Technical article
Death Tax at a Glance for Spain, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Greece and Malta: Who Pays and How Much
Italy gives a child the first EUR 1 million before any tax.
Picture a widow in Ohio with three grown children. One lives in Madrid, one in Rome, one in Lisbon. She wonders what each of them would pay if she died. No two of them would meet the same rule. The figures below are what the sources show for a child who inherits, and any amounts are examples only.
In most of these countries the tax falls on the person who receives, not on the estate. That is a change for readers used to the American way, where the estate pays. So the first question is where the child lives and what the child receives.
The six at a glance
| Place | What a child pays | Where it starts or changes |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | 7.65% to 34% on the state scale | The top rate starts at a taxable base above EUR 797,555 (about US$880,000). Regions can change the rates and the reliefs. |
| Italy | 4% on the value above EUR 1 million (about US$1.1 million) per heir | Applies to a spouse and to direct line. Siblings pay 6% above EUR 100,000 (about US$110,000). Others pay 6% or 8%. |
| Portugal | 10% stamp tax on inheritances and gifts, plus 0.8% on property gifts | Spouse, descendants and ascendants are exempt, but the heir still files a declaration. |
| Belgium | Direct line starts at 3% and tops out at 27% in Flanders, 30% in Wallonia and Brussels | The rate follows the region where the deceased lived longest in the last 5 years. A family home passed to a spouse is exempt in all three regions. |
| Greece | 0% up to EUR 150,000 (about US$165,000), then 1%, 5%, and 10% above EUR 600,000 (about US$660,000) | This is the first category: spouse, children, grandchildren, parents. The other categories top out at 20% and 40%. |
| Malta | No inheritance, estate or gift tax | Stamp duty of 5% on inherited property and 2% on shares in a Maltese company. A dwelling to a spouse or direct descendants is exempt. |
What sits behind the numbers
Spain taxes a resident heir on what he or she receives anywhere in the world. A non-resident heir is taxed on assets located in Spain. The regional layer is the part that moves most. Two children in two Spanish regions could meet two different bills on the same sum.
Italy gives a child the first EUR 1 million before any tax. Since the start of 2025 the heir works out the tax and pays within 90 days of filing the return. Transfers out of trusts are taxed too.
Portugal's headline rate is high and the family exemption is wide. The exemption comes from a Portuguese tax-advice site (tier U), while the 10% and the 0.8% come from PwC (tier B).
Belgium is the widest range of the six. Unrelated heirs pay up to 55% in Flanders and up to 80% in Brussels and Wallonia. The Belgian rates here come from a newspaper study in late 2023 (tier U), and PwC says reform is pending in all three regions, so the numbers may move.
Greece taxes Greek property whatever the heir's nationality. Foreign real estate is outside the Greek tax.
Malta has no tax on the death itself. The stamp duty applies to what is inherited, and mostly to property.
You could
You could list each child by country and region, then set the example sum beside the table above. You could ask each child what the local tax office calls the person who files, since in Italy and Portugal the heir carries that duty. You could also check whether a trust sits in the middle, because Italy taxes transfers out of trusts too.
Who it touches
A spouse comes out lightly in several of these countries. Children in the direct line come next. A friend, a stepchild or a nephew can meet the steepest columns, especially in Belgium. Anyone who plans to leave something to a person outside the direct line may want to see that column first.
If one of your children lives in Southern Europe, what did the family find when you looked up the rule where they live? Share it here. Someone else may be about to start the same search.
Figures are estimates for planning, based on public data. Date read: October 2026.
Sources
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries for Spain, Italy, Portugal, Belgium (gifts)
- Greece and Malta (B)
- Brussels Times report on a Het Nieuwsblad study, December 2023, for Belgian inheritance rates (U)
- Portuguese tax-advice site for the Portugal family exemption (U)
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