The rented-out flat as a game calculation
In the game you can buy a flat and let it. The game values are 60 m² at €4,800 per square metre, so €288,000, of which 75 % is the building, so €216,000. Only the building wears out, the land does not.
For residential buildings completed after 31 December 2022, 3 % a year is deducted (§ 7 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 2 Buchstabe a EStG): 216,000 × 0.03 = €6,480 a year. In the game a loss from letting lowers the tax in the same year at the marginal rate. At an assumed 30 %, the depreciation alone means 6,480 × 0.3 = €1,944 less tax a year.
Depreciation is a cost on paper that lowers the tax. The money for the flat has been paid all the same.
A building share of €216,000 is depreciated by €6,480 a year. At an assumed 30 % that is €1,944 less tax a year.
Simulated: figures from the game T.O.U.G.H., not statistics about real people.
Questions people ask
How much of a rented flat is depreciated each year?
For residential buildings completed after 31 December 2022, 3 % of the building value a year (§ 7 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 2 Buchstabe a EStG). The land is not depreciated.
When is the sale of a rented flat taxable?
When no more than 10 years lie between purchase and sale (§ 23 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 1 EStG).
How does depreciation lower the tax in the game?
In the game a loss from letting lowers the tax in the same year at the marginal rate. At an assumed 30 %, €6,480 of depreciation saves €1,944.
Source: § 7 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 2 Buchstabe a EStG, as of 29 October 2026 · § 23 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 1 EStG, as of 29 October 2026
Price, building share, depreciation and the tax it saves, line by line.
The simulation, the comparison and the Beam stay free.
Education, not advice. Disclaimer