Inheritance tax is a tax ceded to the Comunidades Autónomas, so they can rule some benefits over the national rule whether in the form of reductions to the “Base Imponible”, or benefits in the “Cuota” to be paid.
Regarding international successions, if either the deceased or the beneficiary were non residents in Spain, the State law is always applied so the beneficiaries can not take advantage of these Comunidades’ Autonómas regulations
However, since the first of January 2015, provided that the deceased was a resident in the European Union or in the “Espacio Económico Europeo” (EEA European Economic Area) the beneficiaries can choose the rule of the “Comunidad Autónoma” in which the most valuable assets are located if it is beneficial to them, or the law of the Comunidad Autónoma of their own residence if the deceased was a non resident and there are no assets in Spain.
The same applies if the deceased was a resident in Spain and the beneficiaries, tax payers, are residents in the EU or in the EEA “European Economic Area”.
In this case the law of the Comunidad Autónoma of residence of the deceased can be applied.
POSSIBLE REFUNDS OF ANYTHING YOU MAY HAVE ALREADY PAID IN INHERITANCE TAX
This new regulation results from a Judgement from the European Court of Justice, which states that the previous inheritance tax regulations were contrary to the principles of ‘freedom of movement and establishment’ within the EU. It is therefore deemed fair to claim back anything that you may have previously paid under a rule that has subsequently been annulled, or at least to claim back any amount in excess of what would have been paid had the new regulations been in force at the time of the original payment.
If you have already presented and paid inheritance tax, you can ask for a repayment of the total amount, provided that four years haven’t passed since the payment was made. We can make any such claim for you.
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