🇩🇪 Hundesteuer: Germany's dog tax, city by city
Germany taxes dogs, and it does it at the smallest level of government there is. Your Gemeinde sets the rate — not the state, not the federal government — which is why the bill can double when you move across a city boundary and why there is no single national figure to quote. In 2026 the first dog costs somewhere between about 65 € and 186 € a year. A dog on a breed list can cost over a thousand.
Who charges it, and why it is a tax at all
The Hundesteuer is an Aufwandsteuer — a tax on discretionary spending, in the same family as the tax some cities levy on second homes. It is not a fee for a service, so nothing you get back is tied to it: it goes into the municipal budget like any other revenue, not into dog parks.
One consequence catches newcomers out. Cats are not taxed, and neither is any other pet. Germany taxes dogs specifically, and has since the nineteenth century, when the point was to reduce the number of stray dogs rather than to raise money.
The rates in 2026
The table below is the fifteen largest cities. The national average for a first dog sits around 123 € a year; the cheapest municipalities are near 65 €, and Mainz at 186 € is the most expensive of the big cities.
Rates move with each budget round, and small municipalities move them more often than large ones. Treat this as a snapshot with a date on it — the figure your own Gemeinde publishes is the one that counts.
| City | First dog | Second dog | Listed dog |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin | 120 € | 180 € | no separate rate |
| Hamburg | 90 € | 90 € | 600 € |
| München | 100 € | 100 € | 800 € |
| Köln | 174 € | 174 € | no separate rate |
| Frankfurt am Main | 102 € | 102 € | 900 € |
| Stuttgart | 144 € | 288 € | 816 € |
| Düsseldorf | 96 € | 150 € | 600 € |
| Leipzig | 150 € | 150 € | no separate rate |
| Dortmund | 156 € | 204 € | 468 € |
| Essen | 156 € | 216 € | 852 € |
| Bremen | 150 € | 150 € | no separate rate |
| Dresden | 108 € | 144 € | no separate rate |
| Hannover | 150 € | 276 € | 720 € |
| Nürnberg | 132 € | 132 € | 1.056 € |
| Mainz | 186 € | 216 € | 600 € |
per year, 2026
Why the second dog costs more
Most cities charge a higher rate from the second dog onward, and the jump is deliberate. Stuttgart doubles it, Hannover nearly does, Essen and Dortmund add a third or so. A handful — Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Leipzig — charge the same for each dog and skip the escalation entirely.
If you are thinking about a second dog, this is a real number to put in the budget alongside food and insurance, and it is the one people forget. In Stuttgart it is the difference between 144 € and 432 € a year for the pair.
The listed-dog rate
This is the part that shocks people. A dog on the state's breed list is taxed at a punitive rate almost everywhere that has a list — 468 € in Dortmund, 600 € in Hamburg and Düsseldorf, 800 € in Munich, 900 € in Frankfurt, 1,056 € in Nuremberg. That is five to ten times the ordinary rate, every year, for the life of the dog.
There is a way out of it in many municipalities, and it is the same test that lifts the other restrictions: pass the Wesenstest and a lot of cities drop the dog back to the standard rate. Not all of them do — some grant no reduction at all — so check your own city's rules before you assume the test pays for itself. Where it does, it pays for itself in months.
Who does not pay
Exemptions and reductions are municipal too, so they vary, but a few recur almost everywhere. Assistance dogs, including guide dogs, are generally exempt outright. A dog taken from a Tierheim is often free for the first year, which is a deliberate nudge toward adoption. Working dogs in official service, rescue dogs with a certified team, and livestock guardians on a working farm are commonly exempt or reduced.
Reductions usually have to be applied for with evidence, and they are not backdated far. If you have adopted from a shelter, ask in the first weeks rather than at the end of the year.
Registering, and what happens if you do not
You register the dog with the municipality shortly after it arrives, or after you move in with it — the window is usually two weeks to a month. Most cities do it online now, and you get a tag with a number that the dog is meant to wear.
Not registering is an Ordnungswidrigkeit, and the municipality can claim the unpaid tax for past years on top of a fine. Given that the dog also has to be insured in seven states and identifiable in most, staying off the register is a short-term saving with a long tail.
Questions
How much is the dog tax in Germany?
It depends entirely on the municipality. In 2026 the first dog costs roughly 65 € to 186 € a year in the larger cities, with a national average near 123 €. Berlin charges 120 €, Munich 100 €, Hamburg 90 €, Cologne 174 € and Mainz 186 €.
Why is the tax higher for a listed dog?
Municipalities set a punitive rate for dogs on their state's breed list — from about 468 € in Dortmund to 1,056 € in Nuremberg, five to ten times the ordinary rate. In many cities, passing a Wesenstest drops the dog back to the standard rate, but not every city grants that reduction.
Do I pay more for a second dog?
In most cities, yes. Stuttgart doubles the rate, Hannover and Essen add substantially. Hamburg, Munich, Cologne and Leipzig charge the same for each dog.
Is there a dog tax on cats in Germany?
No. The Hundesteuer applies only to dogs. No German municipality levies an equivalent tax on cats or other pets.
Who is exempt from the Hundesteuer?
It varies by municipality, but assistance and guide dogs are generally exempt, a dog adopted from a Tierheim is often free for the first year, and official service dogs, certified rescue dogs and working livestock guardians are commonly exempt or reduced. Exemptions have to be applied for.
What happens if I do not register my dog?
It is an administrative offence. The municipality can charge the unpaid tax for previous years as well as a fine, so the saving is short-lived.
Last checked against the sources below on 12 August 2026.