Setting dog tax

If you keep a dog, you may have to pay a dog tax.

The dog tax is a local expense tax. It can be levied by the municipalities in accordance with municipal statutes for the keeping of dogs. The owner of a dog is anyone who has a dog in their household or business.

The keeping of guide dogs, service dogs, dogs belonging to forestry workers and gamekeepers, for example, may be exempt or reduced from the tax, depending on the municipal statutes.

Please contact your municipal, association or city administration.

After registering the dog, dog tax stamps are issued, which must be returned when the dog is deregistered. The dog tax stamp must be carried and shown on request.

As a rule, the notification must be made within 14 days of the start of dog ownership or after moving into the municipality.

The tax liability arises at the beginning of the calendar month following the month in which a dog was taken into a household or business. Further details are regulated by the respective dog tax statutes/household statutes.

The amount of dog tax is determined by the municipalities in the local dog tax statutes/household statutes and therefore varies from municipality to municipality. Please refer to the respective municipal statutes for the exact amount.

When moving to another municipality, the dog owner is responsible for re-registration. Different amounts of dog tax may therefore apply if you re-register your dog in another municipality.

Once you have deregistered the dog, you will receive a new tax assessment notice. You will then no longer have to pay tax for the dog. If you have already paid tax at the time of deregistration, you will receive a refund.