Inheritance and wills

Which law decides who inherits

Spain applies the EU Succession Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 650/2012) to the estates of people who died on or after 17 August 2015 (art. 83). It decides which country’s law governs the whole estate: who inherits and in what shares, whether some relatives have a guaranteed share, and who answers for the debts (arts. 21 to 23). It applies even when it points to the law of a country outside the EU (art. 20). The UK, Ireland and Denmark did not take part in adopting it, but that makes no difference for a Mallorca property: Spain is bound by it, so Spanish notaries, registrars and courts apply it to every estate they handle, whatever the owner’s nationality.

The default rule is the law of the country where the person had their habitual residence when they died (art. 21). Habitual residence is a question of fact: how long and how regularly the person lived there, and why. In exceptional cases a clearly closer connection with another country takes priority. Instead of the default, anyone may choose the law of a country whose nationality they hold, either when they make the choice or at death, and people with two nationalities may choose either (art. 22). The choice must be made in a will or similar document, expressly or clearly from its terms. A will made before 17 August 2015 under a law the person could have chosen counts as a choice of that law (art. 83).

Forced heirship in Mallorca and the rest of Spain

Spanish law limits how freely you can leave your estate. Part of it, the legítima (forced share), is reserved for children and other descendants, for parents if there are no descendants, and for the surviving spouse. Spain has several civil law systems. Mallorca has its own rules in Book I of the Balearic Civil Law Compilation (Decreto Legislativo 79/1990), while most of Spain follows the Civil Code. If your estate is governed by Spanish law because you lived in Mallorca, the Balearic rules are the relevant ones.

The rest of the estate, the free part, can go to anyone. In Mallorca a spouse has no forced share if the couple were legally separated or either of them had started legal separation proceedings, unless they later reconciled (art. 45). The forced share must normally be paid in assets from the estate, but a will can allow payment in cash (art. 48). Leaving a forced heir out of a will does not usually cancel it, and that heir can claim their share. An unintended omission of a child can in some cases let the will be annulled (art. 46).

Causante

The person who has died and whose estate is being passed on.

Heredero

An heir: someone who inherits all or a share of the estate, including its debts.

Legatario

A legatee: someone left a specific asset or sum in a will.

Legítima

The forced share of the estate that the law reserves for certain relatives.

Usufructo

Usufruct: the right to use an asset and take its income for life, while someone else holds the bare ownership (nuda propiedad).

Making a Spanish will

You do not have to make a Spanish will, and a valid foreign will can be used in Spain. Owners often make one anyway, because a Spanish notarial will is already in the form that Spanish notaries, banks and the Land Registry work with. Using a foreign will usually means apostilles and sworn translations of the will and related documents, such as a grant of probate, and the notary or registrar may ask for evidence of what the foreign law says, which adds time and cost for the heirs.

The usual form is the open notarial will (testamento abierto). You tell the notary your wishes, the notary drafts the will and you sign it before them. In Mallorca no witnesses are needed except in special cases, such as when the notary does not know you or you cannot sign (Balearic Compilation, art. 52). The notary keeps the original and records it in the General Register of Last Wills (Registro General de Actos de Última Voluntad), run by the Ministry of Justice. A handwritten will (testamento ológrafo) is also valid and a foreigner may write it in their own language, but after the death it must be lodged with a notary within five years (Civil Code, arts. 688 and 689).

• An express choice of the law of your nationality, if that is what you want (Regulation 650/2012, art. 22). For the UK or the US, name the specific legal system, such as the law of England and Wales.
• Which assets the will covers, for example only property in Spain, and how it fits with any will at home.
• Whether earlier wills are kept or revoked. Under Spanish law a later will revokes an earlier one unless it says the earlier one stays in force (Civil Code, art. 739).
• Heirs and legatees with full names and identity details, and who takes their place if they die first.
• An executor (albacea) if you want a named person to manage the estate.

Inheritance tax: who pays and which rules apply

Spanish inheritance tax (Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones) is paid by each heir on the net value they receive, not by the estate (Ley 29/1987, art. 9). Heirs resident in Spain pay on everything they inherit, wherever it is. Heirs who live abroad pay only on assets in Spain, such as the Mallorca property and Spanish bank accounts (arts. 6 and 7). The tax arises on the date of death, so the rules in force that day apply (art. 24).

Which office handles the return depends on residence. If the person who died lived in the Balearic Islands and the heir lives in Spain, it is the Balearic tax agency, ATIB (Agència Tributària de les Illes Balears). If either the person who died or the heir lived outside Spain, it is the Oficina Nacional de Gestión Tributaria, part of the Agencia Tributaria (AEAT) in Madrid.

The rule is now in the second additional provision of Ley 29/1987. If the person who died lived in a Spanish region, heirs living abroad apply that region’s rules. If the person who died lived outside Spain, heirs apply the rules of the region where the highest value of the Spanish estate is located. So if the deceased lived abroad and more of their Spanish assets by value are in the Balearic Islands than in any other region, the Balearic rules apply. A person living in Spain counts as resident in the region where they spent the most days over the previous five years. The AEAT confirms that heirs in EU, EEA and other countries can all opt for regional rules.

Property is valued at its cadastral reference value (valor de referencia) on the date of death, or at the declared value if that is higher. Where there is no reference value, the higher of the declared value and the market value is used (art. 9.3, as amended by Ley 11/2021). Household contents are presumed to be worth 3% of the estate unless the heirs show otherwise (art. 15). Deductible debts reduce the taxable value.

Balearic reliefs for spouses, children and other heirs

Balearic rules sort heirs into groups by their relationship to the person who died. Each group has an allowance deducted from the taxable value, and most also have a bonus that cuts the tax itself (Decreto Legislativo 1/2014, arts. 21, 36 and 36 bis). The table shows the rules for deaths from 25 July 2025.

The 100% bonus for groups I and II started on 18 July 2023 (Decreto-ley 4/2023) and was confirmed by Ley 11/2023 of 23 November 2023. Until 24 July 2025 the wording limited the bonuses to heirs taxed as Spanish residents. Ley 6/2025, the Balearic budget law published on 24 July 2025, removed that limit and raised the group III bonuses from 50% and 25% to 60% and 35%, for deaths from 25 July 2025. The change was not made retroactive.

If the property was the deceased’s main home, there is also a 100% reduction on its value for the spouse, ascendants and descendants, and for brothers, sisters and other collateral relatives over 65 who lived with the deceased for the previous two years, provided the heir keeps it for five years (art. 23). Main home has the meaning used in Spanish income tax, so a holiday home does not qualify. The law caps the reduction at €270,151.20 per heir, but lets the Balearic finance minister raise that figure by order where house prices are high (additional provision 5). For a home in Mallorca the figure is €331,859.70 for deaths from 14 June 2026, the minimum set by Ley 4/2026 and applied by Orden 13/2026. An order of 16 March 2026 had set €307,089 with effect from 1 March 2026. For earlier deaths the cap is €270,151.20.

For groups III and IV the tax is first worked out on a scale from 7.65% to 34%, the top rate applying to taxable amounts above €800,000 (art. 33.1), then multiplied as shown above, and only then reduced by any bonus. Groups I and II have their own scale, in force since 1 January 2016: 1% up to €700,000, then 8% up to €1,000,000, 11% up to €2,000,000, 15% up to €3,000,000 and 20% above (art. 33.2). Without the bonus, this scale is what spouses, children and parents pay. That was the position for heirs living abroad when the death was between 18 July 2023 and 24 July 2025, because the bonus then applied only to Spanish residents. Heirs affected by a death in that window can ask a tax adviser about their position.

Deadlines and what happens if you miss them

If the tax return is filed late but before the tax office makes contact, a surcharge applies: 1% plus another 1% for each full month of delay. After 12 months it becomes 15%, plus late-payment interest (Ley General Tributaria, art. 27). If the tax office acts first, penalties can be higher. Where the bonus brings the tax to zero there is nothing to surcharge, but a late return can still bring a fixed penalty of €200, halved to €100 if filed before the tax office makes contact (Ley General Tributaria, art. 198). An unfiled return can also hold up the Land Registry entry and the release of bank funds.

Municipal plusvalía on an inherited home

Plusvalía municipal, formally the tax on the increase in value of urban land (IIVTNU), is a town hall tax on the rise in value of the land under a building. On an inheritance the heir pays it (Real Decreto Legislativo 2/2004, art. 106). It does not apply to land classed as rustic for IBI (local property tax) purposes, which matters for many fincas (art. 104.2). See buying a finca.

Since November 2021 (Real Decreto-ley 26/2021) the heir can choose between the standard method, based on the land’s cadastral value and a coefficient for the years since the deceased acquired it (up to 20), and the actual gain shown by the acquisition and inheritance values. No tax is due if there was no gain (arts. 104.5 and 107.5). Each town hall sets its own rate, up to 30%, and may grant a bonus of up to 95% for inheritances by descendants, spouses and ascendants (art. 108). The maximum coefficients are set nationally. Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 of 6 October 2026 sets new ones for deaths from 1 December 2026, provided Congress validates it; Congress voted down an earlier decree with the same coefficients (Real Decreto-ley 26/2026) at the start of October 2026. Both sets of maximums are listed in selling as a non-resident.

What heirs need to do, step by step

1. 1

   Register the death and get certificates

   A death in Spain is registered at the Civil Registry, usually by the funeral director. Ask for several copies, including the multilingual version (certificado plurilingüe de defunción). A death abroad is proved with that country’s certificate, normally with an apostille and sworn translation, or the EU multilingual form where it applies.

2. 2

   Find out whether there is a will

   Once 15 working days have passed, request the certificate of last wills from the Ministry of Justice. It shows whether and where Spanish notarial wills were made. A separate certificate lists life insurance policies covering the death. Check for a will at home as well.

3. 3

   Establish who the heirs are

   With a Spanish will, the notary works from an authorised copy. A foreign will and any grant of probate need apostilles, sworn translations and possibly proof of foreign law. A European Certificate of Succession from another EU country needs no legalisation (Regulation 650/2012, art. 74), though the AEAT asks for a translation into Spanish. With no will and Spanish law applying, a notary issues a declaration of heirs (declaración de herederos).

4. 4

   Get a NIE for each heir

   Every heir needs a Spanish tax identification number to file the tax and sign the deed. See how to get a NIE number.

5. 5

   Value the estate

   List assets and debts at the date of death: the property at its reference value, bank balances, vehicles and debts such as a mortgage or unpaid taxes. The deceased’s tax debts pass to the heirs, but penalties do not (Ley General Tributaria, art. 39).

6. 6

   File and pay inheritance tax

   File modelo 650 for each heir within six months. Heirs living outside the EU and the EEA generally must appoint a representative resident in Spain. The AEAT can authorise paying the tax from the deceased’s Spanish accounts if asked before the return is filed; this option is not available when filing online.

7. 7

   Sign the inheritance deed

   The heirs accept the inheritance and divide the assets in a deed of acceptance and allocation (escritura de aceptación y adjudicación de herencia) before a notary. They can act through a power of attorney. See choosing a lawyer.

8. 8

   Pay plusvalía and register

   File the plusvalía with the town hall, then register the deed at the Land Registry, which checks that the taxes have been dealt with (Ley Hipotecaria, art. 254). Update the cadastre, IBI, utilities and the community of owners. Heirs then pay the yearly owner’s taxes: see taxes for owners.

Questions buyers ask