Dog tax in Thuringia 2027: What your dog costs in the largest cities

Print my Pet · 05.11.2026 · 4 min read·Updated 06.11.2026

In Thuringia you pay between €50 in Ilmenau and Sondershausen and €120 in Erfurt per year for your first dog. We are not aware of any changes in any of the 8 cities in our table for 2027.

Dog tax in Thuringia: the cities in comparison

The table shows 8 cities, sorted alphabetically: Erfurt from our nationwide city table, plus Gera, Weimar, Eisenach, Ilmenau, Mühlhausen, Arnstadt and Sondershausen. Jena is missing because the city has blocked our access to the statutes. We didn't find any statutes for Gotha, Nordhausen and Suhl that we could open ourselves.

City	1. Dog	2. Dog	List dog	2027	Source
Arnstadt	84 €	84 €	no separate sentence	no change known	arnstadt.de
Eisenach	84 €	84 €	600 €	no change known	eisenach.de
Erfurt	120 €	144 €	no separate sentence	no change known	erfurt.de
Gera²	96 €	124.80 €	672 €	no change known	gera.de
Ilmenau	50 €	100 €	no separate sentence	no change known	ilmenau.de
Mühlhausen³	75 €	150 €	500 €	no change known	muehlhausen.de
Sondershausen	50 €	80 €	400 €	no change known	sondershausen.de
Weimar	60 €	72 €	no separate sentence	no change known	stadt.weimar.de

¹ About the scale: In all cities in this table, only the second dog costs more, the first stays at the lower rate. Many statutes have an additional level from the third dog onwards. ² Gera: Source is the city's service portal. ³ Mühlhausen: €500 applies to the first dangerous dog, €825 for each additional dog. All amounts per year. For the cities in our nationwide table, the status as of October 20th, 2026 applies; we retrieved the rest from the cities themselves on November 5th, 2026. “N/A” means: We did not find the sentence in the source.

What applies to dangerous dogs in Thuringia

Thuringia has no longer had a breed list since 2018. The Thuringian law to protect the population from animal dangers (ThürTierGefG) in its 2011 version still named pit bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers and bull terriers. With the change of February 12, 2018, a dog is only considered dangerous if, after a personality test, the authorities determine in an individual case that it has behaved suspiciously, for example because it has bitten a person or an animal.

Some cities charge significantly more tax for such dogs: Gera €672, Eisenach €600, Mühlhausen €500 and Sondershausen €400. In its statutes, Eisenach continues to list breeds that are considered dangerous for tax purposes, namely pit bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers and bull terriers. Erfurt, Weimar, Ilmenau and Arnstadt do not have their own sentence.

Shelter dogs and exemptions

Eisenach exempts dogs that come directly from an animal shelter for 24 months, excluding dangerous dogs. Mühlhausen grants the exemption until the end of the twelfth month after collection from the municipal animal shelter if you register the dog within two weeks. Sondershausen frees dogs from the municipal animal shelter for a year.

Weimar and Ilmenau reduce the tax instead of exempting it: Weimar halves the tax for three years for a dog directly from a Weimar animal shelter, Ilmenau halves it for up to one year for dogs that the Ilmenau animal shelter has adopted.

This is how you calculate your dog tax

In the cities in the table only the second dog costs more; in Eisenach and Arnstadt each dog costs the same. In Erfurt you pay €120 plus €144 for two dogs, i.e. €264 per year. In Gera it is €96 plus €124.80, a total of €220.80. In Eisenach and Arnstadt two dogs cost €84 each, i.e. €168.

For a dog that moves in during the year, you usually only pay pro rata. With our dog tax calculator you can immediately see what the result is for your city.

Frequently asked questions

How much is the dog tax in Erfurt in 2027? Since July 1, 2026, Erfurt has charged €120 for the first and €144 for the second dog per year and does not have its own rate for listed dogs. We are not aware of any changes for 2027.

Is there a breed list in Thuringia? No, not since the change in the law on February 12, 2018. A dog is only considered dangerous if the authorities determine this in an individual case. However, individual cities such as Eisenach continue to name certain breeds in their tax statutes.

Where is the dog tax in Thuringia the lowest? In our table, Ilmenau and Sondershausen are the cheapest at €50 for the first dog, Weimar follows with €60.

Is an animal shelter dog tax-free in Thuringia? In Eisenach 24 months, in Mühlhausen until the end of the twelfth month and in Sondershausen one year. Weimar and Ilmenau instead halve the tax for a certain period of time.

The statutes of your community are always binding. This article is not tax advice.

Sources, accessed on 05.11.2026: Hundesteuersatzungen und Steuerseiten der Städte (Arnstadt, Eisenach, Erfurt, Gera, Ilmenau, Mühlhausen, Sondershausen, Weimar). Thüringen, Fassung 2011: Gesetz- und Verordnungsblatt Nr. 6/2011. Thüringen, Änderung 2018: Gesetz- und Verordnungsblatt Nr. 1/2018. Für die Städte aus unserer bundesweiten Tabelle gelten die dort erfassten Beträge mit Stand 20.10.2026.