# Tax on capital gains in home country



## jones55 (Jan 3, 2021)

I recently moved to Germany from another EU country. In Germany, I have worked and paid taxes from day 1, and I will continue to do so for as long as I stay. It's hard to predict exactly how long I'll stay - my first work contract is limited to 4 months, but I expect to have it extended and stay up for up to 2 years (impossible to say). 

In my home country I'm an active investor - mainly stocks. I will continue with this while staying in Germany, keeping all accounts in my home country.

Question: at what point will I be liable to pay German capital gains tax on the profits that I make in my home country? If I stay 4 months, I can't imagine being forced to pay taxes on capital gains from home, but surely at some point down the line I'll pass a threshold and full tax liability will kick in? Where exactly is this point?

Also happy to hear how others in a similar boat have approached taxes on foreign capital gains. I would ideally avoid it altogether and just be taxed in my home country like now (my home country won't mind, curious if I could get away with it from Germany's perspective).


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Someone will have the details about Germany, but generally speaking you are expected to declare (at least) all worldwide income once you are considered resident in a new country. (And things can get complicated since there is both "residency" and "tax residency" - with subtle differences between the two concepts.)

But normally there is some way to designate your foreign source income (which includes your home country capital gains) for some form of tax consideration. It depends on the tax treaty between Germany and your home country and to a lesser extent on how your home country treats your capital gains. Some countries automatically withhold the appropriate taxes on investment income before it is paid out - others don't and wait until tax declaration time to settle up.


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