Verlustverrechnungstöpfe: the share pot versus the general pot, cross-bank offsetting with a Verlustbescheinigung and loss carry-forward

What you will learn

• What goes into the Aktien-Topf, the allgemeiner Topf and the Quellensteuer-Topf at your bank.
• Why a loss on a single share cannot offset a gain on an equity ETF, but the reverse works.
• How to offset losses at one bank against gains at another with a Verlustbescheinigung.
• How the Finanzamt records losses that remain, and why there is no carry-back.

Explanation

The course Derivatives gave a first orientation on loss offsetting. Here we look at the pots as they exist in 2026, after the Jahressteuergesetz 2024 removed the former €20,000 cap on derivative losses retroactively for all open cases.

Every German custodian bank keeps Verlustverrechnungstöpfe (loss-offset pots) per customer, and for spouses with a joint FSA per couple:

• Aktien-Topf (share pot): losses from selling individual shares. By law (§ 20 Abs. 6 EStG) such losses may only be offset against gains from selling individual shares. The Bundesfinanzhof (federal fiscal court) considers this unconstitutional and the question is pending at the Bundesverfassungsgericht (constitutional court, case 2 BvL 3/21); until a decision, the restriction applies.
• Allgemeiner Topf (general pot): all other losses: fund and ETF units, bonds, certificates, options, futures, CFDs, negative interest. These losses offset every type of capital income, including share gains, dividends, interest, distributions and the Vorabpauschale.
• Quellensteuer-Topf (withholding-tax pot): creditable foreign tax that could not yet be credited because no German tax was due (lesson 7).

Note the asymmetry: a loss on ETF units lands in the general pot and is more flexible than a loss on a single share. A dividend can never be offset by a share loss, but it can be offset by an ETF loss.

Inside one bank. The bank nets continuously and the pots carry forward at that bank without time limit. A loss realised in March reduces the tax on a gain in September; a gain taxed in February is refunded when a loss appears in November. Losses are offset before the Freistellungsauftrag, which can revive part of an already used allowance.

Across banks. Banks do not see each other's pots. To use a loss at Bank A against a gain at Bank B you need a Verlustbescheinigung (loss certificate) from Bank A. You must request it by 15 December of the year; the request is irrevocable. Bank A then sets the certified pots to zero and prints the losses on the annual tax certificate. You enter them in the Anlage KAP with Bank B's taxed gains, and the tax office refunds the difference. Once certified, the loss can no longer be used by Bank A in later years.

Carry-forward at the tax office. Losses that remain after the assessment are recorded in a Verlustfeststellungsbescheid (loss assessment notice), separately for share losses and other capital losses, and carried forward without limit to future years' capital income. There is no carry-back to the previous year and no offsetting against wages or other income types. Losses from foreign brokers never enter a bank pot; they exist only through the tax return (lesson 5).

Totalverlust. A worthless share or a knock-out certificate expiring at zero is also a loss; since 2020 worthless expiry counts as a disposal, and the former €20,000 cap on such losses was removed together with the derivatives cap.

Worked example

Hypothetical example, single investor, FSA €1,000 placed at Bank A, no church tax, fees ignored. Year 2026:

Bank A: the €3,000 share loss cannot touch the ETF gain or dividends. Taxable: €4,500 − €1,000 allowance = €3,500. Tax: €3,500 × 26.375 percent = €923.13. The share pot carries −€3,000.

Bank B: no allowance here, no losses. Tax: €2,500 × 26.375 percent = €659.38.

Total withheld: €1,582.51. Without action, the €3,000 share loss sits idle at Bank A.

With a Verlustbescheinigung requested at Bank A before 15 December: in the tax return the €3,000 share loss meets Bank B's €2,500 share gain. Refund: €659.38. The remaining €500 share loss is recorded by the tax office for future share gains. New total tax: €923.13.

Alternative without paperwork: had the losing share been sold at Bank B, that bank would have netted €2,500 of the loss immediately. Where you realise a loss matters.

Common mistake

Practice activity

On paper: at one bank an investor has a share pot of −€1,200 and a general pot of −€800 from last year. This year she receives €600 dividends, sells ETF units with a taxable gain of €1,000 and sells a single share with a gain of €700. Her FSA at this bank is €1,000. How much tax does the bank withhold, and what do the pots show afterwards?

Key takeaways

• Share losses only offset share gains; general-pot losses (ETFs, bonds, derivatives) offset everything.
• The €20,000 cap on derivative and total losses was abolished retroactively; the share-pot restriction remains pending a constitutional ruling.
• Cross-bank offsetting needs a Verlustbescheinigung requested by 15 December; it is irrevocable.
• Remaining losses are carried forward by the tax office without limit, but never back and never against wages.

Next step

Lesson 4 turns these mechanics into a deliberate strategy: realising losses on purpose, legally and at the right time.