Do non-resident heirs in Spain pay more inheritance tax?

• The location of the will in case the deceased had granted such document. If in fact a will had been granted, we would have to obtain the authorized copy of it by providing the certificate of last wills and the death certificate.
• On the contrary, if no will had been granted, we will have to grant the deed of declaration of heirs, requiring also the death certificate and the one of last wills, in addition to all personal data of the heirs.
• We must investigate to know what all the assets of the deceased person were, gathering the necessary information from banks, property registries, vehicles, as well as any other type of inheritable assets.
• Once we have all the documentation, we must present to the liquidating office of the autonomous community where the deceased passed away, a list of assets providing all the information, in addition to presenting form 650 and forms 660.
• Likewise, regarding the properties that the deceased had, a document must be presented in the town councils where those estates are located for the settlement of the municipal tax on the increase in value of urban land, commonly known as capital gains tax.
• With this, we would have complied with what the law requires, leaving pending the granting of the corresponding deed of inheritance adjudication to award those assets to the heirs in accordance with the will or in accordance with the declaration of heirs.

The complete online inheritance process usually takes between 2 and 4 months. The timelines depend on several factors:

• The existence or not of a will (without a will, the process is somewhat longer as it requires a declaration of heirs)
• The number of heirs and their availability to sign
• The complexity of the estate (properties in different registers, accounts in various banks, investments, etc.)
• The efficiency of administrative bodies (Civil Registry, notaries in other municipalities, etc.)

In simple cases with a will and a single property, the process can be completed in 6-8 weeks.