Those wishing to own and invest in real estate in Turkey often ask their inquiries about the inheritance tax, so what is the mechanism of inheritance and the laws associated with it in Turkey?
Is it possible for the state to acquire the foreign investor’s property after his death?
Are there inheritance taxes? Does the Turkish person differ from the foreigner in the value of the tax?
And many questions that concern every investor about the legacy of real estate in Turkey.
In this article, you will find a comprehensive guide and an explanation of all the matters that are still unknown to some investors, as the Turkish inheritance law guarantees you the preservation of your property.
How to prepare a will and the entry into force of the right to inheritance:
When you become the owner of a house or villa in Turkey, it is natural that the issue of property inheritance concerns you, as the inheritance law in Turkey is similar to the law of similar institutions in other European countries.
How to transfer the inheritance in Turkey and prepare the relevant documents correctly, is a matter that primarily concerns foreigners who are real estate owners in Turkey and hold the nationality of another country.
The principle of foreigners inheriting real estate in Turkey
Turkey adopts the principle of “real estate location” to determine the method of inheriting any property of a foreign person, and the principle of location states that the way in which the legal distribution of inheritance and inheritance takes place is the law of the country in which you reside, that is, the inheritance law in Turkey.
However, there are some exceptional cases related to real estate inheritance laws in Turkey, and the following is an arrangement for the method of inheritance according to Turkish law:
When requesting to limit the inheritance in Turkey, the real estate inheritance laws in force in Turkey are applied.
In the event that one of the legal heirs objects to the method of inheritance distribution, he has the right to apply for the limitation of the inheritance according to the laws of the country whose nationality the deceased owner has, and not according to the inheritance laws in Turkey.
The inheritance restriction laws are approved after making sure that there is no will officially certified by one of the Notre offices in Turkey, “the notary.”
The question here is does Turkish law inherit the entire non-Turkish inheritance?
Yes, all that is left of the deceased is distributed to the inheritors in full after the legacy is cleared
Documents required to transfer ownership to heirs:
* A family statement from the Population Department in his country (inheritance inventory) indicating who the heirs are and the quality of the relationship, certified and translated into Turkish.
* Register in the tax registry in Turkey and obtain tax numbers for all heirs.
* 2 personal photos for each person.
* Passport valid for six months at least and translated into Turkish.
Who are the direct inheritors of the property in Turkey?
In the absence of an officially certified will, the legal heirs of the immovable property are determined according to the following sequential order:
* The first to inherit from the deceased are the children and the husband or wife who receive a specified share.
* If the deceased person does not have children, then his family shall be considered his heirs (father and mother).
* In the absence of children and parents, the husband / wife shares the inheritance with the grandfather of the deceased or his brothers.
* The last heirs of the deceased according to the sequential order in the Turkish inheritance law are the grandchildren and their children.
* If the deceased person does not have relatives alive, then all of his property goes to the husband or wife.
* In the event that there are no heirs at all, then all the deceased’s property goes to the Turkish government.
According to Turkish law, the wife has half the property and the children half, and the shares of males and females are equal, which leads investors to question the possibility of following the laws of their country in the distribution of inheritance, which is permissible provided that it is applied to all heirs.
The inheritance tax imposed on inheritance and transfer of ownership:
Foreigners are subject to the inheritance and transfer tax law in the event that the inherited or transferred funds exist within the borders of the Turkish Republic, whether the heir lives inside or outside Turkey, in the event that he obtained money through inheritance or transfer without compensation.
But compared to other countries in the European Union, the value of inheritance tax in Turkey is relatively low and varies according to the value of the investor’s property, as a lower percentage tax is deducted whenever the price of the property decreases.
The inheritance tax rate varies from 1% to 10%, depending on the residency status of the heir and the geographical location of the property.