Exit taxation: the calculation that belongs before the move

Of everything a departure sets in motion, this is the one item that cannot be influenced afterwards. The tax base is fixed on the day you leave. Anyone who opens the calculation later is working on a set of facts they can no longer change — and that is the most common and most expensive mistake in this subject.

What is taxed

What is taxed is a gain nobody realised. The statute assumes you sold your shares in a corporation at market value on the day of departure. The difference to your acquisition cost is the deemed capital gain — and it is taxed like a real one.

The reason is not arbitrary: when unlimited tax liability ends, Germany loses access to the unrealised gains sitting in those shares. So that access is exercised once before it disappears.

Who it catches

• Shares in a corporation whose disposal would itself be taxable
• Several small holdings too — they are considered together, not individually
• Shares in foreign companies, not only German ones
• A sole proprietorship with no corporate shareholdings
• A plain securities account with no relevant holding

Payment relief is not a waiver

The statute provides relief on payment, typically against security and coupled with ongoing duties to cooperate. What it is not is a remission. The tax arises on the relevant date; the relief concerns only when it is paid.

For liquidity planning that is the decisive difference. Tax on a gain that does not exist in cash has to be paid out of other substance — and noticing that only after the move means carrying a liquidity problem into a country where it is harder to solve.

The order that works

Step	When	Why in this order
Value the shares	well before departure	The figure governs everything else — and it can only be established beforehand.
Examine the structure	while still unlimitedly liable	After departure the facts are realised and no longer malleable.
Settle the payment route	before departure	Security and cooperation have to be arranged in advance, not retrospectively.
Build the structure in Georgia	afterwards	The Georgian side is the easy part and it waits.

Where our competence ends

We build and run the structure in Georgia. Whether and to what extent exit taxation bites in your case is judged by a qualified professional in Germany — and that judgement belongs at the start of the planning, not at the end. An article can name the questions to ask; it cannot replace a valuation of your shares.

What comes after — residence, structure, running operations — is set out in the subject area Leaving & tax liability.

Exit taxation — frequently asked

I am not selling anything. Why is there tax?

Because the statute assumes a sale. Departure ends German access to the unrealised gains in the shares, and that access is exercised once beforehand. The deemed gain is the difference between the market value on the relevant date and your acquisition cost.

Does this catch a small shareholding too?

The provision attaches to a holding whose sale would itself be taxable. A holding in the low single-digit percentages can be enough. Anyone holding several small stakes should look at them together rather than dismissing them one by one.

Can I defer the tax?

Payment reliefs are provided for under conditions, usually against security and with ongoing duties to cooperate. They are neither automatic nor a waiver: the tax arises, and the only question is when it has to be paid.

What if I come back?

The statute provides relief on return within a certain period where the shares were held throughout. Planning on it is risky: anyone serious about leaving should not budget for coming back.

This article is general information and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Exit taxation depends on the size of the holding, the holding period, values and personal circumstances; the assessment of an individual case belongs with a qualified professional in the country you are leaving. As at August 2026; subject to changes in the law.