€20,000 for Easter does not constitute an occasional gift
While common occasional gifts are exempt from gift tax, the amount that delimits them from taxable gifts is frequently a matter of dispute.
A ruling on this set of problems was most recently made by the tax court (Finanzgericht, FG) of Rhineland-Palatinate, in its judgement of 4.12.2025 (case reference: 4 K 1564/22), where it decided that a monetary gift in the amount of €20,000 on the occasion of Easter can no longer be considered as a common occasional gift and would thus be subject to gift tax. In its reasoning, the FG emphasised that what is common is not determined by the individual financial circumstances of the parties involved, but rather by generally accepted practice. Consequently, the determining criterion is an objective social standard of comparison. Accordingly, a sum of money in the order of the aforementioned amount clearly exceeds the usual amount, so the tax exemption would not apply.
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