(1)(a) takes Albanian rent out of the German tax base. Article 23(1)(d) and § 32b of the Income Tax Act then apply the higher rate that your income including that rent would reach to your German income without it. Inside the EU, § 32b exempts property rent from this rule; Albania is a third country, so the rule applies. Losses from the Albanian flat, for example in the first years with high costs, can only be set against positive Albanian income of the same kind (§ 2a of the Income Tax Act), not against your salary. Foreign income goes on the Anlage AUS of the German return.
Albania taxes the gain at 15%: sale price minus purchase price, where the sale price may not be lower than the zone's reference price. The tax is paid before the cadastre registers the buyer, and non-residents pay the same. Germany exempts the gain under Article 23(1)(a); whether it also enters the rate calculation depends on your German situation, which is a question for a tax adviser.
One deadline matters in 2026. Under Law 85/2025 and Instruction 5/2026 any owner can revalue a property to its market value this year and pay 5% on the increase instead of 15% on the same gain later. The 5% must be paid by 31.12.2026. Revaluing also raises the fiscal value, so it makes sense mainly if you expect to sell.
Today it is 0.05% of the fiscal value of a home (the zone's reference price times the area) and 0.2% for commercial property; municipalities may move it by 30% either way. For a 60 m² flat in Blloku, Tirana's dearest zone with a reference price of 228,400 lek per m² (Instruction 34/2023), that is about 6,850 lek, roughly €74 a year; in zones with lower reference prices it is a fraction of that. A draft reform put to public consultation in June and July 2026 would switch to market value from 2029 for buildings and 2031 for land, at 0.1-0.2% for a home and 0.15-0.25% for a flat used as a holiday let. It had not been passed when we checked.
An Albanian company (sh.p.k.) pays 15% corporate tax, with a 0% rate for turnover up to 14 million lek until the end of 2029, and 8% on dividends. It can deduct expenses, which an individual landlord cannot, but it needs accounts and pays a local business tax. For one or two flats, owning as a private person is simpler. Dividends and a company sale fall under different treaty articles than rent, so this route needs advice before you buy.
No. Albania taxes the rent at 15%, and under Article 23 of the 2010 double tax treaty Germany exempts it. Germany still uses the rent to set the rate on your other income (Progressionsvorbehalt), so the rent must be declared in the German return on the Anlage AUS.
Since 2026 a private owner pays 15% on the income left after the platform's commission, with no deduction for cleaning or utilities, and declares it in DIVA by 31 March. No business registration is needed. In Germany the income is exempt under the treaty but counts for the rate.
Only against positive Albanian income of the same kind. Albania is a third country for German tax purposes, so § 2a of the Income Tax Act blocks setting such losses against salary or German rent. The losses can be carried into later years with Albanian rental income.
In Albania, 15% of the gain, measured against at least the zone's reference price, paid before the buyer is registered. Germany exempts the gain under the treaty. Until 31.12.2026 you can revalue the property and pay 5% on the increase instead of 15% later.
For a home, 0.05% of the fiscal value: the zone's reference price times the area. For a 60 m² flat in Blloku, Tirana's dearest zone, that is about €74 a year, and less wherever the reference price is lower. A draft reform would base it on market value from 2029; it had not been passed when we checked.
