German mortgage interest payments and tax offsets

Hi guys just a quick question to anyone who can answer. If we had a mortgage and paid 14000 a year in interest payments, how much of that could we offset against taxes? Thanks

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If you are talking about a mortgage on a house that you live in Germany and German taxes...your answer is none. Interest payments on a mortgage are not tax deductible. They are deductible if you rent out the house though.

oh ok. thanks.

Out of interest... if the flat is rented out, aswell as the interest part of the mortgage, is it also possible to offset the 'Wohngeld'?

I think you need to explain that. Wohngeld is financial support for the less better-off, and as such an income, so not "offsetable"

Sorry, I meant your maintenence costs for your flat.. heating, insurance, upkeep, rubbish collection etc..etc..

If you rent your flat out, you can pass on most of those costs as Nebenkosten to the tenant. You cannot offset them against tax, however.

The above answer is not completely right. Normally, the tenant would be paying for heating etc then the answer is obviously no, if the landlord were to pay then it would be yes, same applies to maintenance work. You can also offset a percentage of the value of the building (excluding the value of the ground the building is on) which varies depending on the buildings age. It’s far too complicated to expect a comprehensive answer here so if you really want to know you will either have to do a lot of reading or ask a tax advisor.