When receiving an inheritance from a relative in the form of cash, property, shares and other objects, it is worth very carefully and scrupulously studying the issue of taxation applied or not applied to the heir. In this case, it is important to know whether you have to pay inheritance tax , what is the deadline for paying it, and whether you can count on benefits.
Inheritance tax - the essence
According to the current tax legislation of Russia, most of the income and receipts in the property of citizens are subject to tax. Inheritance implies the transfer of funds and an object of property into the ownership of the heir, who was responsible for paying inheritance taxes. At the same time, the amount of tax directly depends on the liquid value of the property.
However, due to the withdrawal of property by wealthy citizens to countries with preferential tax rates, and difficulties in paying taxes for citizens with average incomes, the inheritance tax under a will was abolished. For wealthy citizens, the way to avoid tax losses was to move property to freer countries or zones, and for average citizens, receiving an inheritance undermined their financial situation due to high tax rates. So, the tax on bequeathed inheritance in relation to money, real estate, transport, and material assets has been abolished.
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When receiving a bequeathed inheritance, payment of a state fee upon entry into the inheritance is mandatory.
Previously (before July 1, 2005), it was necessary to pay inheritance tax, which was calculated based on the proximity of the family relationship. Heirs paid tax depending on the order (closeness of family ties): first, parents and children, the tax rate for whom was 5% of the value of the object of inheritance. Then - brother, sister, grandmother and grandfather, at a tax rate of 10%. In the third stage, heirs were those who did not belong to the first two groups, and the inheritance tax rate was 20%. The regulation and collection of the tax took place on the basis of instructions derived from various regulatory legal acts (RLA).
Please note that currently the term “inheritance tax” is used to mean payment of state duty. Legislative regulation of its payment is presented in Chapter 63 of the Civil Code.
Volumes of state duty
To register an inheritance, persons who have entered into their rights must pay a state inheritance fee to the state budget in 2020. As long as there is no payment for entering into an inheritance, the notary has no right to issue a certificate. Also, the certificate is issued only on the basis of the provided title documentation.
When referring to the Tax Code of Russia, namely Article No. 333.24, paragraph 22, you can find out that the state duty when entering into an inheritance is directly proportional to family relations with the deceased. In simple terms, this means that inheritance tax in 2021 will be calculated based on the person's current status and the position that he occupies in the family of the deceased.
Clause No. 22 (clause No. 1) states that for recognition of property rights in the order of priority for immediate relatives, 0.3% of the value of the property is paid. But at the same time, the maximum permissible tax threshold when receiving an inheritance is 100 thousand rubles. These persons include:
- spouse;
- natural and adopted children of the testator;
- parent of the deceased;
- sister brother.
In this case, the state duty when registering an inheritance cannot exceed one million rubles.
The tax legislation of the Russian Federation (Article No. 333.35, paragraphs No. 11,12) states that for inheritors who have entered into rights, a relaxation is provided. The following categories of citizens do not need to pay inheritance taxes:
- recognized heroes of the USSR and Russia;
- participants in WWII combat operations and others;
- holders of the Order of Glory.
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There is also another preferential group. When entering into an inheritance, tax is not paid by those who lived with the deceased person in the same apartment, residential cottage or room, and who still live after his death.
Receiving an inheritance most often implies enrichment of the heir thanks to the acquired property. This enrichment can be considered as income. In this regard, the question arises: what is the inheritance tax? The answer to this question is not nearly as obvious as it might seem at first glance. It is necessary to consider not only the tax upon entering into an inheritance, but also mandatory payments after the appearance of new property.
Until recently, heirs were required to pay the established tax on the property received. The amount of this tax depended on the degree of relationship with the deceased and was a certain percentage of the value of the transferred property. However, for some time such payment was abolished. And now there is no need to pay tax on inherited property.
But this does not mean that property can be obtained without any payments at all.
The inheritance tax was replaced by a state duty. It is a mandatory payment that the heir is obliged to transfer to government agencies. It is transferred to a notary who deals with the will or a public notary in the absence of one.
State duty in the form of an indirect tax is paid in any case, regardless of how the inheritance procedure is carried out: by will or by law. Its size also does not depend on the order of the procedure. But it is worth noting that when contacting a notary, the amount may increase due to the lawyer’s fee.
Heirs, most often, do not expect any expenses when receiving property. Therefore, the state fee may come as a very unpleasant surprise for them. It is better to prepare in advance for the fact that it will be necessary to transfer a certain amount to the state. The amount of this amount depends on two factors:
- the degree of relationship of the heir with the deceased testator;
- estimated value of the transferred property.
The degree of relationship determines what percentage of the value of the property will need to be paid. Thus, close relatives are required to transfer an amount amounting to 0.3% of the value of the property. If the inheritance is carried out by distant relatives or even strangers, the amount will increase to 0.6% of the price of the property.
The property valuation consists of the aggregate of valuations of all transferred objects. This could be real estate, a car, securities, bank deposits, etc. Valuation can be cadastral, inventory and market.
Cadastral valuation is carried out by applying to a special state cadastre. Through the Bureau of Technical Inventory you can find out about the inventory value of property.
Information about the market price of an inheritance can be provided by private expert organizations.
The legislation does not limit the choice of assessment. But when choosing, it is worth considering that the market valuation will always be the highest, and the inventory valuation the lowest.
If there are two or more heirs, the state duty must be divided. Each of the heirs will be required to pay only a certain part of the fee, which must be proportional to the share in the inherited property.
It is worth noting that there is a limit on the amount of state duty. For close relatives, this limit is 100,000 rubles. And for other heirs, the state duty should not exceed 1 million rubles.
Disabled people, WWII veterans and some other categories of individuals can count on exemption from paying state taxes.
The sale of inherited property inevitably leads to income for the owner. This means that you still need to pay income tax.
According to current legislation, tax on the sale of inherited property is paid if it has been in the ownership of the heir for less than 3 years.
If the heir had rights to the property for more than 3 years, no payment will have to be made.
The personal income tax rate is 13% of the income received. Moreover, this rate is maintained only when the person lived in Russia for more than 183 days in the current year. That is, for non-residents the income tax will be 30%.
Thus, if the heir decides to sell the property received by inheritance immediately after taking ownership, it will not be possible to avoid additional expenses in the form of personal income tax.
Some categories of citizens may receive benefits for paying personal income tax. To do this, they need to provide the tax service with relevant documents confirming the situation.
In addition to the fact that inheritance promises significant benefits in the form of some material property, it can also lead to very significant costs. If a person inherits a piece of land, a car or real estate, he must fulfill certain obligations.
The main obligation of the owners of such objects is to pay taxes once a year. Each type of property is characterized by its own tax rates and terms. The amount of the tax depends on some defining characteristic of the object. Several aspects are important for a plot of land:
- location;
- plot size;
- market price;
- type of use, etc.
Based on similar characteristics, the tax rate for an apartment, house or other real estate is formed.
The owner of the car is required to pay transport tax, the amount of which depends on the power of the car. The legislation establishes special deadlines for payment of transport tax.
The obligation to pay taxes begins immediately after the heir enters himself as the new owner in the registration structures.
Apartment inheritance tax is a fairly common and relevant topic today. Everyone has close relatives who own a certain type of property. These can be either ancient books or large real estate in a metropolis. After the death of the owner, this property may pass to one or more of his close relatives.
Previously, when receiving property from a relative, a notary tax was issued for the inheritance of an apartment. State duties were levied not only on apartments, but also on rooms, land plots, country houses, country houses, garages, etc. But 11 years ago, the law regulating this procedure was significantly changed.
In 2021, significant changes occurred in the legislation of the Russian Federation. From this period, the tax upon inheritance of an apartment was completely abolished. All of the objects listed above were also subject to this law. The boundaries of such a concept as degree of kinship were completely erased. When completing this procedure, all relatives have equal rights.
A 3-NDFL certificate is optional when inheriting an apartment.
But there are some exceptions to this law. Only those individuals or legal entities who received this property from their close relatives are exempt from paying tax when inheriting an apartment by will. According to the Family Code of the Russian Federation, close relatives are considered:
- Parents and their children. The latter can be adopted.
- Grandparents and their grandchildren.
- Sisters and brothers. The law also takes into account situations where sisters and brothers have only one common parent.
- Persons in a registered marriage.
But do you have to pay taxes when you inherit an apartment from a third party? In this case, the new owner of the property is obliged to pay a state tax to the country's budget. The rate is 13% of the cadastral value of the apartment.
2, paragraph 4 of Article of the Federal Law of 2003 regulates the right not to pay taxes when receiving an apartment by inheritance of the following persons:
- Citizen of retirement age.
- Citizens who took an active part in hostilities.
- Families of citizens who died in hostilities.
- Citizens who received from the state or other groups of persons ownership of property that previously belonged to famous artists.
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Inheritance by will
The person specified in the will has the right to dispose of it as he pleases. A citizen can keep it for himself, divide it among other relatives, or transfer everything to one heir. These persons may not be his relatives. Property can be bequeathed in favor of organizations and the state.
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The will must be certified:
- Notary
- Local executive authority
- Consulate of the Russian Federation.
Tax on an apartment received by inheritance
To the delight of our dear heirs, we hasten to inform you that there is NO need to pay tax on an apartment received by inheritance . It was canceled back in 2006, with the entry into force of Federal Law No. 78-FZ of July 1, 2005, which repealed the previously existing Law No. 2020-1 of December 12, 1991. – “On the tax on property transferred by inheritance or gift”, and made changes to Article 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation – “Income not subject to taxation” (see paragraph 18 there).
This applies to both the case of inheritance by law and the case of inheritance by will. And this does not depend on the degree of relationship between the testator and the heir. In all cases, an inherited apartment is not subject to tax. In this case, there is also no need to file a tax return.
But the heirs will still have to bear some expenses.
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Inheritance tax not under a will
A will is a document where the owner of the property gives instructions regarding the transfer of property into the ownership of other citizens after his death. Inheritance of property not by will presupposes inheritance by law. This happens in the following cases:
- no will;
- the will does not indicate all the property;
- the will is invalid;
- the will indicates the heirs deprived of inheritance;
- no heirs;
- refusal of inheritance;
- other special cases.
For inheritance by law, the main reason for transferring ownership of an inheritance is a family connection with the deceased. According to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the order of inheritance is established on the basis of this characteristic. At the same time, initially the right of ownership extends to the heirs of the first stage. In their absence, disinheritance, court decision, refusal of inheritance, the right of inheritance passes to the second-order heirs, and so on.
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In the absence of a will, or when the heir died before the opening of the will, inheritance occurs by right of representation in the order of priority. Also pay attention to the circle of persons who have a priority right to inheritance by law, specified in Art. 1149 of the Civil Code (parents and children of disabled age, dependents).
Do I need to pay tax when receiving an inheritance not according to a will?
There is no obligation to pay tax on property inherited not by will - regardless of the basis (court decision, inheritance by law), payment is not provided. The only thing is that you will have to pay for the services of a notary for issuing a certificate and notarial acts. The amount of the state duty is established in Art. 333.24 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the legal successor must pay no more than 0.6% of the value of the accepted property for the issuance of documents.
Inherited vehicle tax
Since the inheritance tax depends on the value of the transferred property (real estate, land, vehicle), for this you should obtain an independent appraisal report on the market price. The inventory or cadastral value of the property obtained from authorized state bodies is also taken into account. According to Article 333.25 of the Tax Code, the following have the right to deal with these issues:
- legal entities (public and private);
- independent appraisers if they have a license;
- Forensic expert institutions of the justice authority.
Inheritance and state duty on vehicles apply to all car owners. Therefore, after re-registration of property rights, the successor of the testator undertakes to pay transport tax.
At the same time, if the deceased has debt obligations for taxes, the heir also pays the resulting debt. But he undertakes to pay it no more than the amount of the received fortune. This obligation applies to all citizens who have received vehicles under any type of transaction.
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Legal objects of taxation are:
- personal vehicle;
- motorbike;
- bus and other self-propelled vehicles;
- any moving means on pneumatics or tracks;
- means for air and water space
- snowmobile, motor sleigh.
The state duty on inheritance in 2021 does not apply to special agricultural equipment for farming, fishing vessels, boats with a capacity of up to 5 horses, passenger vehicles (up to 100 horses) and vehicles intended for the disabled and people receiving social assistance.
Taxation varies depending on the region where the owner is located, what category his transport belongs to and, accordingly, on the capacity. According to the Tax Code of Russia (Article No. 363, Part 1), the tax paid must be credited to the Federal Tax Service account no later than 1.11 years following the expired period.
Inheritance tax under a will
A will can be drawn up with the right to transfer property into the ownership of individuals, legal entities and the state. Let's consider the case of inheritance by individuals: a citizen may be a relative or not have a relationship. The division of property into shares is established by the owner independently.
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As already said, the concept of inheritance tax does not apply to inherited property. Only state duty is applied at the rate of: 0.3% for heirs of the 1st and 2nd stages, 0.6% for other heirs (Article 217). These duty rates also apply in case of inheritance not by will, for various types of property.
For certain categories of heirs, there is an exemption from paying state duty when receiving an inheritance. For others, upon receipt of an inheritance, an obligation arises to pay tax depending on the type of property within the time limits specified by law.
Do I need to pay tax when receiving an inheritance under a will?
There is also no need to pay tax when entering into rights under a will - it is enough to pay the state fee. Details for the transaction should be obtained from the notary who opens the inheritance case - you need to contact him within 6 months. from the moment of death of the testator, otherwise the missed period will have to be restored in court and if there are good reasons. Thus, when receiving an inheritance, you do not need to pay income tax.
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Tax upon inheriting a car
The death of the car owner is the reason for opening an inheritance for the vehicle. In this case, all powers of attorney previously issued to him become invalid. The heir submits documents to receive this property by law or will and acquires ownership, and after completing the relevant documents has the opportunity to dispose of it.
When contacting a notary, the car is assessed. The amount to be paid for the issuance of a certificate of inheritance of property is determined. It is calculated as a percentage of the cost: 0.3% for heirs 1, 2 and 0.6% for other queues, respectively.
Important! The market value of a car is determined on the date of death of the car owner.
When inheriting a vehicle, the heir is required to pay transport tax. Its rate depends on the technical parameters of the car.
Payment of the fee is made at the location of the vehicle until October 1 of the year following the end of the tax period. Typically, the owner receives a notice to pay tax.
When selling a car, as in the case of selling real estate, personal income tax will be 13% of the income. The deduction amount is 250 thousand rubles.
State duty when registering an inheritance in court
When there are no controversial issues regarding the distribution of the inheritance, the certificate of inheritance is issued by a notary and there is no need to go to court.
Inheritance claims fall under the category of property claims. The state duty for them is set in an amount that depends on the value of the inherited property:
- up to 20,000 rub. – 4% of the cost, but not less than 400 rubles;
- up to 100,000 rub. – 3% of the cost + 800 rubles;
- up to 200,000 rub. – 2% of the cost + 3,200 rubles;
- up to 1,000,000 rub. – 1% of the cost + 5,200 rubles;
- from 1,000,000 rub. – 0.5% + 13,200 rubles, but not more than 60,000 rubles.
If the heir simply needs to restore the missed deadlines for entering into the inheritance, then the fee will be 300 rubles. in the form of state duty.
Proceedings in inheritance cases are very complex, so it is rarely possible without qualified legal assistance. Lawyer fees vary greatly depending on the region, the qualifications and experience of the specialist, as well as the complexity of the inheritance case. On average, a lawyer’s fee starts at 30 thousand rubles. + a certain percentage of the value of the property if it is won.
State duty upon entering into inheritance
When spouses take over inheritance rights, they must incur additional costs for state fees.
To allocate a share in jointly acquired property, you need to pay 900 rubles. state fees for the application for the allocation of a share, as well as 200 rubles. for receiving an official certificate indicating the assigned share. The fee for technical and legal work is about 3,000 rubles if the share is allocated in real estate, and another about 1,000 rubles. – this is the fee for a certificate for other property.
In some cases, heirs may not pay a state fee for issuing a certificate; their expenses are limited only to the fee for notary services of a technical and legal nature. This is 100 rubles. when inheriting a pension, 1000 rubles. – savings of the deceased (this value may vary depending on the region).
In case of registration of an inheritance outside Russian borders, a state duty in the amount of 1 minimum wage established for the current year is paid.
If the heir has decided to renounce his rights to the inheritance (for personal reasons or because he does not want to take on debt obligations), then he will have to pay 100 rubles for notarization of the renunciation.
If the testator left a closed will, then for the service of opening the envelope with the will you must pay a state fee of 300 rubles, another 4000 rubles. is the fee for technical and legal work. For taking measures to protect property from the estate, 600 rubles are paid. state fees and another 3000 rubles. for additional work.
If, during the process of entering into an inheritance, the formation of notarial requests is required, then a state fee of 50 rubles is paid for each. and additionally about 300 rubles.
Apartment ownership tax (property tax)
After registering the apartment as an inheritance and registering this fact with Rosreestr, the heir becomes the full owner of the real estate, which means he must pay the state an annual tax on the ownership of this property. More information about how an apartment is assessed and how much you need to pay to the state is described in a separate note at the link provided.
calculate property tax for individuals (including on apartment ownership) using the online service on the website of the Federal Tax Service of Russia - here.
Another thing is the sale of an inherited apartment . Different rules already apply here.
How to build an alternative deal with an apartment - see a separate note at the link.
