Tomás died in Murcia at the end of April 2026, single and with no children. His heirs are his three siblings, Rosa, Julián and Pedro, in equal shares. The estate includes his flat, a savings plan and an account with 60,000 euros. Each sibling will have to pay their own inheritance tax, around 7,800 euros according to the preliminary calculation. The problem is the one in almost every inheritance: the money to pay the tax is in the deceased's account, and the bank will not release it until the tax is paid.
There is a way out of that circle. Paying Modelo 650, the Spanish inheritance tax return, has more routes than people usually know, and the choice between them decides whether the estate is closed in weeks or gets stuck for months.
Who it is paid to: the deceased's region
Inheritance tax is devolved to the regions, and when the deceased was resident in Spain it is managed by the region where they were habitually resident. Tomás lived in Murcia, so the self-assessment and payment are made to Murcia's regional tax agency, with its form, its filing software and its means of payment. Not to the national Agencia Estatal, the state tax agency.
The exception is where the deceased was not resident in Spain: then the tax is not devolved, it is managed by the Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria with its own Modelo 650, and the regional rules that correspond under the law apply. Which region applies in each situation is in the ISD competence table.
The payment routes and when each one suits
| Route | How it works | When it is the right one |
|---|---|---|
| Online payment on filing | Debit to the heir's account through the region's platform | If the heir has cash of their own |
| Payment at a collaborating bank | With the payment document generated by the region's software | If filing on paper or by appointment, where the region allows it |
| Payment from the deceased's account | The bank pays each heir's tax out of the blocked balance, at the request of all of them | When the money is in the estate and not with the heirs |
| Deferral or instalment plan | Application within the filing deadline | When the estate is almost all property |
Each region has its own details: some allow card payment, others do not; some offer in-person appointments for those who cannot file online, others have cut them to the minimum. What does not change is that each heir pays their own tax and files their own self-assessment.
The three siblings' payment, with Tomás's money
The siblings choose to pay with the balance of Tomás's account. The process is this:
- They prepare the three self-assessments, one per sibling, with each one's tax: 7,800 euros each, 23,400 euros in total.
- They go to the bank together, or sign a joint authorisation, and ask the bank to pay the three taxes out of the deceased's account. The bank needs the consent of all of them, because that money belongs to the three.
- The bank pays each self-assessment and hands over the receipts.
- Of the 60,000 euros, 36,600 euros remain, which the bank releases when it is shown the inheritance documents: 12,200 euros for each sibling.
This route has a legal reason: the inheritance tax law makes banks and insurers that hand over the deceased's assets without proof that the tax has been paid secondarily liable. That is why they ask for the receipt, and that is why many agree to pay it themselves from that balance. Not all of them do it the same way, and it is worth asking at the branch in good time.
If you want us to prepare the self-assessments and coordinate the payment with the bank, the inheritance and gift form is the starting point.
Which receipt to ask for and where to keep it
Each payment generates a receipt with the date, the amount and the number of the self-assessment. It is the document that will be asked for by the bank to release the rest of the balance, by the insurer to pay out the plan, by the notary for the deed of acceptance and by the Land Registry to register the flat. Each sibling should have a copy of all three, not just their own: if one loses theirs, the joint procedure stops. And they should be kept at least until the tax becomes time-barred, because if the administration reviews the inheritance, the first thing it will ask for is proof of payment.
When there is no money in the estate
If Tomás's estate were only the flat, the siblings would have to pay with their own money or defer. In inheritance tax there are two levels of deferral:
- The general regime of the Ley General Tributaria (the General Tax Act) and its collection regulations, with no guarantee required up to 50,000 euros under Order HFP/311/2023 when the State manages the tax; the regions apply their own rules and thresholds, which are checked in each case.
- The special rules in the inheritance tax law, designed for estates without enough cash, for the deceased's main home and for the family business. Their application to self-assessments has been disputed and each region interprets it in its own way, so it is checked with the administration managing the tax before relying on them.
The application has to be filed within the deadline for filing the tax. Requested later, the debt is already in the enforcement period or carries a surcharge. How to build a payment schedule the administration will accept is in the realistic calendar of an instalment plan.
Each sibling is a taxpayer for what they receive, and the administration cannot require Rosa to pay Pedro's tax. But the inherited assets remain charged with payment of the tax: if Pedro does not pay and the flat is still held in common, Pedro's debt can pursue his share of the flat. That is why, when one heir cannot pay, it is worth sorting it out among all of them before it becomes everyone's problem.
The insurance, the plan and the flat: each at its own pace
Tomás's savings plan named his siblings as beneficiaries. What they receive from it is also subject to inheritance tax and is included in the self-assessment, but the insurer, like the bank, will not pay without proof of the tax. It is best to include it in the same 650 and not leave it for later, because a second payment for the same deceased complicates the assessment.
The flat, on the other hand, is not collected: it is inherited. Its value goes into the tax base at no less than the Catastro's reference value (the valor de referencia), and paying the tax is a condition for registering it in the siblings' names. If they want to sell it, they can do so once the tax is paid; and if they sell it, the gain in their income tax will be calculated using the value declared in the inheritance, which is why valuing it properly has consequences beyond this tax. How each asset is valued is in valuing assets in an inheritance.
The deadline keeps running while you decide how to pay
The six months from Tomás's death end at the end of October 2026. If the siblings have not yet decided how to pay, they have a tool that is lost as the days go by: the extension of another six months, which can only be requested within the first five, and in their case those five months run out at the end of September. If they no longer reach it, the route is to file on time and pay with whatever means they have to hand, even if that means deferring. Filing late to gain time is the most expensive way to pay.
What people ask us about paying Modelo 650
Can I set up a direct debit for Modelo 650 on the last day of the deadline?
No. With Modelo 650, as with the rest, direct debit closes several days before the deadline ends, and that margin is not negotiable. Anyone who finds out on the last day can only pay another way, and if there is no time left the debt enters the enforcement period with its surcharge. It is one of the most avoidable mistakes we see.
Can I ask for more time?
Yes: an extension of another six months, but it has to be requested within the first five. After that point it is no longer possible, and it is one of the deadlines most often let slip.