Bonus interest tax trap – Treasury collects from savers after loan waiver

Berlin As an investor, who wouldn’t be happy about higher interest rates on their savings? For many years, the offers from building societies, which promised high bonus interest if the loan was waived, perfectly matched this wish. Depending on the contract and building savings sum, this could actually add up to a considerable amount.

The saver’s allowance was slightly exceeded when the money was paid out. The joy of the windfall was correspondingly clouded for some when the tax office demanded their share as part of the income tax.

This was also the case for a building saver who had signed a contract in the so-called yield system of a building society in 1995. The savings amounted to 100,000 euros. A 2.5 percent increase in credit interest was agreed if the loan was waived.

This should then apply retrospectively from the start of the contract and led to an annual interest rate of 4.75 percent.