63% of heirs do not pay a single euro of inheritance tax
During the first quarter of 2026, 32% more has been collected in inheritances and donations than in the same period of last year
BarcelonaAlmost two out of every three people who have to settle the inheritance tax end up with no amount to pay. According to data from the Tax Agency of Catalonia (ATC) obtained by the ACN through a public information request, between 2022 and May 15, 2026, the total number of declarations that had an amount to pay of less than one euro –the vast majority of which, not even a cent– was 482,567. This represents 63.6% of the total, although a downward trend is observed in those who do not have to pay anything for this concept; while in 2022 they were 65.8% of all heirs, the percentage has been falling progressively to 61.3% since the beginning of 2026.
Among the almost half a million taxpayers who have had to settle successions but have not had to end up paying anything, the inheritances they have received have a value of about 63,000 euros per person –which rises to 66,000 with some additions such as life insurance–. The main reason why the majority of taxpayers do not have to pay any amount in Catalonia is that if the person inheriting is the spouse, the bonus is 99%. UAB tax law professor Carmen Jover recalls that this was also the case for children, but since 2020 it is no longer so, because it is now progressive from a 60% bonus down to 0%. "For children who receive a certain amount, the bonus will have little effect," she explains.
Regarding the gift tax, which is not due to death, but as a consequence of transfers of goods or money between living persons, the figures change substantially. Those that settle without having to pay even one euro are 2.7% of the total in the same period analyzed. The most common amounts range between 1,000 and 5,000 euros, one in every three declarations, and practically half do not reach 2,500 euros.
The vast majority of settlements result in a payment because in Catalonia there are no bonuses, Jover recalls, who also adds that the tax rates are lower than in other autonomous regions, with a maximum of 9% for spouses and children –although for less close relationships such as siblings the percentage is from 7 to 32%–. The professor and also president of the Tax Commission of the Association of Economists of Catalonia recommends that, in the case of children, "perhaps a donation" while alive is better than an inheritance because the rate is 9%. However, the assets will have to be taxed as successions if the donor dies within four years after the donation.
The evolution of tax collection
Regarding tax collection, during the first half of 2026, 32.1% more has been collected thanks to inheritance and gift taxes compared to the same period of the previous year. The increase is mainly a consequence of the rise in housing prices and the stock market boom, according to the Department of Economy. Jover, furthermore, adds that the fear of an increase in tax rates on gifts may have accelerated and increased the number of transactions.
Specifically, according to the monthly report on the execution of the Generalitat's public sector budget for June, in the first half of the year, settlements for inheritance and gift taxes worth 692.2 million euros have already been formalized, which represents 65.3% of the amount expected to be collected by the end of the year (1,059.3 million). A figure that shows that it is above the expected performance of this tax, which already exceeds the collection of the first half of 2025 by 32.1%, a year in which it fell by 7.8% compared to 2024.
Catalonia, the highest collector
Changes to inheritance tax bonuses have placed Catalonia in the "high range" of territories in the State with a higher tax burden. According to calculations by the Register of Tax Economist Advisors (REAF), in the scenario of a 30-year-old single child inheriting 800,000 euros from their father, 200,000 of which is the deceased's habitual residence, the tax in Catalonia will be 44,569 euros. It is the third autonomous region among those under the common regime where it is most expensive, but in 2019, before the tax modification related to children, the tax would have been 9,796 euros in Catalonia, the seventh highest figure in the list of autonomous regions.
According to the Ministry of Finance, Catalonia is the autonomous community that collects the most from inheritance and gift taxes. With 2023 data, the Generalitat collected 951.2 million (70% more than in 2019, before the tax modification) while the second territory, the Community of Madrid, received 518.7.
