Published April 2025 · 12 min read · By International Inheritance Spain
Every year, thousands of German families find themselves dealing with a Spanish inheritance — a parent who retired to the Costa del Sol, a grandparent who owned an apartment in Mallorca, or a relative who had a villa in the Canary Islands. Germany is one of the largest sources of property buyers in Spain, and a generation of German owners who purchased during the property booms of the 1980s and 1990s are now passing their estates to their children and grandchildren.
The process of inheriting in Spain is unfamiliar to most German families. It is conducted entirely in Spanish, before Spanish notaries and tax authorities, and it operates under a strict six-month deadline that most heirs do not learn about until they are already close to missing it. However, German nationals are in a notably advantageous position compared to many other international heirs: Germany is an EU member state, which means you can rely on EU Succession Regulation 650/2012, and Germany has a bilateral inheritance tax treaty with Spain that prevents the kind of double taxation that British heirs face.
This guide explains everything a German resident needs to know when inheriting assets in Spain — which law applies, how the double taxation treaty works, what the step-by-step process looks like, and how we can manage the entire procedure for you in English without you needing to travel to Spain.
EU Succession Regulation 650/2012 (also known as the Brussels IV Regulation) came into force on 17 August 2015 and fundamentally changed how cross-border inheritances are handled within the European Union. As a German national inheriting in Spain, this regulation works directly in your favour.
Under the default rule of the Regulation, the law of the country where the deceased was habitually resident at the time of death governs the entire estate — including property located in other EU member states. This means that if a German national was living in Germany at the time of death and owned a property in Spain, German succession law would ordinarily govern the entire estate, including the Spanish property. If the deceased was habitually resident in Spain, Spanish succession law would apply.
Crucially, the Regulation also allows any EU national to make a deliberate choice of the law of their nationality to govern their estate. This is known as a professio iuris clause. A German national who owns assets in Spain can insert this clause into a Spanish will, explicitly electing that German law governs their entire estate — both the Spanish assets and the German assets. This is particularly significant for German families because German succession law (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch) provides for forced heirship rules that differ from Spanish legítima requirements, and because German law may provide more flexibility in how the estate is distributed.
Without a professio iuris election, the default position is that Spanish law applies to Spanish assets and German law applies to assets in Germany. In practice this means two separate legal processes run in parallel: the Spanish succession is handled under Spanish civil law before Spanish notaries and tax authorities, while the German succession is handled separately under German law. This is manageable but it increases complexity and cost, and it means that the composition of the estate — particularly any forced heir entitlements — may be assessed differently in each country.
Unlike British heirs, who lost access to the Brussels IV Regulation after Brexit on 31 December 2020, German nationals continue to benefit fully from this framework. This gives German families significantly more planning flexibility when structuring cross-border estates that include Spanish assets.
One of the most important practical advantages for German heirs inheriting in Spain is the existence of a bilateral inheritance and gift tax treaty between Spain and Germany, signed in 1966 (the Abkommen zwischen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und dem Spanischen Staat zur Vermeidung der Doppelbesteuerung auf dem Gebiet der Erbschaft- und Schenkungsteuern). This treaty is specifically designed to prevent the same inheritance being taxed in full in both countries.
In the absence of a treaty, an heir could theoretically face full inheritance tax in Spain on the Spanish assets and full Erbschaftsteuer (German inheritance tax) on the worldwide estate including those same Spanish assets. The 1966 treaty resolves this by allocating taxing rights between the two countries and by providing for a credit mechanism.
Under the treaty, Spain has the primary right to tax immovable property (real estate) located in Spain, and Germany has the primary right to tax the German assets. For other assets — such as Spanish bank accounts or shareholdings — the treaty allocates taxing rights based on the domicile of the deceased. In most cases involving Spanish property held by a German national resident in Germany, Spain taxes the Spanish real estate and Germany taxes the remaining estate.
The credit mechanism works as follows: German inheritance tax (Erbschaftsteuer) is calculated on the worldwide estate. However, the Spanish inheritance tax paid on the Spanish assets is credited against the German Erbschaftsteuer that would otherwise be due on those same assets. This means that the heir pays the higher of the two tax amounts, but not the full amount twice. In practice, if Spanish inheritance tax on a property is €15,000 and the German Erbschaftsteuer attributable to the same property would have been €20,000, the heir pays €15,000 in Spain and only €5,000 in Germany — not €35,000 in total.
This is a significant benefit compared to the position of British heirs, who have no bilateral treaty with Spain and must rely on unilateral relief provisions in UK tax law which may not fully eliminate double taxation. For German families, the treaty provides a clear and legally established framework for avoiding double taxation, provided both filings are coordinated correctly.
We work alongside your German tax adviser (Steuerberater) to ensure that the Spanish inheritance tax paid is properly documented and credited in the German return. Timing coordination between the Spanish and German filings is important, and we make sure both are aligned.
Spain requires all heirs to file the inheritance tax return (Impuesto de Sucesiones y Donaciones) within six months of the date of death. This deadline is mandatory and applies regardless of where the heirs are located — whether in Munich, Frankfurt, Berlin or anywhere else in the world. Spanish tax authorities do not make exceptions for the practical difficulties of managing a cross-border inheritance.
If the deadline is missed, automatic surcharges apply to the outstanding tax:
There is one option to manage the deadline if you genuinely need more time: you can apply for a six-month extension. However, this application must be submitted within the first five months — you cannot apply for an extension after the original deadline has passed. The extension request is filed with the Spanish tax authority and, if granted, gives you an additional six months to file and pay without incurring surcharges.
In practice, the most common reason German families miss the deadline is simply not knowing about it. The process of obtaining death certificates, searching for wills, identifying Spanish assets and granting powers of attorney all takes time — and if you begin the process at month four or five, there is very little room for error. The moment you learn that a family member has passed away with assets in Spain, contact us. Acting immediately gives you the maximum possible time to gather documents and complete the process properly.
If the person died in Spain, we obtain the death certificate directly from the Spanish Civil Registry. If they died in Germany, you will need the German death certificate (Sterbeurkunde), which must be apostilled under the Hague Convention and accompanied by a sworn Spanish translation (traducción jurada) before it can be used in Spanish legal proceedings. We coordinate the apostille and translation process as part of our service, so you do not need to manage this yourself.
We search the Spanish Registro de Actos de Última Voluntad in Madrid, which records all wills made before Spanish notaries. If a Spanish will exists, we obtain an authorised copy from the notary who holds it.
For German heirs, there is an additional step that does not apply to most other nationalities: we also coordinate a search of the German Zentrales Testamentsregister (Central Wills Register), maintained by the German Federal Chamber of Notaries. Many German nationals who owned property in Spain also had German wills covering their worldwide estate, and these must be considered alongside any Spanish will to understand the full picture of how the estate is to be distributed. If both a Spanish and a German will exist, we analyse whether they are compatible and which governs which assets.
If no will exists in either registry, we open an intestate succession procedure (declaración de herederos abintestato), which determines the heirs according to Spanish law (for Spanish assets) or German law (if a professio iuris choice was made).
We search all relevant Spanish registries to build a complete picture of what the deceased held in Spain. This includes the Land Registry (Registro de la Propiedad) for any property, the DGT vehicle registry for cars or motorbikes, Spanish bank accounts and deposits, the Insurance Registry (Registro de Contratos de Seguro) for any life insurance policies with Spanish insurers, and any other Spanish assets such as shareholdings in Spanish companies. A thorough asset search at this stage prevents surprises later and ensures that the inheritance is complete.
You can grant us a poder notarial (power of attorney) to act on your behalf in Spain. German heirs have a particularly convenient option: the power of attorney can be signed before a German Notar, who performs a role directly equivalent to a Spanish notary. The document then needs to be apostilled under the Hague Convention before it is valid in Spain.
Alternatively, you can sign at the Spanish Consulate in Germany (in Berlin, Munich, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt or Hamburg), or at a notary in Spain if you choose to visit. Once we hold the apostilled power of attorney, we can represent you for every step of the Spanish process — signing the deed of acceptance, filing taxes, and registering assets — without you needing to travel to Spain at all.
We calculate the exact Spanish inheritance tax liability based on the value of the estate, the region where the assets are located, and your relationship to the deceased. We apply all available reductions and bonuses, ensure you benefit from the most favourable regional rules (see the section on inheritance tax below), and file the return with the relevant Spanish tax authority before the deadline.
We sign the Escritura de Aceptación de Herencia at a Spanish notary under your power of attorney. This is the formal legal document by which the heirs accept the inheritance and the estate is distributed. All heirs must be represented — if there are multiple heirs in different countries, we coordinate between all of them, ensuring that each has the correct documentation and that no one heir delays the process for the others.
Once the deed of acceptance is signed and tax is paid, we register the property at the Spanish Land Registry in the names of the heirs. Bank accounts are released and transferred to the beneficiaries. Vehicles are transferred at the DGT. The inheritance is formally closed and the assets are yours.
Spanish inheritance tax is a regional tax, which means that the effective rate varies significantly depending on where in Spain the assets are located. The national scale ranges from 7.65% to 34%, but regional governments can modify these rates and apply additional reductions and bonuses. In practice, heirs in some regions pay close to zero, while in regions that have not applied significant reductions, the effective rate can be substantially higher.
A critical point for German nationals inheriting in Spain is the 2014 European Court of Justice ruling in the Comisión v. España case. Before that ruling, non-resident heirs were taxed under the less favourable national scale, without access to the more generous regional reductions that Spanish residents enjoyed. The ECJ found this discriminatory and ordered Spain to change its rules. As a result, non-resident heirs — including German nationals living in Germany — are now entitled to apply the regional rules of whichever autonomous community is most favourable to their situation. This is a significant benefit: it means you are not penalised simply because you do not live in Spain.
The amount you actually pay depends on:
We calculate your exact position before you commit to anything. In many cases involving close relatives and properties in regions with generous reductions, the effective Spanish inheritance tax is modest — sometimes a few thousand euros on properties worth several hundred thousand. In other cases, particularly with high-value assets or more distant relationships, it can be more significant. The only way to know is to calculate it for your specific situation.
Germany also levies inheritance tax (Erbschaftsteuer) on inheritances received by German-resident heirs, including foreign assets. German Erbschaftsteuer is calculated on the worldwide estate and uses a system of allowances that depend on the relationship between the heir and the deceased. Children, for example, each have a personal allowance of €400,000, meaning that for many family inheritances the German tax liability may be modest or nil.
However, for larger estates or more distant relatives, German Erbschaftsteuer can be significant. The rates range from 7% to 50% depending on the value of the estate and the relationship to the deceased. German inheritance tax law applies German valuations to foreign assets, which may differ from the Spanish valuations used for Spanish inheritance tax purposes.
As explained above, the 1966 Spain-Germany double taxation treaty provides relief by allowing the Spanish inheritance tax paid on Spanish assets to be credited against the German Erbschaftsteuer attributable to the same assets. This means that in most cases, the total tax burden is the higher of the two countries' taxes — not the sum of both. Proper coordination between the Spanish and German filings is essential to claim this credit correctly.
We do not prepare German tax returns, but we work closely alongside your German Steuerberater (tax adviser). We provide all the documentation required for the German filing — including the Spanish inheritance tax assessments, property valuations and the deed of acceptance — so that the German adviser has everything they need to claim the treaty credit and file accurately. If you do not have a Steuerberater, we can recommend German tax advisers who specialise in cross-border estates and work regularly with us.
One of the most useful tools available to German heirs is the European Certificate of Succession (Europäisches Nachlasszeugnis), introduced by EU Succession Regulation 650/2012. This is a standardised document issued by the competent authority in the country whose law governs the estate — in many cases for German nationals, this would be a German court or notary.
The European Certificate of Succession is recognised in all EU member states, including Spain. It certifies the identity of the heirs, their entitlements under the applicable succession law, and any powers conferred on administrators or executors of the estate. In practical terms, it can significantly simplify the process of dealing with Spanish banks and registries: rather than having to translate and legalise an entire set of German succession documents, a single apostilled Certificate of Succession establishes the heir's status in a form that Spanish institutions are required to recognise.
The Certificate is issued on application to the competent German authority (either the Nachlassgericht — probate court — or a German notary, depending on the circumstances). It is valid for six months and can be renewed. While it does not replace the Spanish deed of acceptance or the payment of Spanish inheritance tax, it can reduce the volume of documentary evidence that needs to be gathered and legalised, making the overall process more efficient for German heirs.
Whether a European Certificate of Succession is the right approach for your situation depends on the specific circumstances — in particular, which country's law governs the estate and what assets are involved. We advise on this during our initial consultation and coordinate with German notaries where appropriate.
If you have recently lost a family member who owned assets in Spain, the most important thing is to act quickly. The six-month deadline starts running from the date of death — not from the date you became aware of the Spanish assets, and not from the date you instructed lawyers. Every week you wait reduces the time available to gather documents, prepare the tax return, and complete the process properly.
Contact us for a free initial consultation. We will review your situation, confirm what assets are held in Spain, search the relevant will registries, explain the applicable law and tax position, and give you a clear, fixed fee for the complete service. We work in English throughout, we coordinate with your German Steuerberater, and we manage the entire Spanish process remotely so that you do not need to travel to Spain.
The six-month deadline is strict. The sooner you contact us, the more options you have.
We guide German families through the entire process — in English, remotely, with fixed fees. Contact us today for a free initial consultation.