Pensioner is stressed at the tax authorities: the inheritance has not yet been received, but the tax bill has

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Inheritance 32,000 euros. That sounds like a stroke of luck to many. But for a retiree in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany), this mainly only means a higher tax burden. That in itself would not be a problem if he had already had his inheritance paid out. But he has not yet received the amount, but he has received the bill for the higher tax. Now he has to find the money elsewhere, as the “Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung” writes.

It took four years for the court to find the three possible heirs. A cousin of the retiree died in 2019 and left behind a large estate. Until now, the German lived on a pension of about 1,025 euros. He will now have to pay 3,780 euros in taxes – and that without the money from the inheritance. The retiree will only receive this when everyone involved receives their inheritance. It is unclear to the pensioner how he will pay the amount.

“An inheritance must be declared to the tax authorities”

The senior financial director in North Rhine-Westphalia explains that the tax bill is determined regardless of whether the estate has already been paid out or not. “An inheritance must be declared to the tax authorities,” she tells the “Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung”. If you do not pay the higher tax on time, you will incur a so-called late payment surcharge. For the German pensioner this means: he will probably have to cut back even more. And this continues until the inheritance is finally paid out.

In Switzerland, the cantons set their own inheritance taxes, although the canton of Obwalden and the canton of Schwyz do not levy inheritance taxes.

Source: Blick