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Retire in Germany, priced from your own plan
Germany's investment tax looks scary at 26.375 percent flat, then the Teilfreistellung quietly hands back 30 percent of an equity fund's gain tax-free. Runway models the relief, so its German numbers are lower than the headline most calculators quote.
What Runway models in Germany
- The flat Abgeltungsteuer, 26.375 percent including solidarity surcharge, on investment income
- The 30 percent Teilfreistellung on equity funds modelled, about 18.5 percent effective on a typical fund drawdown
- Net rental income at a representative marginal rate
- No wealth tax
| Tax area | What Runway applies (2026) |
|---|---|
| Investment gains | ~18.5% effective on equity funds (26.375% headline) |
| Rental income | 35% modelled on net rent |
| Wealth tax | None modelled |
| Leaving home | Any exit tax your home country charges, priced into the move |
The move itself is part of the price
A move to Germany is never just Germany's tax rules. Leaving a country that charges an exit tax, Norway among them, can trigger a bill on unrealised gains as if you sold on the way out, and Runway prices that into the plan before a single EUR of spending is modelled. The mechanics are in what an exit tax costs when you leave, and the wider tooling question in which FIRE calculators handle a move abroad.
Once you are there, your spending runs in EUR through an exchange-rate scenario you control, so a weak krone decade is a plan you can stress, not a surprise.
Price the whole move, not the postcard
Runway prices a retirement in Germany end to end from your own plan: any exit tax on the way out, Germany's taxes on the drawdown, and your spending in local currency. Your freedom age is free.
Download free on the App StoreFrequently asked
What tax does Runway assume on investment gains in Germany?
Runway applies Germany's flat Abgeltungsteuer of 26.375 percent including the solidarity surcharge, with the 30 percent Teilfreistellung relief on equity funds bringing a typical fund drawdown to about 18.5 percent effective. The figures are 2026, income-year-stamped, and refreshed as rules change.
Do I still pay an exit tax if I retire to Germany?
It depends where you leave from. Norway charges utflyttingsskatt on unrealised gains and several other home countries charge an exit tax of their own. Runway prices whichever one applies to you into every plan that retires to Germany, as a cost of the move, before the destination's own rules take over on the drawdown.
What is the Teilfreistellung and why does it matter?
It is Germany's partial exemption for fund investors: 30 percent of an equity fund's gain is simply tax-free, compensating for tax already paid inside the fund. On a fund-based FIRE drawdown, that pulls the effective rate from 26.375 percent down to roughly 18.5 percent, which is the figure Runway actually applies.
Figures are 2026, income-year-stamped estimates from the Runway country pack for Germany, produced by the same engine the app runs. They are educational estimates, not financial or tax advice: rules change, and personal cases differ. See the full country list.