Manage Your Inheritance Without the Bureaucracy or the Tax Burden
When a family member passes away, the inheritance arrives alongside an extensive administrative process that very few people have had to navigate before. It is necessary to locate the will or initiate a notarial declaration of heirs ab intestato, obtain the certificate of last wills, compile an inventory of all assets and liabilities, value them according to fiscal criteria, coordinate the notarial deed of acceptance and partition, settle the Inheritance Tax before the competent autonomous community, and finally register any immovable property at the Land Registry and update the ownership of bank accounts and securities. All of this within a maximum period of six months from the date of death to avoid surcharges. While the estate is being administered, the tax authorities do not wait. The complexity multiplies when there are several heirs with differing interests, when the deceased had outstanding debts or ongoing businesses, when part of the estate is located abroad, or when one or more heirs reside outside Spain. In these cases, an error in asset valuation, in the application of available tax reliefs, or in the division of the estate can generate consequences that persist for years: conflicts between heirs, claims from the tax authorities, or problems at the Land Registry.
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The problem
When a family member passes away, the inheritance arrives alongside an extensive administrative process that very few people have had to navigate before. It is necessary to locate the will or initiate a notarial declaration of heirs ab intestato, obtain the certificate of last wills, compile an inventory of all assets and liabilities, value them according to fiscal criteria, coordinate the notarial deed of acceptance and partition, settle the Inheritance Tax before the competent autonomous community, and finally register any immovable property at the Land Registry and update the ownership of bank accounts and securities. All of this within a maximum period of six months from the date of death to avoid surcharges. While the estate is being administered, the tax authorities do not wait. The complexity multiplies when there are several heirs with differing interests, when the deceased had outstanding debts or ongoing businesses, when part of the estate is located abroad, or when one or more heirs reside outside Spain. In these cases, an error in asset valuation, in the application of available tax reliefs, or in the division of the estate can generate consequences that persist for years: conflicts between heirs, claims from the tax authorities, or problems at the Land Registry.
Our solution
At BMC we manage the entire inheritance from start to finish with a single point of contact who coordinates lawyers, tax advisers, and administrators throughout every phase of the process. We take care of everything: from obtaining the death certificate and the certificate of last wills to registering the inherited property at the Land Registry, including the preparation of the partition account, the optimal settlement of the Inheritance Tax with all applicable reliefs, and management at the notary. Our specialisation in cross-border estates is particularly relevant when the deceased was non-resident, when heirs are located abroad, or when the estate includes assets outside Spain. We are familiar with the applicable international conventions, the mechanisms for avoiding double taxation, and the formal requirements of each jurisdiction for giving effect in Spain to foreign succession documents.
How we do it
Initial diagnosis and roadmap
We collect the death certificate, the certificate of last wills, and the will (or initiate the notarial declaration of heirs). We identify all assets, rights, and liabilities of the deceased, including assets abroad, and establish the timeline with the key dates of the process.
Inventory and fiscal valuation
We prepare a complete inventory of the estate with valuations in accordance with current tax regulations: cadastral reference value for real estate, market price for securities, surrender value for life insurance, and justified market value for other assets. A correct valuation is the basis of an optimal tax settlement.
Settlement of Inheritance Tax
We apply all reductions and allowances available in the competent autonomous community: by relationship, by disability, for family business assets, for the main residence, and for life insurance. We file the self-assessment within the deadline or request the six-month extension where appropriate, and manage instalment arrangements or deferrals if the estate lacks sufficient liquidity.
Deed of inheritance and registration
We coordinate the signing of the public deed of acceptance and partition of the inheritance before a notary, registration of immovable property at the Land Registry, transfer of ownership at banking institutions, and updating of company shareholdings at the Companies Registry where applicable. We deliver to the heirs a fully formalised estate with no outstanding matters.
There were three of us as heirs and none of us knew where to start. My father had left a house, a commercial premises under lease, and a small shareholding in a company. BMC took charge from day one: it calculated the tax using a family business relief we did not know existed, negotiated a deferral with the tax authorities, and two months later everything was registered in our names without us having had to visit a single office.
The succession process in Spain: legal framework and timescales
Succession in Spain is governed by the Codigo Civil, although autonomous communities with their own civil law (Catalonia, Aragon, the Basque Country, Navarre, Galicia, and the Balearic Islands) apply their own civil succession rules on matters such as forced heirship, the rights of the surviving spouse, and freedom of testation. This duality between common law and regional law (derechos forales) is one of the first points to verify when an estate is opened.
The most relevant deadline is the fiscal one: six months from the date of death to submit and settle the Inheritance Tax, with the possibility of requesting an extension of a further six months. If the deadline is missed, surcharges of 1% per month apply during the first twelve months, and 15% plus late-payment interest from the end of that year. Voluntary delay may also result in penalties if the tax authority identifies the estate of its own motion before the heir declares it.
Testate and intestate succession: practical differences
When there is a will, the process starts from clear foundations: the deceased has expressed their wishes within the legal limits (respecting the forced shares reserved by law for compulsory heirs). The most common form of will in Spain is the open notarial will, although holographic wills (handwritten in full) and sealed wills also exist and require additional protocolisation formalities.
When there is no will, the law determines the order of succession. In practice, this means a declaration of heirs must be processed before a notary, a procedure that adds time and cost to the overall process but does not alter the fiscal rights of the heirs. One frequently overlooked aspect is that the will can modify the division of freely disposable assets (one third of the estate, under the common civil law regime) but cannot deprive compulsory heirs of their forced shares.
Fiscal differences by autonomous community
The Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones (ISD) is one of the most territorially diverse taxes in Spain. The effective burden for a child inheriting from a parent can be practically zero in communities such as Madrid (99% bonus), Murcia, or Andalusia, while in other communities it may represent between 5% and 20% of the inherited value, depending on the amount and the heir’s prior net wealth.
This difference affects not only the tax rate but also the available reliefs. The family business relief (which may be 95% of the value of the business interests) exists in all communities, but the requirements, percentages, and retention periods vary. The same applies to the relief for the deceased’s main residence, the quantitative limits of which differ significantly between territories.
Estates with international elements
Estates involving assets or heirs abroad require additional analysis. The European Succession Regulation (Regulation 650/2012) establishes that, unless the deceased opted for the law of their nationality, the law applicable to the succession is that of the country of the deceased’s habitual residence at the time of death. For a Spanish resident, Spanish law governs the succession even if there are assets in other EU countries.
On the fiscal side, the position is more complex. Spain has conventions to avoid double taxation on inheritance only with France, Greece, and Sweden. In all other cases, if the deceased held assets abroad that are also taxed in that country, the heir may deduct the tax paid outside Spain, but the mechanisms and limits are technical and require case-by-case analysis.
What BMC manages from start to finish
Comprehensive inheritance management with BMC includes: obtaining the initial administrative certificates, processing the declaration of heirs where there is no will, preparing the estate inventory with fiscal valuations, identifying and applying all available reliefs, filing the Inheritance Tax self-assessment within the deadline, managing deferrals where the estate lacks liquidity, coordinating the notarial partition deed, registering properties at the Land Registry, managing the transfer of bank accounts and securities, and attending to any subsequent requests from the tax authority. The heir has a single point of contact throughout the process and need not manage any formality directly.
The family business relief: the benefit that generates the most value
Among the Inheritance Tax reliefs, the family business relief is by far the one with the greatest fiscal impact and the one most frequently left unclaimed through lack of awareness. National legislation provides for a reduction of 95% on the value of family business interests transferred by inheritance, provided certain requirements are met. Autonomous communities may improve this percentage (some raise it to 99%), but the substantive requirements are similar.
To apply the relief, the business or shareholding must meet the conditions for exemption under the Wealth Tax (Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio) for family businesses, which requires:
- The company must carry on a genuine economic activity (it cannot be a holding vehicle that merely holds assets or securities without carrying out its own business activity).
- The deceased must have held at least 5% of the share capital (or 20% computed together with their spouse, ascendants, descendants, or collateral relatives up to the second degree), and at least one family group member must have exercised management functions with remuneration representing more than 50% of their earned income and income from economic activities.
- The heir must retain the inherited interests for the ten years following the inheritance (the period varies between five and ten years depending on the autonomous community).
Failure to meet the retention requirement results in the loss of the relief together with the corresponding interest. BMC monitors this period and advises on corporate reorganisation transactions following the inheritance that may be carried out without losing the relief.
Municipal capital gains tax on inherited property: the heir’s obligation
In addition to the Inheritance Tax, the heir of an urban property must settle the Impuesto sobre el Incremento de Valor de los Terrenos de Naturaleza Urbana (IIVTNU), commonly known as the municipal capital gains tax, with the local authority in which the property is located. The municipal capital gains tax is payable by the heir, not the deceased.
Since the Constitutional Court ruling of November 2021, the method for calculating the taxable base has changed. The heir may now choose between the objective method (based on the cadastral land value and the number of years of ownership) or the real-gain method (based on the difference between the acquisition value and the transfer value of the land). If the real-gain method produces a lower taxable base, the heir is entitled to apply it, which in many cases significantly reduces the tax charge.
When the heir demonstrates that there has been no increase in value (that is, the current land value is equal to or lower than it was when the deceased originally acquired it), there is no taxable base and no tax arises. Evidencing the absence of a gain requires documentation of the original acquisition value, which BMC manages as part of the comprehensive inheritance process.
Acceptance with benefit of inventory: protection against unknown debts
Inheriting is not always a gain. If the deceased had debts, heirs who accept the inheritance unconditionally are liable for those debts not only from the inherited estate but also from their own personal assets. To avoid this risk, the Codigo Civil allows the inheritance to be accepted under benefit of inventory (a beneficio de inventario): the heir is liable for the deceased’s debts only up to the value of the inherited estate, without exposing their personal assets.
Acceptance under benefit of inventory is particularly advisable when:
- The true state of the deceased’s debts is unknown.
- The deceased was an entrepreneur and there may be unknown business debts.
- There are indications that debts may exceed the value of the assets.
- One or more heirs has significant personal assets to protect.
The procedure requires formal notification before a notary or the court within 30 working days of becoming aware of the inheritance. BMC assesses in each case whether acceptance under benefit of inventory is advisable and manages the procedure where it is.
The asset inventory: correct fiscal valuation to avoid enquiries
The taxable base for the Inheritance Tax is calculated on the market value of the inherited assets. Since Ley 11/2021, de medidas de prevencion del fraude fiscal, the reference value established by the Direccion General del Catastro is the minimum value that must be declared for real estate: if the heir declares a value below the reference value, the tax authority automatically initiates a valuation check.
For assets other than real estate (shares in unlisted companies, jewellery, works of art, vehicles, receivables) the valuation is more complex and may require expert reports. An incorrect valuation can result in either over-taxation (if overvalued) or a valuation review (if undervalued). BMC prepares the inventory with fiscally optimised valuations within the margin the law permits, minimising the risk of enquiries and the cost of the tax charge.
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