The General Directorate of Taxes (DGT), on which the Ministry of Finance depends, explains that the heirs of a deceased relative can receive the assets of the inheritance without having to pay the fines and tax sanctions that they had pending. This is established in articles 39.1 of Law 58/2003 and 6 of the Tax Penalty Regulations, which differentiate between debts for unpaid taxes and sanctions imposed for violations.
This situation usually occurs when the heirs of a deceased taxpayer are preparing to accept the inheritance and discover that the deceased had open sanctioning files with the Tax Agency. The question raised is whether said succession will force the family members to respond with their assets or with that of the inheritance against those economic penalties demanded by the treasury.
The regulations explain that, in general, the pending tax obligations of natural persons are transmitted to the heirs. Therefore, relatives who accept an inheritance assume the position of the deceased vis-à-vis the Treasury. Now, this rule has an exception and that is when it comes to sanctions, based on the principle that guilt and punishment are not inherited.
Of course, the Treasury explains that this extinction only affects tax penalties. Ordinary tax debts, that is, the amount of tax that the deceased failed to pay at the time (for example, personal income tax or VAT), are included in the estate and can be demanded from the heirs.
The extinction of sanctions is applied automatically after death
In this sense, article 6 of the tax sanctions regime (available in this BOE) expressly establishes the extinction of tax sanctions in “mortis causa” successions. According to the law, tax penalties will not be transmitted to heirs or legatees upon the death of the offending subjects. This payment exemption applies to any fine imposed by the Administration.
Taxes indicates that, once the treasury is aware of the death, the collection of sanctions settled and notified prior to the death of the offender will be suspended and the debt corresponding to them will be declared extinguished.
Therefore, once the death of the taxpayer is proven, the debt derived from the penalty disappears and is not included in the liabilities of the inheritance nor does it fall on the family members.
What happens with ordinary tax debts and how to protect yourself
The regulations also remember that not every debt benefits from this exemption. Since the rest of the deceased’s outstanding tax obligations are required from his successors, the heirs may be forced to pay for unpaid taxes.
To prevent these tax debts from compromising the heir’s personal assets, the Civil Code offers the possibility of accepting the inheritance for the benefit of inventory.
Article 1023 of the Civil Code explains that accepting the inheritance under this formula produces a key protective effect, which is that the heir is not obliged to pay the debts and other burdens of the inheritance except to the extent that the assets of the inheritance reach. This nuance is key, since it guarantees that the heir’s private assets are not confused with those that belong to the inheritance, allowing the protection to be applied even if the tax debts with the Treasury exceed the value of the inherited assets.