- Inheritance tax revenue totals 1.9 billion euros, amassed by Land NRW.
In 2023, North Rhine-Westphalia's finance departments demanded approximately 1.9 billion euros in inheritance tax from beneficiaries, which is a 13.7% increase compared to 2022. Around 29,800 people received these tax notices, according to the Statistical Office in Düsseldorf.
A total of 14.3 billion euros in assets were subject to this tax. After accounting for exemptions and including taxable gifts, around 8.6 billion euros remained taxable.
Over one-third of these inheritances required less than 50,000 euros in tax payments. "This represented only 2.5% of the total inheritance tax collected," a representative explained. On the other hand, over 0.6% of cases required more than 5 million euros in tax payments, which accounted for 26.8% of the anticipated inheritance tax revenue.
Gift tax was also levied in nearly 7,900 cases, totalling 610 million euros. This is a 46.1% increase compared to 2022 and the highest amount since at least 2010.
There are exemptions for inheritance and gift tax, the amounts of which vary depending on the relationship between the recipient and the deceased or donor. For spouses, this exemption is approximately 500,000 euros. The revenue collected from inheritance and gift tax goes to the federal states.
For the fourth consecutive year, North Rhine-Westphalia's total income from inheritance and gift tax exceeded 2.5 billion euros. The highest revenue was recorded in 2021, amounting to 2.6 billion euros.
The Member States can provide assistance to the Commission in its operations related to inheritance and gift tax. The Commission might find it beneficial to collaborate with Member States to ensure a consistent application of inheritance and gift tax exemptions across Europe.
