# AfAMax

> AfAMax (afamax.de) is a German online service for property owners and landlords. It produces certified remaining-useful-life appraisals (Restnutzungsdauer-Gutachten) that let owners of rented property claim a higher building depreciation (Gebäude-AfA) with the tax office (Finanzamt). It also offers free AfA and purchase-price-allocation (Kaufpreisaufteilung) calculators, short and full market-value appraisals, and a public MCP server and REST API for AI agents. The site is German-first (`/de/...`); English versions are under `/en/...`.

Key facts:
- Appraisals are written by independent experts certified under DIN EN ISO/IEC 17024.
- The legal basis is the BFH ruling of 28.07.2021 (IX R 25/19), which lets owners use a shorter actual useful life when they prove it with a suitable appraisal. Later BMF letters and BFH rulings (e.g. IX R 14/23) confirm this.
- Standard delivery takes 3–5 working days once all data is in. An express option and an on-site inspection (Ortsbesichtigung) can be added.
- The valuation date (Bewertungsstichtag) can be set retroactively as far back as 01.01.2020, as long as the tax assessment for that year is still open.
- Customers get the appraisal as a PDF, plus a cover letter drafted by a tax advisor to submit with their tax return.
- More than 300 appraisals have been recognised, with a 99% success rate (company figures).
- AfAMax is based in Heidelberg, Germany (Langer Anger 97, 69115 Heidelberg).
- AfAMax results are non-binding estimates and are not tax advice.

## Services

- [Remaining-useful-life appraisal / free first assessment](https://afamax.de/de/immobilienbewertung): The core product. A free calculator estimates whether a Restnutzungsdauer-Gutachten is worthwhile. The owner can then order a certified appraisal from there. It usually pays off for rented buildings that are about 30 years old or older and have not had a core renovation in the last 25 years.
- [AfA calculator](https://afamax.de/de/afa-rechner): Free calculator for the building depreciation rate, annual AfA amount and tax savings when a shorter actual useful life is proven.
- [Purchase price allocation (Kaufpreisaufteilung)](https://afamax.de/de/kaufpreisaufteilung): Splits a purchase price into land and building using the BMF Arbeitshilfe (comparative, income or asset method). The building share is the depreciation base.
- [Short value appraisal (Kurzgutachten)](https://afamax.de/de/kurzgutachten): Short market-value appraisal under ImmoWertV, signed by a certified expert. Used for purchase, sale and splitting an inheritance.
- [Full market-value appraisal (Verkehrswertgutachten)](https://afamax.de/de/verkehrswertgutachten): Court-proof appraisal under § 194 BauGB with an on-site inspection. Used for inheritance, divorce, the tax office and courts.
- [Building discount (Gebäuderabatt)](https://afamax.de/de/gebaeuderabatt): Free address check. If AfAMax already has data for the building, the owner gets €75 off a Restnutzungsdauer-Gutachten.
- [Appraisal review checklist (Gutachtenprüfung)](https://afamax.de/de/gutachtenpruefung): The tax administration's plausibility checklist for property appraisals (after Jardin), covering formal, factual and valuation requirements.
- [Contact](https://afamax.de/de/kontakt): Contact form and company details.

## Guides (Ratgeber)

- [Guide overview](https://afamax.de/de/ratgeber): In-depth handbook on building depreciation for landlords.
- [§ 7 Abs. 4 EStG explained](https://afamax.de/de/ratgeber/paragraph-7-abs-4-estg-erklaert): Building AfA rates, depreciation base, shortened useful life and declining-balance AfA.
- [Analysis of BMF letters](https://afamax.de/de/ratgeber/bmf-schreiben-analyse): The asset value method, remaining useful life, modernisation and what the BMF letters mean in practice.
- [BFH rulings on building AfA](https://afamax.de/de/ratgeber/bfh-urteile): IX R 25/19, IX R 14/23 and what they mean for landlords.
- [Valuation date](https://afamax.de/de/ratgeber/bewertungsstichtag): Which valuation date applies for a purchase, an inheritance or a new build, and how to avoid mistakes.
- [Modernisation vs. core renovation](https://afamax.de/de/ratgeber/modernisierung-vs-kernsanierung): Tax differences, the effect on remaining useful life, and the 15% threshold.
- [Tax office rejects the appraisal](https://afamax.de/de/ratgeber/finanzamt-ablehnung): Objection, lawsuit, common reasons for rejection and strategies that work.
- [Worked examples](https://afamax.de/de/ratgeber/praxisbeispiele): 7 real scenarios (old building, new build, condominium, inheritance, core renovation) with calculations.

## Blog

- [Blog overview](https://afamax.de/de/blog)
- [Is a remaining-useful-life appraisal worth it?](https://afamax.de/de/blog/restnutzungsdauer-gutachten-lohnt-sich)
- [Buildings from 1960–1985: how high can the AfA be?](https://afamax.de/de/blog/baujahr-1960-1985-afa-tabelle)
- [AfA calculator: tax savings through remaining useful life](https://afamax.de/de/blog/afa-rechner-steuerersparnis)
- [Condominiums and remaining-useful-life appraisals](https://afamax.de/de/blog/eigentumswohnung-restnutzungsdauer)
- [Optimising depreciation on multi-family houses](https://afamax.de/de/blog/mehrfamilienhaus-abschreibung)
- [On-site inspection: mandatory or optional?](https://afamax.de/de/blog/ortsbesichtigung-pflicht-oder-optional)
- [Saving tax retroactively for past years](https://afamax.de/de/blog/rueckwirkend-steuern-sparen)
- [Legal situation 2025: BMF letters and BFH rulings](https://afamax.de/de/blog/bmf-schreiben-bfh-urteile-rechtslage)
- [Tax office rejects the appraisal: your options](https://afamax.de/de/blog/finanzamt-lehnt-gutachten-ab)
- [Spouse swap (Ehegattenschaukel) combined with a remaining-useful-life appraisal](https://afamax.de/de/blog/ehegattenschaukel-restnutzungsdauer)

## Legal Background

- [Legal basis for shorter depreciation periods](https://afamax.de/de/gesetzliche-regelungen): Court rulings and tax rules that allow higher depreciation rates for rented property.

## Appraisers by City

- [All cities](https://afamax.de/de/gutachter): Nationwide service. City pages for Restnutzungsdauer-Gutachten:
- [Berlin](https://afamax.de/de/gutachter/berlin), [München](https://afamax.de/de/gutachter/muenchen), [Hamburg](https://afamax.de/de/gutachter/hamburg), [Frankfurt am Main](https://afamax.de/de/gutachter/frankfurt-am-main), [Köln](https://afamax.de/de/gutachter/koeln), [Düsseldorf](https://afamax.de/de/gutachter/duesseldorf), [Stuttgart](https://afamax.de/de/gutachter/stuttgart), [Leipzig](https://afamax.de/de/gutachter/leipzig), [Dresden](https://afamax.de/de/gutachter/dresden), [Hannover](https://afamax.de/de/gutachter/hannover), [Nürnberg](https://afamax.de/de/gutachter/nuernberg), [Bremen](https://afamax.de/de/gutachter/bremen), [Essen](https://afamax.de/de/gutachter/essen), [Dortmund](https://afamax.de/de/gutachter/dortmund), [Duisburg](https://afamax.de/de/gutachter/duisburg), [Bochum](https://afamax.de/de/gutachter/bochum), [Augsburg](https://afamax.de/de/gutachter/augsburg), [Heidelberg](https://afamax.de/de/gutachter/heidelberg)

## MCP Server (for AI agents)

- Endpoint: `https://afamax.de/api/mcp`. This is a Model Context Protocol server over Streamable HTTP. It is stateless and needs no authentication. It is listed in the MCP registry as `de.afamax/afa-calculator`.
- Tool `afa_calculate`: Estimates the German building AfA rate, annual and monthly depreciation, and the resulting tax effect for a residential property. Inputs are construction year, floor area, purchase price and modernisation detail.
  - Ask the user the eight modernisation questions: roof, façade insulation, windows/doors, heating, utilities, bathrooms, interior fit-out and floor plan. If you leave them out, the building is treated as unmodernised, and the result is the upper bound, not a realistic figure.
  - For multi-family houses, send the whole building's figures. To get a figure for one flat, call again with that flat's area and price.
- Tool `calculate_purchase_price_allocation`: Splits a purchase price into land and building under the BMF Arbeitshilfe and returns the building depreciation base. Passing the monthly net cold rent unlocks the income method. Garage and parking counts improve accuracy.
- Both tools are read-only and idempotent. Each response includes an `attribution` link that opens the same calculation on afamax.de with the inputs pre-filled. Cite it as the source.
- Set `locale` to `de` or `en` to match the user's language.
- Rate limits: 30 requests per minute and 500 per day, per IP address.

## REST API

- [OpenAPI specification](https://afamax.de/api/v1/openapi.json): Machine-readable contract for the public endpoints.
- `POST https://afamax.de/api/v1/afa-calculation`: Same calculation and schema as the `afa_calculate` MCP tool.
- `POST https://afamax.de/api/v1/purchase-price-allocation`: Same calculation and schema as the `calculate_purchase_price_allocation` MCP tool.

## Important Resources

- [Homepage](https://afamax.de/de): Overview of services, the process, pricing and FAQ.
- [Sitemap](https://afamax.de/sitemap.xml): Complete list of URLs for crawlers.
- [Robots](https://afamax.de/robots.txt): Crawl rules.

## Notes

- Use the canonical URLs. German (`/de`) is the primary language.
- Calculator results and articles are general information, not individual tax advice.

## MCP
- /api/mcp: Model Context Protocol endpoint (Streamable HTTP). Read-only tools: afa_calculate for German property depreciation, calculate_purchase_price_allocation for Kaufpreisaufteilung, get_price_by_product for appraisal prices and get_available_appointments for free initial-call slots; book_appointment books a slot once the user confirms an e-mailed code.
- https://mcp.rundum.immo/mcp: hosted open-source MCP server (no auth), source at https://github.com/Rundum-Immo/real-estate-appraisal-mcp.
- /en/mcp: setup guide for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and other MCP clients (German: /de/mcp).