If a parent died in Spain years ago and the inheritance was never dealt with, it is not lost: the Spanish Civil Code sets no general deadline for accepting it. Inheritance tax did have one: six months from the death. That tax is either time-barred after four years (article 66 of the General Tax Act) or can be filed now with a surcharge and no penalty (article 27). Either way, you must sign and register the inheritance deed to sell, mortgage or release the bank money.
In this article
- What does not expire and what does
- Is the inheritance tax already time-barred?
- If it is not time-barred: a surcharge, no penalty
- Even if it is time-barred, the deed still has to be done
- If another heir has died since
- Steps to catch up
- Mistakes that make the delay more expensive
- When it makes sense to get help
- Frequently asked questions
What does not expire and what does
You can accept the inheritance today even if ten years have passed. The only way to hurry you is a notarial demand: any interested party, such as a co-heir or a creditor, can ask a notary to give you thirty calendar days to accept or renounce. If you do not answer, you are deemed to have accepted outright (article 1005 of the Civil Code). If there may be debts, read inheriting debts and acceptance with benefit of inventory first.
What did have a deadline:
- Inheritance tax. Six months from the death (article 12 ter of Valencian Law 13/1997). Six more if an extension was requested within the first five (article 68 of the tax regulations). In the Valencia region it is a mandatory self-assessment with the Valencian Tax Agency, ATV (article 34.4 of Law 29/1987).
- Municipal capital gains tax (plusvalía). Six months, extendable to one year on request (article 110.2.b of the Local Finance Act), with the local town hall (Valencia City Council for a flat in Valencia city). How it works: municipal plusvalía on an inheritance.
Note that the tax is calculated with the law and the values in force on the date of death, not today's (articles 24 and 9 of Law 29/1987). The 99% relief for children, spouses and parents applies to deaths from 28 May 2023. Before that date it was lower: in 2022, for example, it was 75% for children under 21 and 50% for older children, spouses and parents (article 12 bis of Law 13/1997, as worded that year).
Is the inheritance tax already time-barred?
The tax authority's right to assess the tax expires after four years (article 66 of the General Tax Act, applied to inheritance tax by article 25 of Law 29/1987). They start the day after the filing period ends (article 67.1). With no extension or interruption, roughly four and a half years from the death.
For example, if your mother died in March 2021, the filing period ended in September 2021 and, unless interrupted, the time limit ran out in September 2025.
The four years start again (article 68.6) after any notified action of the tax authority to check or assess the tax, an appeal or claim, or any step you take to settle it, such as filing a self-assessment (article 68.1).
Municipal plusvalía works the same way (article 12 of the Local Finance Act), from the end of its own filing period.
If it is not time-barred: a surcharge, no penalty
If you file before the tax authority contacts you, article 27 of the General Tax Act applies:
- A surcharge of 1% plus 1% per full month of delay, for the first twelve months.
- After twelve months, 15% plus late-payment interest from month thirteen.
- No penalty for paying late. Only if the return shows nothing to pay can there be a fixed fine of 100 euros (article 198).
- The surcharge drops by 25% if you pay the tax and the surcharge on time (article 27.5).
In the Valencia region the tax relief is kept if the self-assessment is filed, even late, before any demand from the authority (article 12 bis.3 of Law 13/1997). Since the surcharge applies to what is left to pay, with 99% relief it is usually small. If the demand arrives first, you lose the relief on whatever was not declared and a penalty may follow (article 191 of the General Tax Act). The surcharges are covered in detail in I missed the inheritance tax deadline.
Even if it is time-barred, the deed still has to be done
A time bar puts nothing in your name. The flat is still registered to your father, and the Land Registry will only record a sale or a mortgage if the person signing is already shown as owner (article 20 of the Mortgage Act), which takes a deed of acceptance and allocation of the inheritance.
The deed also has to go through the tax office. Documents subject to inheritance tax have no effect in any public registry unless they have been filed for tax (article 33 of Law 29/1987), and the Registry also requires the plusvalía to have been filed (article 254.5 of the Mortgage Act). If the tax is time-barred, the deed is still filed, claiming the time bar.
The bank will not release the balances without proof of the tax either, since it would become liable (article 8.1.a of Law 29/1987). We explain this in frozen bank accounts after a death.
If another heir has died since
Your father died, nobody signed, and years later one of your siblings dies too. There are two situations:
- Your sibling had already accepted, in writing or through acts only an heir would carry out (article 999 of the Civil Code). Their share of your father's estate forms part of their own estate.
- They died without accepting or renouncing. Their heirs receive the same right they had, to accept or renounce your father's inheritance (article 1006 of the Civil Code).
That means two inheritances, two sets of documents and two taxes, each with its own deadline and time limit. The division can be done in a single deed, and the Registry records the property in favour of the late sibling's heirs while noting both transfers (article 20 of the Mortgage Act). If your sibling died without accepting, your father's assets pass directly to their heirs and are taxed only once (ruling of the Central Economic-Administrative Court of 10 December 2018). And every death adds signatories: the more there are, the more likely one will not sign. If that is already happening, see what to do when an heir will not sign.
Steps to catch up
- Establish who inherits. Death certificate, last wills certificate and the will. If there is none, a declaration of heirs.
- Take stock as at the date of death. Land Registry extracts and bank balances for that day.
- Work out the dates. End of the filing period, time bar and any tax office letters that interrupted it.
- Sign before a notary the acceptance and allocation of the inheritance.
- File the tax with the Valencian Tax Agency, with a surcharge or claiming the time bar, and the plusvalía with the town hall.
- Register and collect. Land Registry and banks.
Mistakes that make the delay more expensive
- Waiting for the time bar when only months are left. If a demand arrives first, you lose the relief and risk a penalty.
- Using today's prices. The value to declare is the value on the date of death.
- Thinking time-barred means doing nothing. Without a registered deed you cannot sell or mortgage.
When it makes sense to get help
When you are not sure whether the tax is time-barred, when another heir has died along the way, when heirs live outside Spain or someone will not sign. Checking the dates first tells you what to pay and what not. Book a free first consultation.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if an inheritance is not done for years in Spain?
The inheritance does not expire and can be accepted whenever you like. What runs is inheritance tax: either it is time-barred (roughly four and a half years) or it is paid with a surcharge. And without a deed you cannot sell or release the bank money.
Is there a deadline to accept an inheritance in Spain?
No. The Civil Code sets no general deadline. The exception is a notarial demand by an interested party: you then have thirty calendar days, and silence counts as acceptance (article 1005).
When does Spanish inheritance tax become time-barred?
After four years, counted from the day after the six-month filing period ends (articles 66 and 67 of the General Tax Act). Any notified demand or step you take to settle it restarts the clock.
Will I be fined for filing inheritance tax late?
No, if you file before the tax authority contacts you. You pay a surcharge of 1% to 15% and, after twelve months, interest, but no penalty (article 27 of the General Tax Act). In the Valencia region you also keep the tax relief.
Can I sell my father's flat if the inheritance has not been done?
Not without first accepting the inheritance before a notary, although that can be signed on the same day as the sale. It can be registered together with the sale: the Land Registry records the inheritance first and then the sale, because it only records a sale by whoever appears as owner (article 20 of the Mortgage Act).