Base rate 2026 for the Vorabpauschale
For 2026 the German finance ministry set 3.20%. Below is every year since the Vorabpauschale was introduced — with the letter that set it.
What the 2026 base rate means for your funds is what the Vorabpauschale calculator works out – free and without signing up.
Calculate the Vorabpauschale| Year | Base rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3.20% | BMF letter of 2026-01-13 |
| 2025 | 2.53% | BMF letter of 2025-01-10 |
| 2024 | 2.29% | BMF letter of 2024-01-05 |
| 2023 | 2.55% | BMF letter of 2023-01-04 |
| 2022 | −0.05% | negative — no Vorabpauschale |
| 2021 | −0.45% | negative — no Vorabpauschale |
| 2020 | 0.07% | BMF letter of 2020-01-29 |
| 2019 | 0.52% | BMF letter of 2019-01-09 |
| 2018 | 0.87% | BMF letter of 2018-01-04 |
Source: BMF letters under section 18 (4) InvStG. The rate derives from the yield on long-term public bonds on the first trading day of the year (Bundesbank) and is set annually.
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- Basiszins since 2018
- Fields per year: year, rate (fraction), ratePercent, bmfLetter (date of the BMF letter), vorabpauschaleApplies.
GET https://planafolio.com/api/open-data/basiszins· /csv- Capital income tax parameters
- Flat-rate tax, solidarity surcharge, effective burden per church tax option, saver's allowance since 2009 and partial exemption per fund type, each with its legal basis.
GET https://planafolio.com/api/open-data/kapitalertragsteuer· /csv
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What the rate means for your own portfolio is what the Vorabpauschale calculator works out — including the cap at the year's value increase, the pro-rata rule in the year of purchase and the partial exemption. The tax year is freely selectable there.
To the Vorabpauschale calculator →Frequently asked
Understanding the base rate
The interest rate used to calculate a fund's Basisertrag — the basis of the Vorabpauschale. The German finance ministry sets it every year by letter, derived from the yield on long-term public bonds on the first trading day of the year. Only 70 percent of it enters the formula.
Because the base rate was negative in both years (−0.45% and −0.05%). A negative Basisertrag cannot be undercut by distributions, so no Vorabpauschale arises. That is why many investors only encountered the charge from January 2024 — for 2023, the first year with a clearly positive rate again.
Usually in the first weeks of January. It refers to the first trading day of the year; the BMF letter follows a few days later. The table above names the letter's date for every year.
Yes, the calculation is the same. Distributions are deducted from the Basisertrag, though. If a fund distributes at least as much as the Basisertrag, no Vorabpauschale remains — it is explicitly the amount by which distributions fall short of the Basisertrag.
3.20%. The Deutsche Bundesbank calculates it for the first trading day of the year and the German finance ministry publishes it (Section 18(4) InvStG) — the table above names the letter's date. The Vorabpauschale calculated with it for 2026 is deemed received on the first working day of the following year; only then do brokers deduct the tax on it.
No. The Basiszinssatz under Section 247 of the German Civil Code is a separate figure: the Deutsche Bundesbank publishes it, it changes on 1 January and 1 July, and it mainly serves as the basis for default interest (Section 288 BGB). For funds and the Vorabpauschale only the annual base rate under Section 18(4) InvStG in this table counts.
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