Taxes
Vorabpauschale 2027: base rate, dates, worked scenarios
One number is still missing. Everything else — the formula, the dates, the order of magnitude — is already settled.
Last updated: 15 September 2026 · By The Acutic Research Team
The 2027 Vorabpauschale will not be settled until January 2027 — and yet almost everything about it can be stated today. The mechanism is fixed in statute, the dates are known, and of all the inputs exactly one is missing: the Basiszins. What is certain, what depends on it, and the range the result will fall in.
Status
The 2027 Basiszins has not been published. The federal finance ministry has announced it in mid-January in recent years — 10 January 2025 for 2025, 13 January 2026 for 2026. This page will be updated within 24 hours of the announcement. Until then every figure below is explicitly a scenario, not a forecast.
Where the base rate comes from
§ 18 (4) InvStG fixes the source: the Basiszins derives from the long-term attainable yield on public bonds. In practice the Bundesbank computes it from its yield-structure data for the first stock-exchange trading day of the year, and the federal finance ministry then publishes the figure in a letter.
Two consequences follow. It is a single-date figure — the yield curve of one trading day, not an average of the prior year. And, contrary to a common assumption, it is not a policy decision: the ministry announces the rate, it does not set it.
The published series shows how wide the range runs — from -0.45% in 2021 to 3.20% for 2026. In the two negative years, 2021 and 2022, the Vorabpauschale was simply zero. The full series with a bar chart sits in the Vorabpauschale calculator.
The dates
The gap is worth noting: the base is the fund value on 1 January 2027, but the debit falls in early 2028. An investor who disposes of the fund entirely during 2027 is outside the 2027 Vorabpauschale altogether — the disposal gain is taxed in the ordinary way instead.
What it would come to
The § 18 (1) InvStG computation is short: Basisertrag = fund value at the start of the year × Basiszins × 70%, capped at the year’s increase in value plus distributions. For an accumulating equity fund, 30% partial exemption leaves 70% of that taxable.
| Scenario base rate | Vorabpauschale | Taxable | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.50% | 175.00 € | 122.50 € | 32.31 € |
| 3.00% | 210.00 € | 147.00 € | 38.77 € |
| 3.50% | 245.00 € | 171.50 € | 45.23 € |
Scenarios, not a forecast. Per 10,000 of fund value on 1 January 2027, an accumulating equity fund (30% partial exemption), an assumed rise to 10,600, no church tax and no remaining saver’s allowance. Computed with the same function as the Vorabpauschale calculator.
The spread is modest: across the lowest and highest scenario, each €10,000 of fund value differs by about €12.92 in tax. A €100,000 position in accumulating equity funds would scale that roughly tenfold. That is the entire effect that gets reported at length every January.
The cap that gets overlooked
The Basisertrag is not the end of the calculation. It is capped at the actual increase in value over the year plus distributions. A fund that moves sideways or falls in 2027 triggers no Vorabpauschale at all, whatever the Basiszins. That is precisely why the charge can only be given in advance as a range rather than an amount — the second unknown is the performance itself.
What can be prepared
Two things. Balance in the settlement account on the debit date: where it falls short, some institutions draw on a reference account or dispose of units — which can trigger a taxable disposal that was otherwise avoidable. And the Freistellungsauftrag: the saver’s allowance nets against the Vorabpauschale too, so how it is distributed across banks decides whether any of it is available in January. The mechanics are in the Sparer-Pauschbetrag article and in the piece on the two loss pots.
Investors spread across several accounts rarely see the affected positions in one place. The Acutic workspace brings them together without connecting to a bank, and how the analysis is produced is set out on the methodology page. It is not a substitute for a tax computation.
Frequently asked questions
What is the 2027 Basiszins?
It is not yet fixed. The rate is derived from Bundesbank yield-structure data for the first stock-exchange trading day of the year and announced by the federal finance ministry — most recently on 10 January 2025 for 2025 and 13 January 2026 for 2026. This page will be updated within 24 hours of the announcement.
When is the 2027 Vorabpauschale debited?
Under § 18 (3) InvStG it is deemed received on the first working day of the following year, so early January 2028. A German custodian normally collects the tax from the settlement account that day. The exact date is fixed by the ministry’s letter.
Could the 2027 Vorabpauschale be zero again?
Yes, in three situations: a negative Basiszins, as in 2021 (−0.45%) and 2022 (−0.05%); a fund with no increase in value over the year, because the Basisertrag is capped at the value gain plus distributions; and a distributing fund whose distributions already reach the Basisertrag.
Why 70 percent of the base rate?
§ 18 (1) sentence 2 InvStG sets it: the Basisertrag is 70 percent of the Basiszins applied to the redemption price at the start of the year. The discount is fixed in statute and does not move with the rate.
Do I need to do anything myself?
With a German custodian, usually not — the bank computes and withholds. What matters is sufficient balance in the settlement account on the debit date. Foreign accounts without German withholding are handled through the annual tax return instead.
This article is general information, not tax advice within the meaning of German law. For your own situation, consult a Steuerberater:in. Legal position: September 2026.
Further reading: The Vorabpauschale explained, Partial exemption for ETFs and accumulating vs. distributing. Create free account.
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