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Inheritance & Estate Tax by Country 2026

What happens to your estate — and your heirs' inheritance — across 24 popular relocation destinations. Who's exempt, the top rate a distant heir can face, and the part that catches expats out: whether non-residents are taxed on worldwide assets or only local ones.

Data refreshed:todayUpdated Q2 2026CC BY 4.024 countriesJSON APICSV

Data refreshed 2026-05-27 · Sources: PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, national tax authorities (IRS, HMRC, Agencia Tributaria, Agenzia delle Entrate, etc.), and Big-Four / law-firm country guides (2025–2026). Full methodology · sources index.

Quick answer

Of 24 popular relocation destinations, 13 levy no inheritance or estate tax at all — including Portugal, Malta, Cyprus, Sweden, United Arab Emirates. Most continental-European systems tax the beneficiary (with large spouse and child allowances), while the US and UK tax the estate. The steepest top rate a beneficiary can face is 60% (France). The biggest expat trap is the US: non-residents owning US real estate or US stocks face up to 40% estate tax on anything above just $60,000 of US-situs assets. The UK's April 2025 reform also pulls your worldwide estate into scope once you've been UK-resident 10 of the last 20 years.

Key facts

13 of 24 destinations: no inheritance tax Portugal, Malta, Cyprus, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Malaysia, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Australia, Canada, New Zealand — though some still levy capital gains at death (Canada, Australia) or stamp duty on transfers (Portugal, Malta).
US $60,000 situs trap Non-US persons owning US real estate or US-listed stocks face up to 40% US estate tax above just $60,000 — versus a ~$14M exemption for US citizens.
UK April-2025 reform The test moved from domicile to residence: once UK-resident 10 of the last 20 years, your worldwide estate is in scope at 40% above ~£325k–£500k.
Spouses + children usually win Portugal, Italy (€1M allowance + 4%), France, Germany (€400k–€500k allowances) and others heavily favour close family; Portugal and many no-tax countries charge them nothing.
Steepest distant-heir rates France (60%) and some Swiss cantons (~50%) top the table for unrelated beneficiaries; regional rules (Spain, Switzerland, Germany) swing the bill dramatically.

Country	Model	Spouse	Children (top)	Distant (top)	Non-residents
Malta	None	—	—	—	None
Cyprus	None	—	—	—	None
Sweden	None	—	—	—	None
United Arab Emirates⚠	None	—	—	—	None
Singapore	None	—	—	—	None
Malaysia	None	—	—	—	None
Mexico	None	—	—	—	None
Panama	None	—	—	—	None
Costa Rica	None	—	—	—	None
Australia⚠	None	—	—	—	Local assets
Canada⚠	CGT at death	Exempt	—	—	Local assets
New Zealand	None	—	—	—	None
Portugal⚠	Stamp duty	Exempt	—	10%	Local assets
Italy	Beneficiary	Exempt	4%	8%	Mixed
Thailand	Estate tax	Exempt	5%	10%	Mixed
Ireland	Beneficiary	Exempt	33%	33%	Mixed
Spain⚠	Beneficiary	Partial	34%	34%	Local assets
United States⚠	Estate tax	Partial	40%	40%	Local assets
United Kingdom⚠	Estate tax	Exempt	40%	40%	Mixed
Greece	Beneficiary	Partial	10%	40%	Local assets
Netherlands	Beneficiary	Partial	20%	40%	None
Germany	Beneficiary	Partial	30%	50%	Mixed
Switzerland⚠	Beneficiary	Exempt	26%	50%	Local assets
France	Beneficiary	Exempt	45%	60%	Mixed

Top rates shown are top marginal rates; most close-family inheritances pay far less after allowances. “—” means no tax or fully exempt. ⚠ marks an expat trap worth reading below.

Expat traps worth knowing

United States: Non-US persons owning US real estate or US stocks face up to 40% US estate tax on anything above $60,000 of US-situs assets — a common, overlooked trap.
United Kingdom: April 2025 reform: once you've been UK-resident 10 of the last 20 years, your WORLDWIDE estate is in scope — and it lingers after you leave.
Portugal: A favourite for retirees: spouse and children inherit Portuguese assets with zero tax.
Spain: Location is the whole game: regional rebates can take close-family bills near zero, while multiplier coefficients (up to 2.4×) can push a distant, wealthy heir's effective rate toward ~82%.
Switzerland: There is no national rate — the canton of residence (or of the property) decides everything.
United Arab Emirates: No tax, but without a registered will, assets are distributed under Sharia rules — expats should plan succession explicitly.
Australia: Inheriting then selling Australian property as a foreign resident can trigger CGT with no main-residence relief.
Canada: It's not an inheritance tax, but the deemed-disposition capital-gains bill at death can be substantial.

Methodology

One record per country: tax model (estate vs beneficiary vs none), spouse + direct-descendant treatment, top distant-heir rate, and non-resident basis.
Rates are top marginal rates. Actual bills depend on relationship, allowances, asset type, and amount.
“No inheritance tax” can still mean capital gains at death (Canada deemed disposition, Australia CGT) or a transfer stamp duty (Portugal 10%, Malta 5%).
Regional systems (Spain by comunidad, Switzerland by canton, Germany by class) vary substantially below the national level — tagged medium confidence.
Directional comparison only — not legal or tax advice. Confirm with a cross-border estate-planning advisor.

Sources: PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, national tax authorities, and Big-Four / law-firm country guides (2025–2026). Full methodology

Plan your move with the full picture

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How to cite this data:

WhereNext. "Inheritance & Estate Tax by Country 2026." getwherenext.com/data/inheritance-tax-2026. Accessed 2026-05-27.

Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Free to use with attribution.

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WhereNext composite — Inheritance & Estate Tax 2026 (2026-05-27). Derived from: PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries (2025-2026); National revenue authorities (IRS, HMRC, AEAT, AdE, BMF, DGFiP, etc.); Big-Four / law-firm country estate-tax guides; WhereNext curated comparative research. Available at https://getwherenext.com/data/inheritance-tax-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation. CC BY 4.0.

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@misc{wherenext_getwherenext_com_data_inheritance_tax_2026,
  author = {{WhereNext}},
  title = {Inheritance & Estate Tax 2026},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://getwherenext.com/data/inheritance-tax-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation},
  note = {CC BY 4.0}
}

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Inheritance & Estate Tax by Country 2026

Data refreshed:todayUpdated Q2 2026CC BY 4.024 countriesJSON APICSV

Country

Model

Spouse

Children (top)

Distant (top)

Malta

None

—

Cyprus

None

—

Sweden

None

—

United Arab Emirates⚠

None

—

Singapore

None

—

Malaysia

None

—

Mexico

None

—

Panama

None

—

Costa Rica

None

—

Australia⚠

None

—

Canada⚠

CGT at death

Exempt

—

New Zealand

None

—

Portugal⚠

Stamp duty

Exempt

—

10%

Italy

Beneficiary

Exempt

Thailand

Estate tax

Exempt

10%

Ireland

Beneficiary

Exempt

33%

Spain⚠

Beneficiary

Partial

34%

United States⚠

Estate tax

Partial

40%

United Kingdom⚠

Estate tax

Exempt

40%

Greece

Beneficiary

Partial

10%

40%

Netherlands

Beneficiary

Partial

20%

40%

Germany

Beneficiary

Partial

30%

50%

Switzerland⚠

Beneficiary

Exempt

26%

50%

France

Beneficiary

Exempt

45%

60%

Expat traps worth knowing

United States: Non-US persons owning US real estate or US stocks face up to 40% US estate tax on anything above $60,000 of US-situs assets — a common, overlooked trap.

United Kingdom: April 2025 reform: once you've been UK-resident 10 of the last 20 years, your WORLDWIDE estate is in scope — and it lingers after you leave.

Portugal: A favourite for retirees: spouse and children inherit Portuguese assets with zero tax.

Spain: Location is the whole game: regional rebates can take close-family bills near zero, while multiplier coefficients (up to 2.4×) can push a distant, wealthy heir's effective rate toward ~82%.

Switzerland: There is no national rate — the canton of residence (or of the property) decides everything.

United Arab Emirates: No tax, but without a registered will, assets are distributed under Sharia rules — expats should plan succession explicitly.

Australia: Inheriting then selling Australian property as a foreign resident can trigger CGT with no main-residence relief.

Canada: It's not an inheritance tax, but the deemed-disposition capital-gains bill at death can be substantial.

Methodology

One record per country: tax model (estate vs beneficiary vs none), spouse + direct-descendant treatment, top distant-heir rate, and non-resident basis.

Rates are top marginal rates. Actual bills depend on relationship, allowances, asset type, and amount.

“No inheritance tax” can still mean capital gains at death (Canada deemed disposition, Australia CGT) or a transfer stamp duty (Portugal 10%, Malta 5%).

Regional systems (Spain by comunidad, Switzerland by canton, Germany by class) vary substantially below the national level — tagged medium confidence.

Directional comparison only — not legal or tax advice. Confirm with a cross-border estate-planning advisor.

Sources: PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, national tax authorities, and Big-Four / law-firm country guides (2025–2026). Full methodology

WhereNext composite — Inheritance & Estate Tax 2026 (2026-05-27). Derived from: PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries (2025-2026); National revenue authorities (IRS, HMRC, AEAT, AdE, BMF, DGFiP, etc.); Big-Four / law-firm country estate-tax guides; WhereNext curated comparative research. Available at https://getwherenext.com/data/inheritance-tax-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation. CC BY 4.0.

WhereNext. "Inheritance & Estate Tax 2026." WhereNext, 27 May 2026, https://getwherenext.com/data/inheritance-tax-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation. Accessed via https://getwherenext.com/data/inheritance-tax-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation. CC BY 4.0.

@misc{wherenext_getwherenext_com_data_inheritance_tax_2026, author = {{WhereNext}}, title = {Inheritance & Estate Tax 2026}, year = {2026}, url = {https://getwherenext.com/data/inheritance-tax-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation}, note = {CC BY 4.0} }