When a person dies, all of their assets become owned by his heirs. If you are the only beneficiary of the inheritance, you will have to do less paperwork than if, on the contrary, you have to share it with other people, since it will require time and agreements between all parties to make the distribution.
If you inherit a house, the change of ownership of it is one of the last procedures that you must carry out after the death of the previous owner. “Change ownership of a home that you have inherited is not a mandatory procedure, but it is recommended once you have accepted the inheritance, especially if your intention is to sell or rent the home after awarding it to you”, explains the spokesperson for iAhorro and mortgage adviser on the comparator, Laura Martínez, which adds that, before going to the registry, first “you have to carry out a series of procedures and deliver a few documents”.
Steps to change the owner of a house due to death
The first step will be to process the property succession. An inheritance lawyer can help you when carrying out this hereditary process, starting with the distribution of the inheritance assets up to their adjudication. Next, you will have to pay inheritance taxthe amount of which depends on the autonomous community in which the home is located.
On the other hand, you must register the property in the Land Registry from the town where the house is located or a nearby town, which also entails an additional cost. This step is not required, but it is recommended. “The fact of registering the home as your own certifies that you are the owner of it and gives you right to obtain its usufruct“, qualifies the iAhorro spokesperson. Of course, you will have to make an inscription for each property.
It is important to remember that you will pay a second tribute: the tax on the increase in the value of urban land or, also called, municipal surplus value. This capital gain, assures Martínez “applies to any transfer of property, whether by inheritance, sale or donation and depends on each municipality.” you will have a six month term since you inherit the house to liquidate it.
What documentation do you need to register the property in the Registry?
When you go to register to change ownership of an inherited home You must bring a series of mandatory documentation so that they can carry out the procedure:
- Copy of the ID of the deceased.
- Copy of the heir’s ID.
- Death certificate.
- Certificates of acts of last will or testament.
- In the event that the deceased did not leave a will, you must submit a declaration of heirs granted by a notary.
- In case the heir is the spouse of the deceased, marriage certificate.
- Life insurance certificates.
- Inheritance tax payment certificate.
- Deed of acceptance and adjudication of the dwelling in which a description of the dwelling appears.
- Municipal capital gains payment certificate.
Once all the documentation is delivered, you will have to wait for the house to be registered. This can take up to 15 days. During this period, the interested party is usually asked again if there is any inconvenience to proceed with the registration. In the event that everything follows its course, there will be no further paperwork to carry out.
How much does it cost to change ownership of an inherited home?
The step of registering the change of ownership is not the most expensive part of the whole process, in fact, Depends on home value. Yes, this cost It will never be less than 24.04 euros nor will it exceed 2,181.67 euros. However, paying taxes in advance will increase the costs of this process considerably.
The amount of inheritance tax depends on the place where the house is located and the relationship to have with the deceased. There is three groups: the first, which groups descendants and adoptees under 21 years of age; the second, where there are descendants and adoptees from 21 years of age, spouses, ascendants and adopters; and the third, where second-degree (siblings) and third-degree (nephews or uncles) collaterals are located, and ascendants or descendants by affinity.
According to Law 29/1987 on the inheritance tax establishes a percentage ranging from 8.65% to 34% to which the bonuses of each community must subsequently be applied. For example, in Cantabria the inheritance tax is fully subsidized if it does not exceed 100,000 euros for groups 1 and 2, so if the inherited home is located there, those who belong to those groups will not have to pay a single euro of this tax; if those 100,000 euros are exceeded, the bonus is 90%. In Madrid the bonus is 99% for direct relatives and in the Valencian Community the bonus is 50% for group 2.
Finally, for calculate the amount of municipal capital gains the rate of tax set by each council must be applied to the increase in the value of the land. “The best thing, before accepting an inheritance, is see if you can afford the tax payments both inheritance and municipal capital gains because, if you do not have that money, perhaps it is better that you reject it or it can be very expensive. The same happens if there are also debts in the inheritance,” concludes the iAhorro spokesperson.
