If you keep a dog in Germany, you pay your municipality a "dog tax" (Hundesteuer). In Berlin it is 120 euros a year (about 22,000 yen) for the first dog and 180 euros from the second onward — a design where "the more dogs, the higher the bill" — and Germany's nationwide dog tax revenue hit a record high of about 430 million euros (about 77 billion yen) in 2024. Meanwhile, in the neighboring Netherlands, more municipalities abolish their dog tax every year. And in fact Japan had a dog tax too, until 1982 — and in 2012 the city of Izumisano in Osaka Prefecture considered reviving it, only to give up. "Why tax only dogs?" We sort out the mechanics and the arguments of a tax that has lasted 200 years, from primary sources.
How it works: a municipal tax set by headcount, rising from the second dog
Germany's dog tax is a local tax levied by municipalities, with the amount set by each municipality's ordinance. When you start keeping a dog (or move in with one), you register it with the municipality and pay an annual amount based on how many dogs you keep. Here are two big-city examples.
| City | First dog (per year) | Second dog onward (per year) | Dangerous breeds (fighting breeds) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin | 120 euros (about 22,000 yen) | 180 euros (about 32,000 yen) | No surcharge |
| Munich | 100 euros (about 18,000 yen) | 100 euros (same amount regardless of headcount) | 800 euros (about 144,000 yen) = 8 times the normal rate |
- Berlin charges 1.5 times more from the second dog. The more dogs you keep, the heavier the per-dog burden — a design that leans toward "don't keep too many." Registration is mandatory within one month of acquiring a dog or moving in, and assistance dogs such as guide dogs are exempt
- Munich charges dangerous breeds 8 times the normal rate. On the other hand, it offers exemptions and reductions for dogs adopted from shelters or when the owner holds a training qualification. Berlin's dog tax law, by contrast, has no surcharge for fighting breeds at all. Even within the same country, each municipality has its own philosophy — that is what makes this tax interesting
- Cats and small birds are not taxed. In principle, only "dogs" are taxable (the reason comes in the next section)
Why it exists: a 19th-century "luxury tax" and rabies control
The dog tax traces back to early 19th-century Germany. The city of Offenbach is considered one of the earliest examples, introducing it in 1807 to raise war funds, and in Prussia a royal decree of 1810 taxed dog keeping as a "luxury tax." The idea: being able to keep a dog that does not work — unlike a guard dog or hunting dog — is proof you can afford it.
The other aim was rabies control. In an era without vaccines, rabies was fatal once it spread to humans, and the only countermeasure was to "manage the dog population and reduce strays." If taxation came bundled with registration, the authorities could know who kept how many dogs and where. The dog tax spread as a mechanism that doubled as "revenue" and a "registration system."
- Cats were not taxed, reportedly because cats of that era were "working animals" that caught mice and were not considered luxuries, and because free-roaming cats made it hard to identify an owner
- In modern Germany the rabies-control rationale has faded; the tax is now explained as "compensation for the burden dog keeping places on the community, such as fouling and bite incidents" and "a brake on unplanned dog keeping"
- Note, however, that Germany's dog tax is a general tax with no earmarked use — the revenue is not automatically spent on cleaning up dog waste or building dog runs. This becomes one of the arguments in the "abolition debate" we look at below
The result: record revenue of 77 billion yen in Germany — and a wave of abolitions in the Netherlands
- According to the German Federal Statistical Office, dog tax revenue in 2024 was about 430 million euros (about 77 billion yen), a record high — up 2.2% year on year and up 39.3% from ten years earlier (2014: about 309 million euros). The office notes that "some municipalities raised their rates, so higher revenue does not necessarily mean more dogs"
- In the neighboring Netherlands, by contrast, more municipalities abolish the dog tax every year. As of 2025, 113 of 342 municipalities levied it. By 2026 that will fall to about 100 municipalities (roughly 30% of the total), and some have already decided to work toward abolition in 2027. Dog tax revenue fell from about 60 million euros in 2017 to about 30 million euros in 2024 — halved in seven years
- The reasons abolition is advancing in the Netherlands: "taxing only dogs while cats go tax-free is unfair," "the revenue is not spent on measures for dogs," and "collection costs add up." The judgment is that the original purposes — rabies control and stray-dog control — have run their course
- So even within Europe, the picture splits between Germany, which keeps the tax and watches revenue grow, and the Netherlands, which is winding it down as obsolete — whether the dog tax is a good tax or an outdated one remains an open question
Comparison with Japan: Japan had a dog tax too, until 1982
"A tax on dogs — surely that's a foreign thing," you might think, but Japan had a dog tax as well. After the war, municipalities could levy it on their own, and at the peak around 1955 some 2,700 municipalities reportedly taxed dogs. Abolitions then followed, largely because the revenue was small relative to the trouble of collecting it, and when Shiga Village in Nagano Prefecture (now part of Matsumoto City) abolished its tax in March 1982, the dog tax disappeared from Japan.
There was one attempt at a revival: Izumisano City in Osaka Prefecture. To fund measures against abandoned dog waste, the city announced in 2012 that it would consider introducing a dog tax (a proposal of 2,000 yen per dog per year), and an expert review committee reported its conclusion — "introduction would be difficult" — to the mayor on July 30, 2014. There were two reasons. First, the city's survey found 5,232 registered dogs against an estimated 8,911 actual dogs (a registration rate of 58.7%). With about 40% of dogs unregistered, taxing only registered dogs would create a tax where "honest owners lose" — only those who properly registered would pay. Second, while the measures to be funded cost about 10 million yen a year, collection was estimated to cost about 16 million yen a year in staff costs plus about 10 million yen to build a system — an unavoidable absurdity where collecting the money costs more than the money collected.
A dog tax stands or falls on the registration rate — Izumisano's conclusion strikes at the weak point of the dog tax as an institution. Germany's dog tax has lasted 200 years because it operates as one piece with a registration system, with a framework that does not tolerate "unregistered dogs" already in place. Copy only the tax without thorough registration, and you get an unfair tax.
Today, the framework under which a Japanese municipality could levy its own tax is the "non-statutory tax" system, which includes the accommodation tax — a revived dog tax would fall under this framework (Izumisano's proposal was also a non-statutory earmarked tax, with its use limited to dog-waste measures). A recent flagship example of independent municipal taxation is the vacant home tax (tax to promote the use of non-residential housing) that Kyoto City will launch in fiscal 2030. Like the fixed asset tax on land and buildings, it is a form of local tax that "taxes local burdens locally."
What this means for you: the "public money" a dog costs in Japan today
Japan has no dog tax, but keeping a dog does come with institutional costs. Here is the rundown.
| Item | Amount / tax rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dog registration fee | 3,000 yen (standard amount) | Mandatory under the Rabies Prevention Act. Once per lifetime, registered with the municipality |
| Rabies vaccination tag | 550 yen (standard amount) plus the shot itself | Vaccination is mandatory once a year. Amounts may vary by municipality |
| Consumption tax on pet food | 10% | Not "food for human consumption," so excluded from the reduced 8% rate |
| Pet insurance premiums and veterinary bills | Not eligible for income deductions | The life insurance premium deduction and the medical expense deduction both apply to humans only |
- Registration and the annual vaccination are fees and obligations, not "taxes" — but the dog-tax era's function of "registering dogs to track their numbers" lives on in this registration system under the Rabies Prevention Act. Japan eradicated rabies just seven years after the Act took effect in 1950, and there have been no domestic cases since (excluding imported cases infected abroad). The annual shot continues "even though outbreaks no longer occur" precisely to keep this registration-and-vaccination net from loosening
- Pet food carries 10% consumption tax because the reduced rate covers only items for "human drinking and eating" under the Food Labelling Act. A system where the same "food" is taxed differently for humans and pets is a good case study when thinking about the debate over consumption tax on food
- If you are posted to or move to a country with a dog tax — Germany, Switzerland and others — and bring your dog, you become liable for the tax locally. In Berlin, registration is required within one month of moving in. Before departure, check the dog tax amount and registration deadline of the municipality you are moving to
- Conversely, visiting a dog-tax country as a tourist is irrelevant — the tax falls on people who "keep" a dog locally, not travelers
What to do today
What to do today
- If you keep a dog, confirm you have both the municipal registration (dog tag) and this year's rabies vaccination tag (registration and vaccination are legal obligations)
- Write out your annual pet spending — food, insurance, veterinary bills (food carries 10% consumption tax; premiums and vet bills are not deductible — know the numbers as part of your household budget)
- If an overseas posting or move is on the horizon, add "dog tax: yes/no, annual amount, registration deadline of the destination municipality" to your relocation checklist
FAQ
Q. How much is Germany's dog tax?
A. Each municipality sets it by ordinance. Berlin charges 120 euros a year (about 22,000 yen) for the first dog and 180 euros for each dog from the second onward; Munich charges 100 euros per dog per year, with 800 euros for dangerous breeds (fighting breeds). Some municipalities exempt guide dogs and other assistance dogs, or reduce the tax for shelter dogs.
Q. Why tax only dogs and not cats?
A. Because the origins lie in a 19th-century "luxury tax" and rabies control. Keeping a non-working dog was considered a luxury, while cats were working animals that caught mice and, being free-roaming, hard to assign to an owner. Today the criticism that "taxing only dogs is unfair" is one of the grounds for abolishing the dog tax in countries such as the Netherlands.
Q. Does Japan have a dog tax? Did it ever?
A. Not today. Many municipalities once levied one — reportedly about 2,700 at the peak around 1955 — but it vanished when Shiga Village in Nagano Prefecture (now part of Matsumoto City) abolished its tax in March 1982. In 2012, Izumisano City in Osaka Prefecture considered reviving it to fund measures against abandoned dog waste, but shelved the idea in 2014 because about 40% of dogs were unregistered, making fair taxation impossible, and because collection costs were estimated to exceed the cost of the measures themselves.
Q. Are there taxes or public costs to keeping a dog in Japan?
A. There is no dog tax, but the Rabies Prevention Act requires municipal registration (standard fee 3,000 yen, once per lifetime) and an annual rabies vaccination (standard tag fee 550 yen plus the shot). Pet food is excluded from the reduced tax rate and carries 10% consumption tax, and neither pet insurance premiums nor pet veterinary bills qualify for income deductions.
References (sources)
* Figures are based on materials published as of August 2026. Yen conversions of euro amounts use an approximate rate of 1 euro = 180 yen. Dog tax amounts and rules in Germany and the Netherlands vary by municipality and may be revised. Some points in the history of the dog tax are subject to differing accounts. This article is informational; for individual tax decisions, consult a tax office or tax accountant.