Inheritances and successions in Nigrán

In the event that the person died in Spain, it must be requested at the Civil Registry, or Peace Court, of the place where the death occurred.

In the case of people who died abroad, the following must be requested:

– International Death Certificate in the case of countries that have ratified the Vienna Convention of September 8, 1976. This certificate is issued in the official language of all the signatory countries of the aforementioned convention (Spain, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia , Croatia, Slovenia, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, Turkey, Serbia Montenegro).

– If the death certificate is issued abroad, it must necessarily be legalized with the Hague Apostille in the case of countries that have ratified the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961, which is the majority, or for the rest of countries to legalize the document through diplomatic channels and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to certify its authenticity.

The last will certificate is the document that certifies whether or not a person has executed a will in Spain, and identifies the deed and the Notary Office where it was executed.

This certificate is issued by the General Registry of Last Will Acts located in Madrid, through an application, which will be accompanied by the death certificate and the payment of a fee.

The Inheritance Tax is the tax that taxes the acquisitions of the assets that make up the inheritance of the deceased by the heirs, and a Tax must be submitted for each inheritance or deceased person, regardless of the heirs they have, who will be called subjects. tax liabilities.

The maximum period for the settlement of the tax before the Administration is six months from the death, after which the Treasury will collect the relevant surcharges (between 5% and 20%) and late payment interest. However, within the first five months an extension for another six months may be requested, in which case only interest will accrue.

For the purposes of Inheritance Tax, it is important to know the habitual residence of the heirs, who will be the taxpayers of the tax, and of the deceased, regardless of their nationality, Spanish or foreign, since this will affect the place of filing the tax, as well as the reductions and exemptions to be applied, both state and regional.

Taxpayers who are residents in Spain must declare Inheritance Tax on all assets acquired by inheritance, whether located in Spain or outside of it, while non-resident taxpayers will only have to file Inheritance Tax on assets located in Spain.

The Inheritance Tax must be filed at the Liquidation Office of the place of the deceased’s last habitual residence, for residents in Spain, and in the event that the deceased or the heirs do not habitually reside in Spain, the Tax must be filed at the National Tax Administration Office in Madrid.

Since January 1, 2015, the liquidation of the inheritance tax must be carried out by means of a Self-Assessment to be submitted by the heirs using the form existing for this purpose (FORM 650), with payment of the amount to be paid, accompanied by the following documentation:

• Death certificate.
• Certificate of last will and testament.
• Will or declaration of heirs.
• Deed of Acceptance of Inheritance or Partition Agreement (depending on the assets that make up the inheritance), which will contain the inventory and valuation of the assets.

The valuation of the assets will be determined by bank certification, in the case of account balances, deposits, securities, investment fund shares or financial deposits, and in the case of real estate, it will be the one designated by the heirs as the real value.

It is very important to carry out a good valuation of the real estate that is acquired, for two reasons:

1.- The Administration has a period of 4 years to review the value of the assets declared in the inheritance, so a poor valuation may lead the Administration to carry out a complementary liquidation, increasing the value of the assets, and request payment of the corresponding tax according to the new valuation, plus interest.

2.- The valuation recorded in the Inheritance Deed will impact the tax obligations that the heir may have in the future, such as, for example, Income Tax (for Residents or Non-Residents) if they are going to sell. the property acquired by inheritance.
The tax regime of the Inheritance and Donation Tax has undergone an important modification following the Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union, of September 3, 2014 (case C-127/12), which declares it contrary to the original right of the European Union the differences that existed in the tax treatment of donations and inheritances between residents and non-residents in Spain, so that non-residents had a very high tax burden as the tax benefits of the regional regulations were not applicable. of the Tax, in which there are reductions and bonuses that mean that in many cases the Tax does not have to be paid, or it is reduced to a minimum.

This Ruling is extremely important for taxpayers who reside in a member country of the European Union for two reasons:

1.- It makes it possible for non-residents who have paid the Inheritance Tax in accordance with state regulations (such as cases in which the deceased or the heir are non-residents) to request rectification of the declarations presented and the return as undue income. of what they have incorrectly had to pay, with the only limit that the liquidation of said Tax has not expired.

2.- The Spanish Administration has been forced to modify the inheritance tax regime, which came into force on January 1, 2015, allowing non-residents to benefit from the same regional tax benefits as habitual residents in Spain. , which in many cases means that the tax does not have to be paid or that it is greatly reduced. Now it will be the regional regulations of the Autonomous Community where the deceased had his habitual residence at the time of the accrual or where the assets are located, which will determine the reductions and bonuses to be applied for all cases, residents or non-residents.

Therefore, good advice and good planning and preparation of the documentation to be presented together with the Inheritance Tax settlement is essential to avoid future problems and complementary settlements from the Administration, and minimize the tax burden that the heir may have, being Of great relevance is the modification carried out in this tax regime that applies as of January 1, 2015, which allows for inheritances involving non-residents that the Inheritance Tax can be greatly reduced.

In addition to the inheritance and donation tax, when properties are acquired, the tax on the value of urban land must be taken into account, also called Municipal Capital Gains, which is a tax that is settled by the City Council where the properties are located.

Once the award has been made in a public deed or private document and the inheritance tax has been settled, the documentation will be presented to the entities or organizations necessary to change the ownership of the assets of the deceased to the heirs:

– For real estate, the Deed will be submitted to the Property Registry.

– If they are vehicles, the transfer must be made in Traffic or Administrative Management

– In the case of accounts or deposits, which the banking entities will have blocked, the documentation will be presented to the bank so that the balances of the deceased can be transferred to his heirs.
ASESORIA ESTELAS is specialized in advising on the preparation and processing of Inheritances, as well as the calculation and settlement of Inheritance Tax, both for residents and non-residents.