For Advisors
Moving to Germany with a U.S. Trust: How German Law Treats the Revocable Living Trust, the Irrevocable Trust, and the Trust Interest of an American Who Becomes a German Resident
A guide for U.S. estate planners, trustees, and CPAs whose client is moving to Germany with an existing U.S. trust: why the revocable living trust is transparent to German law during life and becomes a taxable acquirer at death, how § 15 AStG attributes an irrevocable trust’s income to a German-resident settlor or beneficiary under the Bundesfinanzhof’s current reading and the Ministry of Finance’s pending rewrite, and the review the plan needs before the move, not after it.
15 pages. Updated in September 2026.
Distributions from a U.S. Estate or Trust to a Beneficiary in Germany: The Fiduciary’s Withholding and Reporting Duties Under Section 1441 and the Income Tax Treaty
A guide for executors, trustees, and CPAs who must move money from a U.S. estate or trust to a beneficiary living in Germany: when the withholding duty under Section 1441 arises, how the Germany-U.S. income tax treaty reduces the rate on dividends, interest, and royalties, the documentation a Form W-8BEN needs, and the Forms 1042 and 1042-S the Schedule K-1 does not replace.
15 pages. Updated in September 2026.
A U.S. Citizen Who Lived and Died in Germany Leaves U.S. Securities to Heirs in Germany and the United States: Form 706, the Treaty Credits, the German Estate, and the PFIC Taint
A guide for estate planners, CPAs, and attorneys whose client is the heir, in the United States or in Germany, of a U.S. citizen who was domiciled in Germany at death: why citizenship keeps the estate on Form 706 and the treaty makes Germany the first taxing country, the German inheritance tax on both heirs and the succession law the decedent could choose, the release of the frozen U.S. account without a transfer certificate, the U.S.-person heir’s step-up and carryover PFIC taint, the German heir’s position under the income tax treaty, and the sequence of administration and division.
15 pages. Updated in September 2026.
A U.S. Trust with a Beneficiary in Germany: How German Law Recognizes the Trust and Taxes Its Distributions, Its Dissolution, and Its Income
A guide for U.S. estate planners, trustees, and CPAs whose client, a U.S. settlor or decedent, provides for a beneficiary living in Germany through a revocable, testamentary, or irrevocable trust: why German courts transpose rather than recognize the trust, why funding it is not a German taxable event while distributions, dissolution, and undistributed income are, and the trustee’s own Section 1441 duties on the U.S. side.
15 pages. Updated in September 2026.
IRA and 401(k) Distributions to a Beneficiary in Germany: U.S. Withholding, the Treaty That Reduces It to Nothing, and the German Taxation of the Distribution After the 2025 Reform
A guide for U.S. estate planners, CPAs, plan administrators, and custodians whose client or client’s beneficiary lives in Germany and draws on a U.S. retirement account: why the income tax treaty, not the Code, assigns the pension to Germany under Article 18, the Section 1441 withholding and Form W-8BEN that reduce it to nothing, how Germany taxes the distribution under § 22 Nr. 5 EStG before and after the 2025 reform, the Roth account, the annuity, and the timing of the move, the U.S. citizen in Germany under the saving clause, and the inherited account under the estate tax treaty and the German inheritance tax.
15 pages. Updated in September 2026.
How Germany Taxes an Inheritance from the United States: Probate Estates, Transfer-on-Death and Payable-on-Death Assets, Joint Accounts, and Revocable Trusts Passing to a Beneficiary in Germany
A guide for U.S. estate planners, executors, trustees, and CPAs whose client leaves assets to a beneficiary who lives in Germany: why German inheritance tax is a tax on the acquirer that the beneficiary’s own residence brings into force, and why the estate tax treaty confirms rather than removes that charge, the tax classes, allowances, and rates, valuation, the absence of a basis step-up, and the three-month notice, the treaty credit of Article 11(3)(b) and its domestic counterpart in § 21 ErbStG, the four forms in which U.S. assets pass to a German beneficiary, the revocable trust that terminates and the trust that continues, and the practice points for the U.S. side.
16 pages. Updated in September 2026.
For Individuals
The Estates of Americans Who Lived in Germany for Less Than Ten Years Are Not Subject to German Inheritance Tax
A guide for Americans moving to Germany: the ten-year rule of Art. 4(3) of the Germany-USA tax treaty on gift, inheritance and estate taxes; the three conditions of Article 4(3) and the citizenship that defeats them; what each country may tax before and after the eleventh year; the beneficiary in Germany whom the rule does not protect; gifts, the non-citizen spouse, and the trust that becomes a taxpayer; the relief provisions of Article 11 and § 21 ErbStG; a worked example at year six and at year twelve; and the steps to take before the period runs out.
18 pages. Updated in September 2026.
You Are Moving to Germany with a U.S. Trust: How German Law Will Treat Your Revocable Living Trust, Your Irrevocable Trust, and Your Interest in a Parent’s Trust
A guide for the U.S. citizen moving to Germany with an existing estate plan: why the revocable living trust is disregarded by German law during life and becomes a taxpayer in its own right at death, how German law attributes an irrevocable trust’s income to the settlor or beneficiary once German residence begins, and the review the plan needs before the move, not after it.
15 pages. Updated in September 2026.
Your U.S. Trust Has a Beneficiary in Germany: How German Law Will Recognize the Trust and Tax Its Distributions, Its Dissolution, and Its Income
A guide for the U.S. settlor or parent who provides for a child or other beneficiary living in Germany through a revocable, testamentary, or irrevocable trust: why German courts transpose rather than recognize the trust, why funding it is not a German taxable event while distributions, dissolution, and undistributed income are, and how German law attributes the trust’s income to the beneficiary once she is a German resident.
15 pages. Updated in September 2026.
The Taxation of U.S. Retirement Account Distributions in Germany. IRA or 401(k): U.S. Withholding, the Treaty That Reduces It to Nothing, and the German Tax on Your Distributions After the 2025 Reform
A guide for holders of U.S. retirement accounts who live in Germany or are moving there: why the USA-Germany income tax treaty, not the Internal Revenue Code, decides who taxes the pension and assigns it to Germany under Article 18, the 30 percent withholding of Section 1441 and the Form W-8BEN that reduce it to nothing, how Germany taxes the distribution under § 22 Nr. 5 EStG before and after the 2025 reform, the Roth account, the annuity, and the timing of the move as the remaining planning choices, the U.S. citizen in Germany under the saving clause, and the inherited account under the estate tax treaty and the German inheritance tax.
15 pages. Updated in September 2026.
You Live in Germany and Are Inheriting from the United States: How Germany Taxes a Probate Distribution, a Transfer-on-Death or Payable-on-Death Asset, a Joint Account, and a Revocable Trust
A guide for beneficiaries resident in Germany who inherit from a U.S. decedent: why German inheritance tax is the beneficiary’s own tax, brought into force by residence, and why the estate tax treaty confirms rather than removes it, the tax classes, allowances, and rates that apply, valuation, the absence of a basis step-up, and the three-month notice, the treaty credit of Article 11(3)(b) and its domestic counterpart in § 21 ErbStG, the four forms in which the inheritance arrives and what each changes, and the revocable trust that terminates and the trust that continues.
16 pages. Updated in September 2026.
Germany-USA: Law, Tax, Finance 