If you live in the Netherlands and inherit property in Spain, you may have to pay inheritance tax in both the Netherlands and Spain. This article provides more information on Dutch inheritance tax on Spanish property. We distinguish between Inheritance of a deceased person living in Spain and heirs of a deceased person residing in the Netherlands.
You inherit from a Dutch resident in Spain
If you inherit from a deceased person who lived in Spain, you will pay:
- Spanish inheritance tax on all assets situated in Spain, think property, a car, bank accounts etc if you do not live in Spain yourself;
- Dutch inheritance tax on worldwide assets if the deceased was Dutch and moved abroad less than 10 years ago.
Spanish inheritance tax depends on the autonomous region where the deceased lived. For example, the rules are different in Costa Brava (Catalonia), Costa Blanca (Comunitat Valenciana), Costa Calida (Murcia) and Costa del Sol (Andalusia). The islands also have their own rules (Balearic Islands and Canarias).
You can find more information on the declaration of estate in Spain.
For Dutch inheritance tax, you can take into account a exemption. If the value of the estate is less than the exemption, no inheritance tax is due in the Netherlands.
You inherit Spanish property from a Dutch resident
If you inherit Spanish property from a deceased person who lived in the Netherlands, you will also pay Spanish inheritance tax on the assets you inherit in Spain. The rules depend on the deceased's place of residence.
There is also Dutch inheritance tax on Spanish property. However, you can claim the taxes paid in Spain on property set off against Dutch tax.
How is property valued in Spain?
The Spanish government assigns a reference value to each property. This is similar to the WOZ value in the Netherlands. In Spain, people look at the recent sales prices of similar properties in the region to determine property values.
Here you can find more information about the WOZ value in Spain.
Do you have more questions about buying or inheriting property in Spain? Then be sure to take contact on.
