20
votes
Is my investment safe if the broker/bank I'm using goes into insolvency?
A simple insolvency or bankruptcy of a broker shouldn't affect that status of ETFs and stocks you own, because they are not part of the assets of the broker. This is different from fractional-reserve ...
- 1,079
14
votes
Accepted
Is my investment safe if the broker/bank I'm using goes into insolvency?
I'm German, but not a lawyer, so I can't really make sense of the statute of the Entschädigungseinrichtung alluded to in another answer. But the reputed German finance/consumer magazine "...
- 1,647
12
votes
What is the advantage of a Sparbuch, and how does this work?
This is probably mainly for historical reasons. When I was young (born '87 ;) ) and we still had positive interest rates, this was really common. Every child had one and on world savings day one ...
- 6,678
10
votes
Is my investment safe if the broker/bank I'm using goes into insolvency?
It looks like there is a German guarantee scheme for this, through the Entschädigungseinrichtung der Wertpapierhandelsunternehmen (summary in English, or auf Deutsch).
(I don't speak German but was ...
- 1,448
7
votes
Accepted
How are so many stocks tradable via Frankfurt that are not listed there?
"How are so many stocks tradable via Frankfurt that are not listed there?"
More than 95% of nearly 13500 stocks trading in the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE) as of December 2021 are not ...
- 786
6
votes
Accepted
Can you sell a liquid asset bellow market price to lower your taxes?
Within reason, that is possible. What exactly "reasonable" is, depends on your specific tax laws
However it makes no sense. If you sell for 10.000 € and pay 50% tax on the profit so you end ...
- 6,942
5
votes
Accepted
Buyer from abroad wants to pay by bank transfer and let it fetch by someone else. What should I pay attention to if I want to accept the offer?
This is a scam. I bet you the cost of the couch that if you go ahead it will mysteriously turn out that Paypal or whatever payment system the "buyer" proposes will not work and he will have ...
- 21.7k
4
votes
Is my investment safe if the broker/bank I'm using goes into insolvency?
Brokerages can always fail.
MF Global was enormous and the CEO used clients funds — in segregated accounts to cover bad gambles (in Euro bonds default swaps I believe). USA investors had to wait for ...
- 41
4
votes
Do I need to sell stock to effectively use the German Sparer-Pauschbetrag (and if so, how much)?
The Sparerpauschbetrag does not accumulate. If you do not use it, you lose it at the end of the year. The Vorabpauschale is at zero right now due to zero interest rates, so we can ignore that right ...
- 6,678
4
votes
Accepted
Do I need to fill in my tax declaration in Germany?
Assuming your only income is through normal, full-time employment at a single job and your tax bracket is "Steuerklasse 1" you do not explicitely need to declare your taxes in Germany.
Your ...
- 156
3
votes
Accepted
Is scholarship tax free next to a salary?
Scholarship is not tax free in the US. The webpage you linked to says so right there:
A scholarship/fellowship payment received by a candidate for a degree is generally not taxable income to the ...
- 127k
3
votes
Accepted
Are there any pitfalls to owning real estate as a student?
For a student in germany, the biggest effect of owning property is on student financial support that you may or may not get:
BAFöG (education benefits provided by the state) will take that property ...
- 911
3
votes
Accepted
Private sale: Buyer requests receipt for payment before payment was transferred. How does this scam work?
As we've discovered from the comments and the updated question, in this case it isn't a scam. It was a simple misunderstanding about the definitions (or translations) of the word "receipt". ...
- 45.2k
3
votes
Private sale: Buyer requests receipt for payment before payment was transferred. How does this scam work?
The obvious scam is that once you have provided the written receipt, they won't pay you, but will still demand the goods you have offered.
If it ever ends up in court, they will produce your receipt ...
- 8,015
3
votes
Accepted
Strange call options price in Germany?
The option is only for one tenth of the exposure (Bezugsverhältnis 0,10 in the right upper corner).
So to get "1 share" you would need to buy 10 of them for 10,50€ which is matching fine ...
- 6,678
2
votes
Paying the rent with profit of private investment company: What what would be the best construct?
I realize this is a very late answer compared to when the question was asked, but surprised nobody suggested the OP go to their current landlord and work out a negotiation to buy that rental property ...
- 3,140
2
votes
Job offer Purchasing manager
Just got approached with this scam. Word for word and dollar for dollar, it's identical. This is from 2018 and now it's February 2022 and it's still being used.
RJL
Be careful out there
2
votes
How do I calculate net monthly salary (after taxes) in Germany?
Your net salary depends on many factors, first which tax class you are categorised, for example if you are single most likely you will be in tax class I. If you get married you can choose between lll/...
- 121
2
votes
How are so many stocks tradable via Frankfurt that are not listed there?
How are so many stocks tradable via Frankfurt that are not listed there?
The Frankfurt Stock Exchange has a "Freiverkehr" ("Open Market") segment for trading in such securities. ...
- 14.7k
2
votes
Accepted
What is happening when a company wants to trade on a new stock exchange
It can be a double listing. Many companies have their shares listed in more than one stock exchange and all continue to be traded simultaneously. You don't need to do anything unless the company is ...
- 786
2
votes
Accepted
Best way to pay taxes (German citizen living in US to work internationally)?
If you work while in the US, it would be considered US income and would be subject to US taxes, including both income tax and payroll taxes (e.g. Social Security tax and Medicare tax), as well as any ...
- 15.6k
2
votes
Accepted
Private health insurance in Germany
(I don't know about the specialties of Beamte, "only" about the private/statutory health insurance choices as they apply to freelancers/self-employed.
Is the private health insurance fully ...
1
vote
Accepted
Germany - How are Acc ETFs taxed after the first year of investing? (confused about how I can apply the calculation formula)
Disclaimer: I'm neither a lawyer, tax accountant, nor any other finance professional.
The "Vorabpauschale" will be calculated according to the formula from the value of the shares at the ...
- 126
1
vote
Are there any pitfalls to owning real estate as a student?
The thing that jumps out as the most risky is the bit about "co-owning" the house. This is generally a very bad idea unless you are married to the co-owner living in the house with a close ...
- 50.4k
1
vote
What is the advantage of a Sparbuch, and how does this work?
Yes, all the paperwork of a Sparbuch certainly belongs to a different era.
However, I'd also like to add the period of notice to the discussion.
When talking about saving accounts today, we either ...
- 213
1
vote
Is my investment safe if the broker/bank I'm using goes into insolvency?
ETFs are usually in a Luxembourg SICAV (shell company) which holds the shares bought by the ETF. As a holder of the ETF shares, you own part of that SICAV, and they are not on the balance sheet of the ...
- 466
1
vote
if my capital gain is less than 801 euros per year, then do I have to file any taxes?
Submitting your income tax declaration is not mandatory if you have paid German capital gains tax without having a Freistellungsauftrag (order to the bank/broker to apply the 801 € exemption to your ...
1
vote
Accepted
Starting investing in the UK or German stock market?
By "my shares" I assume you mean the shares from your stock options. Your options can be exercised for you, and the resulting shares sold and/or held for you, by the broker of your choice. ...
1
vote
What is the gift tax rate in Germany if I give my cousins money?
In addition to the previous answer, if you and the cousin are reasonably young: you can give your cousin €20,000 every ten years tax free. Or 40,000 now and the rest in 10 years, so at least €20,000 ...
- 20.8k
1
vote
What is the gift tax rate in Germany if I give my cousins money?
The fact that gift tax in Germany is paid by the person who receives the gift makes this difficult to determine. Being cousins does not confer any special status, so they pay the full tax on anything ...
- 111
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