The value of the individual acquisition will be the net value of the acquisition, once the charges over the assets and debts have been deducted.

From the 13th October 2021, the net value of the immovable assets will be the so called » valor de referencia» to be published by the «Catastro». This value will be used by the tax agency as the minimum taxable amount in the acquisition of the assets ( either «inter-vivos», by gift or purchase, or «mortis causa», inheritance).

A higher value may be declared by the beneficiary. Does this make sense? Well, yes, if the beneficiary of the inheritance is thinking of selling, they can take advantage of the, occasionally, very high thresholds on inheritance tax for close relatives, to minimise the capital gains.

While the » valor de referencia» is not published by the «Catastro» the value of the inherited assets will be the market value ( or the higher value declared by the beneficiary for IHT purposes). Market value is the price at which an asset may be sold on the open market by independent parties. The same rule (market price or higher) is applicable to any other non immovable assets. There are published tax guides for market prices for cars, bikes or boats.

If there is more than one beneficiary of the same assets, or of the same estate you must take into account the individual acquisition share and make a separate calculation for each beneficiary . The age, kinship and previous wealth of each beneficiary will yield different results.

You must therefore take into account the results of dividing the value of the assets between the number of beneficiaries, if all of them inherit in the same proportion, or just take into account the share of each one, if any one is different from the others.

If some asset is bequeathed or legated to one or more specific beneficiaries, that must only be counted in their particular calculation, along with their share from the rest of the estate, in the event that they are, both, inheritors and legatees.

Please be aware that if the assets belonged to more than one owner ( the deceased and their partner, for example) you can only take into account the value of the share of the deceased.

If some assets are going to be received as property by one or more beneficiaries and as usufructo by another, the value of the asset must be shared between them as explained in the link.

Before  calculating the individual share, you must subtract the value of the house which was the main personal residence of the deceased, assuming it forms part of the estate, according to the limits and requirements  specified in the link.

This reduction, is of equal benefit to all inheritors and is calculated as a proportion of  the share they have in the estate, whether they are going to be the definitive owners or not, unless the house was specifically bequeathed or legated to anyone in the  final will, in which case the reduction affects only the beneficiary.

The same applies in the case of an individual enterprise or professional business or, his or her share in a company  which was the main income of the deceased, or with which he or she ran his or her business.

If the same assets have been transferred two or more times in favour of descendants by way of inheritance within a period of ten years, the amount paid by the previous inheritance can be subtracted from the value of the assets in the second or further inheritance.

THE «AJUAR DOMÉSTICO»

An additional 3% of the value of the estate used to be added by the Tax Office as “Ajuar Doméstico’ ( household items , clothes and other personal non luxury items of the deceased) plus any cars, bikes, yachts, jewellery, furs, antiquities, art and other luxury assets, that were valued separately.

Furthermore the «Ajuar Doméstico» was presumed to exist in all cases.

You could claim that no “Ajuar” was left, or that its value was lower than 3% of the value of your share in the estate,  but this required strong evidence  and was very difficult ( impossible) to prove.

Moreover the inheritor had to remember to include it in the “Autoliquidación” because Tax Administration would add it in any case and therefore correct the Tax Declaration with the corresponding increase and interest.

Fortunately, this rule has been newly interpreted by the Spanish Tribunal Supremo as it was deemed deeply unfair to presume that firstly in all cases there was an «Ajuar doméstico» (even for people who lived alone in a hotel or a residence), and secondly that it was legally value at 3% of all the assets, thus including immovable assets, shares in companies, business equipment, money, or other investments.

Now the criteria is that the » Ajuar Doméstico» is limited to (household items, clothes and other personal non luxury items of the deceased, and its value varies according to the value of the individual assets, not calculated by any legal presumption. This criteria is in Tribunal Supremo court resolution of 10-March-2020 and is repeated in two sentences of the same court dated 19-May-2020 and confirmed with the new one of 19-0ctober-2021 which unifies the doctrine. SO there are assets that can not be «Ajuar Doméstico» ( deposits, funds, shares….) as the » Ajuar Doméstico is only the movable, physical assets that are intended for personal use or household goods. And you can even provide proof that any physical movable asset IS NOT within «Ajuar Doméstico».

Only the inheritor must pay for the “Ajuar Doméstico”. If you are not an inheritor but have been bequeathed an asset, (“Legado”) you do not need to add Ajuar doméstico, only if the legacy is of some household item or personal item which belonged to the deceased.

If you, at the same time,  are an inheritor, and have been bequeathed some assets as “Legado”, you must only add ajuar for the value of your share in the estate ( as an inheritor).

The “Ajuar Doméstico” is not applicable in successions ruled by Basque Country laws.

Some special rules.

IN THE CALCULATOR AT THE TIME OF ENTERING THE DATE OF BIRTH OR DATE OF DEATH, YOU SHOULD FIRST ENTER THE YEAR, THEN THE MONTH AND LASTLY THE DAY.