Klaus Becker had lived in Estepona since he retired, and he died there on 2 May 2026. He leaves a flat overlooking the harbour, with a cadastral reference value (valor de referencia) of 310,000 €, and an account at a Spanish bank holding 40,000 €. His heirs in equal shares are his two children: Hannah, who lives in Hamburg, and Lukas, who lives in Zurich. The funeral cost 6,000 €, paid from the account. Neither of them speaks Spanish well and both ask the same thing: what has to be done first and which deadline is already running.
The clock started on the day of death
Article 24 of the Inheritance and Gift Tax Law (Impuesto sobre Sucesiones) places the chargeable event on the day of death, and article 67 of its Regulations gives six months from then to file. For Hannah and Lukas, the period ends on 2 November 2026.
A further six-month extension can be requested, but with two conditions under article 68 of the Regulations: the request must be filed within the first five months (here, by 2 October) and the extension carries late-payment interest up to the day of filing. If it is requested and there is no reply within a month, it is deemed granted. If it is requested late, it is not granted.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 2 May 2026 | Death and chargeable event |
| By 2 October | Last day to request an extension |
| 2 November 2026 | End of the ordinary period for Modelo 650 |
| 2 May 2027 | End of the period if the extension is granted, with interest |
The plusvalía municipal (the municipal tax on the increase in value of urban land) has its own calendar. Article 110 of the consolidated Local Finance Law (Haciendas Locales) gives six months from the death, which can be extended to one year at the request of the heir, who in inheritances is the person liable to pay it.
Who handles it and which rules apply
Hannah and Lukas are not resident in Spain, so they are taxed under limited liability (obligación real), on the assets located here (article 7 of the law). In that case the self-assessment is filed with the State Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria) on Modelo 650, not with the Junta de Andalucía, the regional government.
Handling the return is not the same as applying the state rules. The second additional provision of the law allows non-residents to apply regional rules as follows:
| Deceased | Rules the non-resident heirs can apply |
|---|---|
| Resident in an autonomous community | Those of that community |
| Non-resident, with assets in Spain | Those of the community where the greatest value of the Spanish assets lies |
| Non-resident, with no assets in Spain | Those of the community where each heir resides |
Klaus was resident in Andalucía, so his children can apply the Andalusian rules, which contain reductions for descendants much broader than the state ones. How much is reduced, and with what requirements, has to be checked against the text in force on the day of death; this page does not give the figure because it changes with every regional reform.
The applicable regional rules depend on where Klaus had his habitual residence, not on where he was on the padrón (the municipal register of residents) or on the address in the deed. If he spent long spells in Germany, that residence may be disputed. A connecting factor wrongly applied allows the tax authorities to claim the difference with interest and, where applicable, a surcharge, and it is the heir who pays.
Each sibling's figures
Each heir is a taxpayer for what they receive, and each files their own 650. Article 9 of the law defines the base as the net value of the individual acquisition, and article 14 allows the deduction of burial and funeral costs that are justified and in proportion to the estate.
- Flat, at reference value: 310,000 €.
- Bank account at the date of death: 40,000 €.
- Less justified funeral costs: −6,000 €.
- Net estate: 344,000 €.
- Base for each child (50 %): 172,000 €.
On that base are applied the reduction for kinship and the others provided for in the Andalusian rules, the tax scale and the coefficient for pre-existing wealth. The result may be very low or nil, but the 650 still has to be filed so that the Land Registry accepts the registration and to fix the value of the flat.
The value of the flat counts twice
Article 9.3 of the law takes as the value of real estate the reference value set by the Catastro, the Spanish property cadastre, at the date of the chargeable event, unless the heirs declare a higher one. If the reference value looks high, it can only be challenged when requesting rectification of the self-assessment or when appealing against an assessment, with a report from the Catastro.
That value matters again when the flat is sold. Article 36 of the IRPF Law (Spanish personal income tax), to which the non-residents' law refers, takes as the heir's acquisition value the one that results from the Inheritance Tax rules. Declaring a low value to pay less now can prove expensive on sale, because the gain taxed at 19 % will be larger. The guide on valuing assets in an inheritance develops this.
You can send us the death certificate, the will and the deeds through the non-residents form and we will review deadlines, the connecting factor and the valuation before the date for the extension runs out.
The papers to gather
- Death certificate and certificate from the General Register of Last Wills (Registro General de Actos de Última Voluntad).
- Copy of the last will or, if there is none, a declaration of heirs.
- Deed of the flat, IBI receipt (the annual municipal property tax) and a certificate of the bank balance at the date of death.
- Each heir's NIE, the foreigner's identification number, essential for the 650 and for the deed.
- Invoices for the funeral and for any deductible debt.
- If the will is foreign, apostille and sworn translation; see is a foreign will valid in Spain?.
After the 650: Land Registry, Catastro and the first 210 returns
Paying the tax does not change the owner of the flat. The acceptance and allocation of the inheritance has to be signed before a notary and registered at the Land Registry, and you need to check that the Catastro and the IBI receipt pass into the heirs' names.
From the day of death, each sibling owns half and has their own obligations under non-resident income tax. If the flat stays empty, each one declares imputed income for the days it has been theirs. With a cadastral value of 150,000 € that was recently revised:
- 150,000 × 1.1 % = 1,650 € a year.
- Each sibling's half: 825 €.
- Days of ownership in 2026, from 2 May to 31 December: 244 of 365. Result: 551.51 €.
- Hannah, resident in the European Union, is taxed at 19 %: 104.79 €.
- Lukas, resident in Switzerland, which belongs neither to the European Union nor to the European Economic Area, is taxed at 24 %: 132.36 €.
Each of them files their Modelo 210 for imputed income between 1 April and 31 December 2027. If they decide to let the flat, the calculation and the calendar change, as explained in how many Modelo 210 returns do I have to file. If they sell it, the buyer will withhold 3 % of the price.
If there is not enough cash to pay
Article 38 of the law allows the managing office to grant a deferral of up to one year, or payment in five annual instalments with a guarantee, when there are not enough easily realisable assets, provided it is requested before the payment period ends and with late-payment interest. There are also the general deferrals under the Ley General Tributaria, the General Tax Law. None of them is granted automatically, and Klaus's estate does include an account with a balance. The alternatives are in can I defer an inheritance tax debt?.
What happens in Germany and Switzerland
Spain taxes what Hannah and Lukas receive here. Germany and Switzerland may have their own rules on the same inheritance, and we do not give opinions on them. If they need advice there, they choose the professional in their own country and we provide that person with the 650, the proof of payment and the Spanish valuation, which is what is normally asked for to show the tax paid in Spain.
The non-residents page explains what comes after the inheritance: how an empty or let flat is declared each year and what happens when it is sold.