A person who inherits from one of their parents in the Valencian Community pays up to 14 times more to the treasury than someone in the same situation in Madrid, Murcia, Extremadura or La Rioja. And if he inherited in eight other Spanish autonomies, he would not even have to face that Inheritance tax payment. It is the situation that reflects a study prepared by the company specialized in legal defense Arag.
The strong differences existing in the Inheritance and Donations tax between one and the other territories at the time of inheriting has always generated controversy. A debate that returns to the political foreground before the negotiation for fiscal harmonization announced by the Government of Pedro Sánchez and Esquerra Republicana (ERC).
Arag’s analysis is based on a specific assumption: a 30-year-old person who inherits from one of his parents. In order to be able to compare despite the different bonuses and reduction sections set by each autonomy, the study focuses on three levels according to the value of the heritage to be inherited: 300,000 euros, 500,000 euros and one million euros.
The smaller amount
In the case of the inheritance of lesser amount, and therefore the most common case, it is estimated that a Valencian has to pay 3,582 euros. The Valencian Community is the only one that exceeds the average rate of 1% in this case, in which 50% of the habitual residence is received with an approximate value of 150,000 euros, savings for the same amount and 9,000 euros of other personal effects.
Catalonia stands out behind, which with a rate of 0.78% and an amount of 2,407 euros, almost doubles the following communities on the list, the Balearic Islands and Navarra. In both, the heir must pay more than a thousand euros for the tribute.
These figures contrast with taxation in the rest of the territories. Thus, in half of the autonomous communities, money does not have to be paid for the Inheritance and Donations tax according to the analysis. In four other communities – Extremadura, Murcia, La Rioja and Madrid – and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, the beneficiaries have to pay much lower figures: just over 250 euros.
Valencians are also once again those who suffer a higher tax burden in the second level, for assets of half a million euros. In this case, the differences in amounts and rates between communities are much greater and Castilla-La Mancha and Castilla y León exceed Catalonia and Navarra, which despite this remain in the upper part of taxation. At this intermediate level, a Madrilenian pays 31 times less than a Valencian and 18 times less than a Catalan.
In the last scenario contemplated, for assets already in excess of one million euros, Castilla y León and Aragón, with rates of 14.5% and 11.6%, respectively, exceed both the Valencian Community and Catalonia, which place them between 7% and 9%.
exceptions
On the opposite side, Cantabria and Galicia are the only two regions in which the existing bonuses and reductions leave the fiscal impact at zero euros for the three cases analyzed. Andalusia and the Canary Islands are other regions that stand out for their low tax rates in all the scenarios proposed.
For María Esther González, tax lawyer from Arag responsible for the study, in the case of inheritances of less high net worth, the amount to be paid in each region “is closely associated with the reduction due to kinship”, which in the case of the Valencian Community ” is very low, practically non-existent”, compared to other territories.
The result of the ranking is similar to the one that the firm made in 2019 and that was also headed by the Valencian Community. According to González, there have been relevant modifications in four autonomies since the previous study in the inheritance tax regulations. “In the case of Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia and La Rioja, they have increased taxation because they have reduced the applicable bonuses. The only one that has gone in the opposite direction has been Galicia, which has extended the reduction from 400,000 to one million euros” , point.