In German-speaking countries, Hauptwohnsitz ( en, Main domicile) denotes the primary place of residence. In
Germany and
Austria, the concept of Hauptwohnsitz has special legal ramifications, primarily involving
tax.
In
Austria the Hauptwohnsitz
[help.gv.at - ''Hauptwohnsitz''](_blank)
(German language), accessed 10 August 2009 has an important meaning in the context of
financial
Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...
adjustment between the
federation and the local
municipalities. On the basis of the
census determined number of inhabitants with Hauptwohnsitz, the municipality receives its budget from the federal government. Hauptwohnsitze count themselves for a municipality in two regards: By the direct payment per head, and an increase in premiums after exceeding certain thresholds for the number of inhabitants. This leads to frequent censuses to match the budget of a municipality to its number of inhabitants. In fact, many municipalities are negatively affected by this system. The city of
Graz
Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
, Austria's second largest city, counts about 260,000 registered Hauptwohnsitze, however, almost 300,000 people do have their main residence there, as there are many students still having their Hauptwohnsitz registered in their hometowns. Since those are not taken into account concerning fiscal distribution, Graz faces serious economic problems. Currently there are campaigns trying to motivate students having their Hauptwohnsitz registered there.
The Hauptwohnsitz in
Germany is based on the main center of ones' interest (''Lebensmittelpunkt'').
[''Melderechtsrahmengesetz''](_blank)
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110314083513/http://bundesrecht.juris.de/mrrg/ , date=2011-03-14 (German language), ยง 12 (2) The Hauptwohnsitz is also the place in which one exercises the right to
vote, and where the
municipal administration issues a citizen's
ID card and
passport
A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...
. The income tax revenue is split between the federal government, the
Land government and the municipality where the respective taxpayer has their ''Hauptwohnsitz''. Apart from the ''Hauptwohnsitz'' a person can establish multiple secondary places of residence (''Nebenwohnsitze'', sg. ''Nebenwohnsitz'') where they are also registered as residents but do not have a right to vote. A number of German municipalities impose a secondary-residence tax (''Zweitwohnungssteuer'') on persons having such a secondary residence, the rationale for that being that they have to provide services to these persons but do not share in their income tax.
See also
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Domicile (law)
Domicile is relevant to an individual's "personal law," which includes the law that governs a person's status and their property. It is independent of a person's nationality. Although a domicile may change from time to time, a person has only one ...
*
tax residence
*
legal residence
References
Law of Germany
Real property law