- The legal act regulating tax matters is the Act on Inheritance and Donation Tax. The amount of tax depends on the tax group to which the buyer belongs
- In the case of joint inheritance of the inheritance by the children and the testator’s spouse, the inheritance is shared by each of these persons in equal parts
- In order for members of tax group I to be released from the obligation to pay the public levy, they must meet certain conditions. After receiving the inheritance, the person has 6 months to report this fact to the Tax Office on the SD-Z2 form
There are two types of inheritance in Polish law:
- testamentary – in a situation where the deceased person left a will in which he declared his will to transfer the inheritance; a will always takes precedence over inheritance regulations according to the Civil Code,
- statutory – in the event that the testator did not appoint an heir in the will; then the inheritance is based on the provisions of the law.
However, if the parents for some reason excluded the child from inheriting the property in the will, the child has the right to receive the so-called reserved share. Its value is always determined individually. It is usually half of what a child would receive from its parents under the statutory rules. However, the right to a reserved share is not granted if the parent disinherited the child before his death.
See also: Inheritance certificate – what is it and when should it be prepared?
What determines the amount of inheritance from parents?
The legal act regulating tax matters is the Act on Inheritance and Donation Tax. The amount of tax depends on the tax group to which the buyer belongs – there are three groups:
- group I – spouse, descendants, ascendants, stepson, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, siblings, stepfather, stepmother and in-laws,
- group II – descendants of siblings, siblings of parents, descendants and spouses of stepchildren, spouses of siblings and siblings of spouses, spouses of siblings of spouses, spouses of other descendants,
- group III – other buyers.
Parent inheritance tax – how much is it?
In the case of joint inheritance of the inheritance by the children and the testator’s spouse, the inheritance is shared by each of these persons in equal parts. In a situation where the testator left two children with his spouse, each of these people will receive ⅓ of the inheritance. It should be emphasized, however, that according to the law, a spouse can never have less than a quarter of an inheritance share. This is an exception that applies when the testator has more than 3 children. Then the share for all children in the amount of of the inheritance will be divided equally among them.
When the parents are dead, the legally inherited children are always entitled to inheritance. They are then not obliged to share it with anyone. The testator’s children are entitled to statutory inheritance whether they come from or outside of marriage. The method of establishing such origin is also irrelevant to this issue.
How much is the tax on inheritance from parents? In the case of inheritance by persons belonging to group I, the Act on inheritance and donation tax exempts completely from tax on the acquisition of property or property rights. What’s more, thanks to the amendments to the act made in 2020, the scope of people exempt from the tax was extended – adoptive families were also granted the right to do so.
Parent inheritance tax – how to pay?
To members of tax group I have been released from the obligation to pay a public tribute, they must meet certain conditions. After receiving the inheritance, the person has 6 months to report this fact to the Tax Office on the SD-Z2 form. With its help, you should carefully list everything that has been inherited from a given person. In addition to the application itself, you must also provide a copy of an abbreviated death certificate, a marriage certificate (if the spouse of the deceased person is alive), an extract from the original of a notarized or manual will and copies of the heirs’ abridged marital status records.
If there is a delay in filing the notice, then the immediate family member will have to pay tax according to the usual rules. The exception is the situation in which the person found out about the inheritance after 6 months from the date of its announcement – then he has an additional six months to submit all the necessary documents.
However, in 2022 there will be groundbreaking changes to the inheritance tax. According to the envisaged amendment of the Ministry of Finance, the requirement to submit any documents to the Tax Office after inheriting property from the closest person will disappear. This is a very good move that will reduce many human drama related to failure to complete formalities during inheritance.
If the inheritance is taxable, then the tax-free amount is taken into account. For group I, the amount is PLN 9,637. The sum above this value is taxable:
- 3 percent the value of the inheritance should be repaid when the total value does not exceed PLN 10 278,
- PLN 308.30 + 5% the value of the decrease, when the value does not exceed PLN 20 556,
- PLN 822.20 + 7% the value of the inheritance must be repaid when the property exceeds PLN 20,556.
See also: Reciprocal will – an effective solution for a marriage
Parent inheritance tax – do you have to accept it?
If the inheritance is accepted, the heir is responsible for the debts left by the testator. However, it is possible to accept the inheritance with the so-called inventory benefit, which means that debts must be paid, but only up to the amount of the inheritance. On the other hand, you also have the right to reject the inheritance completely. Then an appropriate declaration must be submitted to the Tax Office. If no steps are taken within six months, that will mean acceptance of inheritance with the benefit of inventory.
Tax on inheritance from parents it does not have to be paid, provided that the relevant conditions are met. However, the vision of eliminating formal requirements related to inheritance as early as 2022 is optimistic. in accordance with the newly adopted amendment of the Ministry of Finance.