Inheriting Property in Spain as a Non-Resident: A Step-by-Step Guide for British Heirs
Receiving a property inheritance in Spain is, for many British families, an emotionally charged and logistically demanding experience. If you live in the UK and have inherited a villa, apartment, or plot of land in Spain, you are stepping into a dual legal and fiscal world that carries firm deadlines, unfamiliar paperwork, and, since Brexit, requirements that did not exist before the United Kingdom left the European Union.
The process is entirely manageable with the right professional guidance. This guide explains what you need to do and why each step matters, particularly if the property sits in popular expatriate destinations such as Alicante, Orihuela Costa, the Region of Murcia, or Almería.
A note before we begin: the Spanish inheritance system is complex, and tax figures, reliefs, and deadlines vary significantly by region and individual circumstances. Throughout this guide we explain the legal framework and direct you to seek specialist advice rather than rely on general figures that may not apply to your situation.
Step One: Legalising Your UK Documents
The Spanish legal system will not accept UK documents at face value. Before any notary or tax authority in Spain will engage with your case, the core estate documents, typically the death certificate, the last will and testament, and the grant of probate or letters of administration, must be formally authenticated. This is a two-stage process.
First, each document must receive a Hague Apostille, issued in the United Kingdom by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). Second, it must undergo a sworn translation into Spanish by a translator officially registered with the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Standard commercial translators are not accepted.
Presenting documents that are not correctly apostilled and translated will cause the notary to suspend proceedings and prevent the property being registered in your name. Begin this process as soon as possible, international processing times can erode the time available for subsequent legal steps.
Step One: Legalising Your UK Documents
First, each document must receive a Hague Apostille, issued in the United Kingdom by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). Second, it must undergo a sworn translation into Spanish by a translator officially registered with the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Standard commercial translators are not accepted. Presenting documents that are not correctly apostilled and translated will cause the notary to suspend proceedings and prevent the property being registered in your name. Begin this process as soon as possible, international processing times can erode the time available for subsequent legal steps.
Step Two: Obtaining Your NIE or NIF
Every non-resident heir must obtain a Número de Identidad de Extranjero (NIE) or Número de Identificación Fiscal (NIF). They will be used as your Spanish Tax Identification Number. Without one, you cannot pay inheritance tax, open a Spanish bank account, or register the property in your name at the Land Registry.
UK-based applicants can apply for the NIE through the Spanish Consulates in London, Manchester, or Edinburgh. Alternatively, a Spanish solicitor holding a notarised Power of Attorney can submit the application in Spain, which is often the more efficient route.
The application requires the official EX-15 form, a valid passport and certified copy, and documentary evidence of the legal reason for the NIE, in this context, translated copies of the death certificate and the will naming you as a beneficiary.
Consular appointments are often subject to lengthy waits, and given the strict six-month tax filing deadline, you must act immediately.
Finally, the Spanish Public Notary, through your solicitor holding a notarised Power of Attorney, can apply for the NIF.
Step Two: Obtaining Your NIE or NIF
Spain maintains a national registry of wills. Before any succession can proceed, you must obtain a Certificado de Actos de Última Voluntad, the Last Will Certificate, confirming whether the deceased registered a Spanish will with a notary and, if so, which notary holds the original. This document is mandatory.
The certificate cannot be requested until a set number of working days have elapsed since the death. For UK-based heirs without a Spanish digital certificate, the application must be sent by post to the Ministry of Justice in Madrid, accompanied by the apostilled and translated death certificate. International postal delays routinely extend this process by several weeks.
At the same time, request the Certificate of Insurance Contracts for Death Coverage, which searches a central database for any Spanish life insurance policies the deceased may have held. Both use the same procedure and should be submitted simultaneously.
A Post-Brexit Warning: Military Authorisation for Coastal Properties
This is one of the most significant, and most overlooked, consequences of Brexit for British heirs. Under Spanish legislation dating from 1975, non-EU nationals must obtain explicit military authorisation from the Ministry of Defence before acquiring real estate in designated strategic and coastal zones. When the UK was an EU member, British citizens were exempt. That exemption no longer applies.
In December 2023, the Directorate General for Legal Security and Faith confirmed definitively that this obligation extends to inheritances as well as purchases.
The affected areas include the province of Alicante (including Orihuela Costa), the Region of Murcia, the Almería coast, the Balearic Islands, and the Canary Islands.
However, this requirement is mitigated insofar as military authorisation will not be necessary in two cases that relate to the objective reality of the property and not to the status of the purchaser: A) Those centres and areas that were declared of national tourist interest under Law 197/1963, of 28 December (former Article 18, penultimate paragraph). In this regard, see the Resolution of the DGRN of 29 January 2004, BOE of 8 March 2004. B) Military authorisation shall also not be required when the property is affected by a General Urban Development Plan that has been favourably reported by the Ministry of Defence (former Article 35 of the Regulation of 10 February 1978).
Anyway, any British heir inheriting coastal property in Spain must seek specialist legal advice immediately to check if the inherited property is accepted.
Once the inheritance is formally accepted, you must apply for the permit within three months. Processing typically takes many months, well beyond the six-month tax deadline, meaning you may need to pay tax on an asset you cannot yet fully register.
If the Ministry of Defence denies the authorisation, you are legally required to sell the property to a Spanish or EU national within one year. Failure to do so can result in compulsory expropriation by the state.
Filing Spanish Inheritance Tax as a Non-Resident
The Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones (ISD) must be filed within six months of the date of death. As a non-resident, you file with the national tax agency (AEAT) using Form 650, not with the regional tax offices, and you are taxed only on assets physically located in Spain. Your UK property, savings, and other worldwide assets fall outside the scope of Spanish inheritance tax. The regional law that governs the reliefs and rate applicable to your case is determined by where the deceased’s Spanish assets are of highest total value.
British nationals, including post-Brexit, are legally entitled to benefit from the same regional tax reliefs as Spanish residents, following a European Court of Justice ruling in 2014 and subsequent Spanish legislative reform in 2021. Your solicitor will need to assert this right explicitly on the AEAT filing. Non-EU heirs are also typically required to appoint a Spanish-resident tax representative to liaise with the tax authority on their behalf.
Regional Inheritance Tax Reliefs: Where the Property Is Located Matters
The amount of inheritance tax you face in Spain depends almost entirely on which Autonomous Community the property sits in. For direct relatives, children, spouses, and parents, the three regions where British expatriate property is most concentrated have introduced very generous reliefs that, in most cases, bring the effective tax bill close to zero.
In Andalusia, which covers the province of Almería, a substantial flat reduction applies to the taxable base for direct relatives, alongside a near-total bonus on any remaining liability. In the Region of Murcia, a high percentage rebate on the final tax quota produces a similarly low effective burden for most families. The Valencian Community, covering Alicante and Orihuela Costa, introduced a sweeping reform in late 2023 that reinstated a generous bonus for direct relatives, regardless of the heir’s overall personal wealth.
The exact qualifying conditions and individual calculations differ between regions and depend on the specific circumstances of the estate. Contact a specialist solicitor to understand your precise liability before filing.
Do Not Overlook the Plusvalía Municipal
Many British heirs focus on the regional inheritance tax and overlook a separate municipal levy: the Plusvalía Municipal, formally known as the Impuesto sobre el Incremento de Valor de los Terrenos de Naturaleza Urbana. This tax is charged by the local town hall on the theoretical increase in value of the urban land since the deceased acquired the property. The filing deadline is the same as for inheritance tax, six months from the date of death.
Following Constitutional Court rulings in 2021, heirs can now choose between two calculation methods and select whichever is more favourable. If the land has not increased in value since the deceased originally purchased it, you may be entirely exempt, though you must still submit a formal declaration. Some municipalities offer significant bonuses on the Plusvalía for inheritances involving the deceased’s main residence. A solicitor with local knowledge of the relevant town hall ordinances will ensure you select the optimal method and claim any available relief.
The UK Tax Dimension: What Many British Heirs Miss
There is no inheritance tax treaty between the United Kingdom and Spain. The double taxation agreement between the two countries covers income and capital gains, it does not extend to inheritance.
This means a British heir may face tax in both countries simultaneously. Spain taxes the Spanish property under the law of the place where it is situated; HMRC taxes the worldwide estate of any UK-domiciled deceased person where the total value exceeds the applicable thresholds.
The UK does provide some relief: under Section 159 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984, HMRC grants a unilateral credit for inheritance tax actually paid in Spain, capped at the UK tax attributable to the same asset. The critical word is ‘actually paid’. If you have benefited from generous Spanish regional reliefs and paid little or no tax in Spain, the credit available is correspondingly minimal, and the Spanish property may be fully exposed to UK Inheritance Tax at the standard rate.
This is the paradox that catches many British families off guard: the very generosity of the regional Spanish tax regimes can result in greater exposure to UK tax, because there is nothing to offset against the HMRC bill. Early, coordinated advice from a professional experienced in both Spanish and UK succession law is the only reliable way to manage this risk.
How ABAD Abogados Can Help
Inheriting property in Spain from the UK involves strict deadlines, complex documentation requirements, two separate tax systems, and for many coastal properties, a post-Brexit military authorisation process.
Getting any element wrong can be costly and, in some cases, irreversible.
ABAD Abogados has extensive experience guiding British clients through the full inheritance process in Alicante, Orihuela Costa, Murcia, and Almería, from NIE applications and apostille coordination to AEAT tax filings, Plusvalía declarations, and Land Registry registration.
If you have recently lost a family member who owned property in Spain, contact ABAD Abogados today to arrange a consultation.
About Mr Isaac Abad Garrido
Mr Isaac Abad Garrido is the Senior Partner at ABAD & ASOCIADOS Lawyers & Accountants, with over 25 years of experience specialising in Real Estate Law, Tax Law, Corporate Law, Bankruptcy Law, Business Restructuring, and Community Administration.
He has been consistently recognised among The Best Lawyers in Spain™ from 2020 to 2025 for excellence in Tax Law, and in 2022, he was named “Lawyer of the Year” in Tax Law (Murcia, Spain).
A member of the International Bar Association, he is also an Associate Partner of the Spanish Royal Academy of Jurisprudence and Law. Additionally, he serves as a Professor at the University of Murcia, teaching Tax Law, and is a regular contributor to leading international tax law publications, including Newsweek.
Mr Abad Garrido holds degrees in Law, Business Administration, and Accounting, complemented by postgraduate studies at IE Business School. He is a Certified Auditor registered with the Official Registry of Auditors (ROAC).
For legal enquiries, visit abadabogados.com or connect with Mr Abad Garrido on LinkedIn.
