Six ways to invest 150,000 €.

The question cannot sensibly be answered with a single number, because the returns rest on different bases: for property it is the rental yield on the purchase price, for an ETF the performance of a portfolio, for a direct investment the project return on the investment volume. What matters is what reaches you after tax and after effort. That is exactly where the difference appears: energy direct investments sit at the upper end with 8 to 12 % before tax, and they are the only class compared here where most of the investment volume takes tax effect in the first year.

Because you acquire a movable asset within a business of your own. Only then does section 7g apply: up to 50 % of the planned acquisition cost can be deducted in the year before the investment, and 40 % special depreciation plus 30 % declining-balance depreciation follow in the year of acquisition. A fund unit, a security or a subordinated loan create neither a business nor a depreciable asset, so the lever simply does not exist there.

Liquidity, and immediately. Every euro written off reduces your taxable income and turns, via your top rate, into money you do not pay to the tax office. On a 150,000 € investment volume at a 44.3 % top rate that is roughly 56,500 € in the first year, of which about 33,200 € already lands through the investment deduction in the year before acquisition. That money is available for the equity portion of the investment itself, rather than trickling back in small annual slices over decades.

Partly yes, and we say so plainly. Accelerated depreciation lowers the book value, which raises the taxable profit in later years and on a sale. The effect is one of timing and liquidity: you pay the tax later rather than today and put the freed-up capital to work immediately. It is not additional project income. That is why we assess every project without the tax layer first.

On a 150,000 € investment volume with a project-typical 70 % debt ratio, the bank finances 105,000 €. At a 44.3 % top rate, the refund from the investment deduction comes to roughly 33,225 € and is usually available before closing. That leaves about 11,775 € of your own funds. A buy-to-let property of the same size requires 45,000 € of equity at the same debt ratio, plus roughly 15,000 € of transaction costs that cannot be financed.

Project holdings start at roughly 100,000 € of investment volume. Below that, due diligence, financing and tax structuring no longer cover their own cost. There is no upper limit as such; what matters is that the volume fits your tax position and the rest of your allocation.

The deduction is reversed. The tax office amends the assessment for the year of the deduction, and the back payment carries interest under section 233a of the Fiscal Code. The investment deduction is therefore not a free option but a declaration of intent with a three-year deadline. Anyone using the structure should genuinely intend to invest.

Revenues come from two sources with different profiles. Long-term offtake agreements (PPAs) or a statutory tariff provide a predictable base over many years. The remainder is marketed on spot and balancing markets and moves with the market price. How large the predictable share is in a specific project is set out in the documents you receive before any decision, and the yield forecast comes from an independent expert report.

Yes, deliberately so. We structure nothing on your behalf and give no tax advice. You agree the structure with your own adviser; on request we bring our partner firms into the conversation. Anyone selling you the tax structure and the investment from the same hand has a conflict of interest.

Usually yes. Debt ratios of 60 to 75 % are project-typical for secured energy assets; the bank assesses both the project and its revenue structure and your personal creditworthiness. Depending on the situation, promotional programmes such as the KfW 270 loan may apply. We provide the bankable document package for the project and support the financing process.

Typically four to six weeks. Most of that is your own review, the alignment with your tax adviser and bank, and the financing commitment. If the investment deduction is to take effect in the current year, plan for that lead time rather than starting in December.

Anyone who may need short-term access to their capital, and anyone who would tie up their entire wealth in a single holding. The structure is illiquid, entrepreneurial and carries a corresponding risk of loss. For short-term reserves, deposits and broadly diversified securities remain the more appropriate tools.

With a fund you acquire a unit in a company that in turn owns the assets. Between you and the asset sit an administrative structure, its costs and its decisions, and the tax effects arise at fund level. With a direct investment you buy the asset itself and become its owner. That brings the full section 7g lever and full transparency on site, technology, revenue model and financing, but also the full entrepreneurial responsibility.