Due to recent changes to Spanish inheritance tax law, if you have paid Spanish inheritance tax in the past four years and either you, or the person from whom you inherited, were non-residents of Spain at the time you inherited, then you could be eligible for a full or partial refund from the Spanish tax authorities.
Under the old system, each of Spain’s 17 autonomous communities had the power to set their own inheritance tax rates and reliefs. But this was applicable to residents only.
Often the rates set by these autonomous communities would directly contradict the (less favourable) inheritance tax rates and reliefs set by Spain’s central government for non-residents.
The new law, that came into force on 1 January 2015, stipulates that the level of inheritance tax payable both by Spanish nationals and by nationals of EU and EEA States will be determined by the autonomous region of Spain in which the majority of the deceased’s Spanish estate is held (if he or she was a non-resident), or where the deceased resided (if he or she was a Spanish resident).
If you paid Spanish inheritance tax between 1 January 2011 and 1 January 2015* and at the time of inheriting you were a non-resident of Spain, but are a national of a State within the EU or the EEA, or the person whose estate you have inherited was not a Spanish resident, but was resident in the EU or the EEA, then you may have paid too much tax.
Find out more about Spanish inheritance law.
If it is found that you have paid excessive Spanish inheritance tax then you could be eligible for a full or partial rebate of the inheritance tax you paid, payable to you by the Spanish tax authorities.
Without making any charge to you we can calculate the amount you may be able to reclaim and, if it is found that you are eligible for a refund of Spanish inheritance tax, we can make an application on your behalf to the Spanish tax authorities on a no win no fee basis.
If you believe you may be eligible to reclaim inheritance tax paid in Spain, please contact us by email at info@solicitorsinspain.com, by telephone on 020 3478 1420 or by submitting your query using our contact form.
* Unfortunately, as the law stands it is unlikely that cases pre-dating 2011 will be eligible for this remedy.
