Knowledge
12 Minute
Preparation for the exit tax belongs before the planned move. If changes to the company structure or shareholdings are planned, examination and implementation can take up to two years, depending on the project.
How early should the preparation begin?
As soon as a move becomes concrete, the date of the move and possible changes to your company shares should be considered together. Anyone who starts planning only after receiving a tax assessment cannot retroactively change the order of steps already taken.
If a restructuring is to be reviewed and implemented before leaving, preparation can take up to two years, depending on the initial situation. This does not result in a blanket deadline for every entrepreneur. The decisive factor is which changes are sensible and permissible at all and in what order they can be made.
I therefore recommend that we first clarify the need for examination and then the realistic timetable. A firmly booked relocation date answers neither the tax questions nor the question of the necessary advance.
View company shares, tax burden and liquidity separately
The exit tax can result in a tax capital gain, although no actual sale takes place. Whoever keeps his shares will not receive any sales proceeds. A possible tax payment must therefore be considered independently of such proceeds.
For preparation, there are three different questions: Does the participation even fall under the relevant rules? What tax burden could arise in the specific case? How could a payment be financed? These questions belong together but do not replace each other.
The requirements are dealt with in more detail in the linked article on § 6 AStG. For your own planning, the individual examination by a licensed tax consultant counts. The mere intention to emigrate is not enough to establish a concrete tax consequences or their amount.
Seven annual installments do not replace timely planning
§ 6 (4) AStG provides for seven equal annual instalments upon request. The authorisation is usually made against security. This is a payment scheme; it does not answer whether a change in the shareholding structure before leaving is meaningful.
Therefore, clarify separately which design should be checked technically and which payment terms apply if necessary. From the possibility of instalment payment, neither a tax exemption nor a suitable timetable for a restructuring can be derived.
What should be on the table before a structural change
For a structured initial conversation, you should put together your existing investments, the planned relocation date, the destination country and already considered changes. Indicate what has been decided and what is still to be examined. In this way, it is possible to avoid an open design issue being treated as a measure already adopted.
The next steps can then be discussed in concrete terms: Which questions must be answered first? Which decision depends on a tax or legal audit result? And what implementation would only be possible after that? A blanket recommendation to transfer shares or to rebuild a company would be too inaccurate for this.
Clarify responsibilities and next step
I support you in ordering the starting point, documents, timetable and cooperation with suitable specialist partners. I am neither a lawyer nor a tax consultant. The legal and tax assessment and design of your individual case belong to approved professional bodies.
If your departure becomes concrete, the linked structure check is a possible start to sort out the open questions. The aim is a comprehensible preparation before implementation. A certain tax saving or a tax-free departure is not promised.
exit tax according to § 6 AStG: Which shares are affected? · 75 minutes structure check · Contact with Budapest
Your concern is concrete or urgent? Please call me directly. I look forward to the personal conversation.
Legal basis: Section 6 External Taxation Act – Taxation of Capital Growth.
