Spanish Inheritance Tax for UK Owners

Spanish inheritance tax is a tax charged in Spain on people who inherit Spanish assets, including UK owners of a Spanish holiday home or apartment. It is separate from UK inheritance tax, and because there is no inheritance tax treaty between the two countries, a Spanish property can be taxed in Spain and also counted in a UK estate.

In practice the UK usually gives credit for tax already paid in Spain, so the same asset is not fully taxed twice. This guide sets out how the Spanish charge works, when UK inheritance tax also applies after the reforms that began on 6 April 2025, and how relief is claimed. Figures are current as at August 2026 and are subject to change. This is general information for England and Wales, and it does not cover Spanish law in detail, which needs a qualified adviser in Spain.

The short answer

If you are a UK resident who owns property in Spain, your heirs may face a Spanish inheritance tax bill on that property, and the property may also be counted as part of your estate for UK inheritance tax. Spain taxes the beneficiary, the UK taxes the estate, and the two charges are reconciled through double taxation relief rather than a treaty (gov.uk, Inheritance Tax: Double Taxation Relief, updated 6 April 2025, subject to change). The practical questions are who is liable, where the asset sits, and how relief is applied, which the sections below work through.

How Spanish inheritance tax works

Spain charges inheritance and gift tax, known as the Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones (ISD), on the person who receives the inheritance rather than on the estate as a whole. The rules, reliefs and rates are set partly at national level and partly by Spain's autonomous communities, so the treatment of the same asset can differ depending on the region it sits in and the relationship between the deceased and the beneficiary. Because these regional rules change and vary widely, the current position should be confirmed with the Spanish tax authority (Agencia Tributaria, confirm current rules) or a Spanish adviser, and specific euro thresholds are not set out here.

Two general points matter for UK owners. First, Spanish inheritance tax typically applies to assets located in Spain, such as a property, regardless of where the deceased or the beneficiary lived. Second, Spain applies its own filing deadlines and payment rules, which are administered separately from anything HMRC requires, so an estate can have obligations in both countries at the same time.

Do you also pay UK inheritance tax?

Whether a Spanish property also falls within UK inheritance tax now depends mainly on long-term UK residence rather than the older idea of domicile. From 6 April 2025, someone who has been UK tax resident for at least 10 of the previous 20 tax years is treated as a long-term UK resident, and their worldwide assets, including property in Spain, are within the scope of UK inheritance tax (gov.uk, HMRC Inheritance Tax Manual, as at August 2026, subject to change). For a long-term UK resident, the Spanish home is added to the estate alongside UK assets.

UK inheritance tax is charged at a standard rate of 40% on the part of an estate above the available tax-free thresholds, with a reduced rate of 36% where at least 10% of the net estate passes to charity (gov.uk/inheritance-tax, as at August 2026, subject to change). The main thresholds are set out below.

Source: gov.uk/inheritance-tax. The residence nil-rate band applies where a home passes to direct descendants, and it can be reduced or lost on larger estates because of the taper. These thresholds are frozen until 5 April 2031, the end of the 2030-31 tax year, following the further one-year extension announced at the Autumn Budget 2025 (gov.uk, Inheritance Tax: thresholds, published 26 November 2025), subject to change. Our wider guide to UK inheritance tax explains how the bands combine.

Double taxation: is there a treaty?

There is no inheritance tax treaty between the UK and Spain. The 2013 UK-Spain double taxation convention covers income and capital gains, not inheritance or estate taxes, so it does not stop the same Spanish property being taxed in both countries. Instead, the UK gives unilateral relief: HMRC credits the tax charged by another country on assets sited in that country against the UK inheritance tax on the same asset (gov.uk, Inheritance Tax: Double Taxation Relief, updated 6 April 2025, subject to change).

The credit is capped at the amount of UK inheritance tax due on that asset, so if the Spanish charge is higher, the relief cannot exceed the UK figure and the extra Spanish tax is not refunded by HMRC. Relief is claimed on the UK estate return, and evidence of the foreign tax paid is needed to support it.

Sources: gov.uk, Double Taxation Relief (updated 6 April 2025) and gov.uk, form IHT417, as at August 2026, subject to change.

Practical steps for UK owners of Spanish property

Cross-border estates involve two legal systems and two tax authorities. The points below are common starting considerations.

• Consider a Spanish will for Spanish assets. Many owners hold a separate Spanish will dealing only with their Spanish property, alongside an English will for the rest. This can make administration in Spain quicker, but the two wills must be drafted so they do not accidentally revoke each other.
• Keep your English will current. Your will in England and Wales still governs your UK estate, and it should reflect the Spanish assets rather than ignore them.
• Think about succession law, not only tax. Spain has forced heirship rules that can reserve part of an estate for certain relatives. UK nationals can often choose the law of their nationality to apply, but this is a point to raise with a Spanish adviser.
• Keep records for relief. Evidence of Spanish inheritance tax paid is what supports the UK double taxation relief claim on form IHT417 (gov.uk, as at August 2026, subject to change).
• Check UK guidance for residents in Spain. If you or your beneficiaries live in Spain, the UK government keeps practical guidance at gov.uk, Living in Spain (as at August 2026, subject to change).

Because the two systems interact, this is an area where joined-up estate planning across both jurisdictions tends to save time and cost later. Where the amounts are significant, many people take advice in both countries.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

UK inheritance tax and the double taxation relief rules apply across the whole of the UK, so the tax position for a Spanish property is broadly the same wherever you live in the UK. The differences are in succession and estate administration. Scotland has its own succession law, including legal rights for a spouse and children, and uses confirmation rather than a grant of probate. Northern Ireland has a separate but broadly similar system to England and Wales. If your estate spans more than one jurisdiction, it can be worth taking advice in each.

Frequently asked questions