By country
What a child pays, country by country.
Each country is read on its national rule for a spouse and children. Where a canton, region or state sets its own rule, the address page carries it.
No inheritance tax at all: 26
| Country | What a child pays | The rule | On the board |
|---|
| UAE | nothing | The UAE levies no inheritance or estate tax. Source: UAE Ministry of Finance. | Dubai, Abu Dhabi |
| Anguilla | nothing | Anguilla levies no inheritance, estate or gift tax. Source: Government of Anguilla. | Anguilla |
| St Kitts and Nevis | nothing | St Kitts and Nevis levies no inheritance or estate tax. Source: Inland Revenue Department, St Kitts and Nevis. | Christophe Harbour |
| Cayman Islands | nothing | The Cayman Islands levy no inheritance, estate or gift tax. Source: Cayman Islands Government. | George Town |
| Antigua and Barbuda | nothing | Antigua and Barbuda levies no inheritance or estate tax. Source: Antigua and Barbuda Inland Revenue. | St John's |
| Turks and Caicos | nothing | The Turks and Caicos Islands levy no inheritance or estate tax. Source: Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands. | Providenciales |
| Bahamas | nothing | The Bahamas levies no inheritance, estate or gift tax. Source: Bahamas Department of Inland Revenue. | Nassau |
| Andorra | nothing | Andorra levies no inheritance or gift tax. Source: Andorra tax code. | Andorra la Vella |
| Gibraltar | nothing | Gibraltar levies no inheritance or estate tax. Source: HM Government of Gibraltar. | Gibraltar |
| Panama | nothing | Panama levies no inheritance or estate tax. Source: DGI, Panama. | Panama City |
| British Virgin Islands | nothing | The British Virgin Islands levy no inheritance, estate or gift tax. Source: BVI Inland Revenue. | Virgin Gorda |
| Barbados | nothing | Barbados levies no inheritance or estate tax. Source: Barbados Revenue Authority. | Platinum Coast |
| Singapore | nothing | Singapore abolished estate duty in 2008. Source: IRAS, Singapore. | Singapore |
| Hong Kong SAR | nothing | Hong Kong abolished estate duty in 2006. Source: Inland Revenue Department, Hong Kong. | Hong Kong |
| Czech Republic | nothing | The Czech Republic abolished inheritance tax in 2014. Inheritances are exempt from income tax. Source: Czech Financial Administration. | Prague |
| Jersey | nothing | Jersey levies no inheritance tax. Probate stamp duty of up to 0.75% applies to Jersey movable estate. Source: Government of Jersey. | Jersey |
| Cyprus | nothing | Cyprus abolished estate duty in 2000. Source: Cyprus Tax Department. | Limassol |
| New Zealand | nothing | New Zealand abolished estate duty in 1992. Source: Inland Revenue, New Zealand. | Queenstown |
| Indonesia | nothing | Indonesia levies no inheritance tax and inheritances are exempt from income tax. A land and building acquisition duty can apply when inherited property is registered. Source: Directorate General of Taxes, Indonesia. | Bali |
| Australia | nothing | Australia levies no inheritance or estate tax. Capital gains tax can fall due when an heir later sells an inherited asset. Source: Australian Taxation Office. | Sydney |
| Austria | nothing | Austria abolished inheritance and gift tax in 2008. A real estate transfer tax still applies when Austrian property passes. Source: Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance. | Vienna, Kitzbühel |
| Israel | nothing | Israel abolished estate tax in 1981. Source: Knesset Research and Information Center. | Tel Aviv |
| French Polynesia | nothing | French Polynesia has levied no succession duty since deliberation 94-141 of 1994. French inheritance tax still reaches an heir resident in mainland France and assets located there. Source: Chambre des notaires de Polynésie française. | Bora Bora |
| Argentina | nothing in the City | Argentina has no national inheritance tax and the City of Buenos Aires levies none. The Province of Buenos Aires, a separate jurisdiction, taxes free transfers (Law 14,044, about 7% for children at the top of its scale) on heirs domiciled there and on assets located there. Source: Province of Buenos Aires Law 14,044, La Nación Dec 2025. | Buenos Aires |
| Mexico | nothing | Mexico levies no federal inheritance tax, and inheritances are exempt from income tax. Source: SAT, Mexico. | Los Cabos, Cancún, Tulum |
| Liechtenstein | nothing | Liechtenstein abolished inheritance and gift tax in 2011. Source: Liechtenstein Tax Administration. | Vaduz |
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Compare them on my income →The tax exists, a spouse and children pay nothing: 6
| Country | What a child pays | The rule | On the board |
|---|
| Monaco | nothing | Monaco exempts a spouse, children and parents. Siblings pay 8% and others up to 16%. Source: Direction des Services Fiscaux, Monaco. | Monaco |
| Montenegro | nothing | Montenegro taxes inherited real estate through its property transfer tax, at 3% up to 150,000 EUR, 5% from there to 500,000 EUR and 6% above, but first degree heirs (spouse, children, parents) are exempt. Source: Montenegro Law on Real Estate Transfer Tax, articles 11 and 14. | Tivat |
| Croatia | nothing | Croatia taxes inheritance at 4%, but a spouse, children and parents are exempt. Source: Croatian Tax Administration. | Hvar |
| Portugal | nothing | Portugal charges 10% stamp duty on inheritance, but a spouse, children and parents are exempt. Source: Código do Imposto do Selo. | Lisbon, Cascais, Quinta do Lago |
| Switzerland | nothing | Switzerland has no federal inheritance tax. The canton sets it: every canton exempts a spouse, and all but Vaud, Neuchâtel and Appenzell Innerrhoden exempt children. Some Lucerne municipalities tax children. Source: Swiss Federal Tax Administration, Homburger, Nov 2025. | Zug, Lucerne (1.6% to 2% above CHF 100,000), Zurich, Lugano, Montreux (up to 6.3% above CHF 1M), St. Moritz, Verbier, Gstaad, Geneva, Zermatt |
| Luxembourg | nothing on the statutory share | Luxembourg exempts children, and a spouse with common children, on what they inherit within the statutory share. Source: Luxembourg Administration de l'enregistrement. | Luxembourg |
Children pay 5% or less: 5
| Country | What a child pays | The rule | On the board |
|---|
| Uruguay | 3% on Uruguayan real estate | Uruguay levies no inheritance or estate tax, but its property transfer tax charges heirs 3% (4% outside the direct line) when Uruguayan real estate passes on death. Source: Impuesto a las Trasmisiones Patrimoniales, Titulo 19, IMPO. | Punta del Este |
| Malta | 5% on Maltese real estate | Malta levies no inheritance tax, but a 5% duty applies when Maltese real estate passes on death. Source: Duty on Documents and Transfers Act, Malta. | Valletta |
| Dominican Republic | 3% | The Dominican Republic taxes an estate at 3% after deductions, under Law 2569 of 1950. The surcharge for heirs living abroad was annulled by the Constitutional Court in 2012 (TC/0033/12). A 2024 Senate bill to repeal the tax has not been confirmed as law. Source: Law 2569 of 1950, DGII. | Casa de Campo |
| Thailand | 5% above THB 100M | Thailand taxes inheritance above THB 100 million at 5% for descendants and parents and 10% for others. A spouse is exempt. Source: Inheritance Tax Act B.E. 2558. | Phuket, Bangkok |
| Italy | 4% above €1M | Italy taxes a spouse and each child at 4% above a €1,000,000 allowance each. Source: Testo unico successioni e donazioni. | Rome, Venice, Tuscany, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Lake Como, Amalfi Coast, Capri, Porto Cervo, Portofino, Milan, Forte dei Marmi |
Children taxed above 5%: 8
| Country | What a child pays | The rule | On the board |
|---|
| Bermuda | up to 21% on Bermuda property | Bermuda has no inheritance tax as such, but estate stamp duty falls on Bermuda property (local real estate, Bermuda dollar accounts, local shares) at 5.25% to 21% above BMD 100,000. A legacy to a spouse is deductible, and so is one designated family homestead where the owner has Bermudian status. Assets outside Bermuda are not in its scope. Source: Stamp Duties Act 1976, Government of Bermuda. | Tucker's Town |
| Spain | set by region | Spain taxes inheritance on a state scale up to 34%, and each region sets its own relief. Several regions reduce the charge for a spouse and children to near zero. Source: Ley 29/1987, regional law. | Madrid (under 0.5%), Palma (nothing), Marbella (under 0.5%), Barcelona, Ibiza (nothing) |
| France | up to 45% | France exempts a spouse, then taxes each child at progressive rates up to 45% above a €100,000 allowance per parent. Source: Code général des impôts, art. 777 and 779. | Provence, Cannes, Nice, Megève, Saint-Tropez, Paris, Courchevel |
| Greece | 1% to 10% | Greece taxes children at 1% to 10% above a €150,000 allowance, €400,000 for minor children. Source: Greek Property Tax Code (Law 5219/2025). | Athens, Mykonos |
| United States | 40% above $15M | The US taxes an estate at 40% above $15M per person in 2026. A US citizen spouse inherits free. Source: IRS, One Big Beautiful Bill Act. | Aspen, Miami, Coral Gables, Naples, Bal Harbour, Palm Beach, Montecito, Newport Beach, Maui, Malibu, The Hamptons, Austin, Beverly Hills, Dallas, San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas |
| Germany | up to 30% | Germany taxes children at 7% to 30% above a €400,000 allowance each. A spouse has a €500,000 allowance and the same scale above it. Source: Erbschaftsteuergesetz. | Munich |
| Japan | up to 55% | Japan taxes heirs at progressive rates up to 55%. A spouse has a large credit. Source: National Tax Agency, Japan. | Tokyo |
| United Kingdom | 40% | The UK taxes an estate at 40% above £325,000, with a further band for a home left to children. A spouse inherits free. Since April 2025 exposure follows 10 of the last 20 years of residence. Source: HMRC. | London |
No local tax, an outside tax reaches the mover: 2
| Country | What a child pays | The rule | On the board |
|---|
| St Barths | nothing locally | St Barths levies no succession duty: article 89 of its Code des contributions exempts the estate of a person domiciled on the island from all local tax. Gift duties apply above a €150,000 allowance per child. French inheritance tax still reaches the estate of a resident of fewer than 5 years, who is treated as domiciled in France, and after that assets located in France and heirs who lived in France for 6 of the last 10 years. Source: Code des contributions de Saint-Barthélemy, art. 89 and 96, CGCT art. LO 6214-4, CGI art. 750 ter. | Gustavia |
| Puerto Rico | nothing locally | Puerto Rico repealed its estate and gift taxes through Act 76-2017, signed on 6 August 2017, for deaths and gifts from 1 January 2018. A US citizen born on the mainland who moves there stays inside the federal estate tax, 40% above $15M. A US citizen born in Puerto Rico and resident there is treated as a non-resident for it. Source: Act 76-2017, Puerto Rico, Journal of Financial Planning May 2019. | San Juan |
Where the rule is set below the country.
St. Moritz: Graubünden exempts a spouse, children and parents since 2021. Other heirs pay the canton 5% to 15%, and St. Moritz adds a communal tax of 2% to 10%.
Lucerne: The canton of Lucerne exempts children, but the City of Lucerne levies its own tax on them, 1.6% to 2% of the full share above CHF 100,000. A spouse is exempt.
Montreux: Montreux is in Vaud, one of the 3 cantons that tax children. A child inherits up to CHF 1,000,000 free. The allowance shrinks above that and is gone at CHF 1,100,000, and a larger share is taxed in full, at a cantonal rate that rises to 3.5% plus the Montreux communal surcharge of 80% of the cantonal tax, 6.3% at the top. A foreigner who never worked in Switzerland pays half, 3.15% at the top. A spouse is exempt.
Marbella: Andalusia gives a spouse and children a €1,000,000 allowance and a 99% reduction of the tax bill above it, so 1% of the tax stays due.
Ibiza: The Balearic Islands give a spouse, children and parents 100% relief on inheritance since July 2023.
Palma: The Balearic Islands give a spouse, children and parents 100% relief on inheritance since July 2023.
Barcelona: Catalonia taxes children with relief that shrinks as the inheritance grows, so a large estate pays a meaningful share.
Geneva: Geneva exempts a spouse, children and parents, except when the deceased was taxed on expenditure, the lump sum, in any of the last 3 final assessments.
Madrid: Madrid gives a spouse and children a 99% reduction of the tax bill, with no cap, so 1% of the tax stays due.
The Hamptons: Federal estate tax at 40% above $15M per person, plus New York estate tax up to 16%. A US citizen spouse inherits free.
New York: Federal estate tax at 40% above $15M per person, plus New York estate tax up to 16%. A US citizen spouse inherits free.
Maui: Federal estate tax at 40% above $15M per person, plus Hawaii estate tax up to 20%. A US citizen spouse inherits free.
Inheritance beside income, gains and wealth tax, country by country: the best countries for high net worth individuals.
Rank all 100 on my own numbers →
