What is the timescale to pay inheritance tax or obtain tax clearance in Spain?
In Spain we have 6 months to pay inheritance tax or present and obtain tax clearance. It is possible to claim an extension of a further 6 months as long as the request is presented within the first 5 months.. Please note that the extension must be requested to the Agencia Tributaria in Madrid if the beneficiary is non resident and to the Junta de Andalucia or other regional tax office if the beneficiary is tax resident in Andalucia or any other region of Spain.
Some clients do not face the problem because they think inheritance tax is going to be very high but this is very often not the case and many beneficiaries pay nothing at all. Take a look at Inheritance tax fore example in he Andalucía region and in the Valencia Region.
What are the surcharges for late presentation ?
- 5% of the tax due if we pay within three months from the deadline.
- 10% of the tax due if we pay between the 3rd and 6th month from the deadline.
- 15% of the tax due if we pay between the 6th and 12th month from the deadline.
- 20% of the tax due + statutory legal interest for any payment made over one year from the deadline.
Even if no tax is due the same deadlines apply to obtain tax clearance. Even if no tax is due they will fine you for late presentation of the clearance documents
If a 6 months extension is not enough it is possible to request an extension of one year withoght guarantees and up to 5 years if we can offer sufficient guarantees to the administration . In both cases it is necessary to prove that the estate does not have sufficient liquid assets to make the payment. In both cases the extension needs to be requested during the first 5 months.
The above surcharges are all based on you presenting a self assessment before the tax office finds out that you have not presented forms on time. If on the other hand it is the tax office that finds out about the non-declaration (very easy know days) and writes to you they could interpret bad faith on part of the beneficiary and much higher surcharges would e due.
