Fonds in liquidatie

An investment fund in liquidation is subject to a special taxation regime under the new Investment Tax Act (InvStG) in force since 01.01.2018. Investment funds are normally subject to the deduction of capital gains tax on their distributions, applying a partial exemption where applicable. In the case of investment funds in liquidation, the capital repayment included in the distribution is tax-exempt in accordance with Section 17 InvStG.

During the liquidation of an investment fund, distributions in a calendar year are deemed to be a tax-free repayment of capital to the extent that the last redemption price set in this calendar year is lower than the amortized customer-specific acquisition costs. In accordance with section 17(1) of the InvStG, the last redemption price determined in the calendar year must be deducted from the amortized cost (actual, customer-specific and acquisition-specific costs less any capital repayments already made) in order to determine this tax-free capital repayment. The value determined in this way represents the maximum tax-free correction value of the distribution. On final or interim distributions made during the year, the full withholding tax must first be deducted. After the end of the calendar year, a comparison is then made to determine the extent to which a tax-free capital repayment has been made and, accordingly, a correction must be made to the distribution entry(s) made and, if applicable, a tax refund must be made.

Income paid by funds in liquidation during the year is initially taxed like any other distribution at the time of distribution. Custodian institutions can only assess whether this income was a distribution of assets (tax-free) or an increase in value (taxable) in the tax year after WM Datenservice^® has provided the data. As a rule, this data delivery will take place in Q1 of the following year. After receiving the data, the custodian will calculate the correct tax burden, taking into account the taxes already paid on the income. Corresponding adjustment postings may therefore be made.

Owners of open-ended real estate funds in particular receive so-called substance distributions at irregular intervals. The fund companies distribute the proceeds from the sale of the remaining properties to the fund investors. In order to take the situation of funds in liquidation into account, a special provision was included in the law in the form of § 17 InvStG 2018, which exempts distributions of assets from tax for a maximum period of 5 calendar years after the calendar year in which the liquidation begins. Settlement for these purposes shall start on 1 January 2018 at the earliest and end on 31 December 2023 at the latest for these cases.