Inheritance tax covers assets acquired upon death. The taxation of your increased capacity should contribute to a fairer distribution of wealth. Inheritance tax does not cover the estate as such, but the inheritance of the individual acquirer.
 
The object of taxation is the acquisition upon death. The following are considered to be acquired on death:

• the acquisition by inheritance, by legacy or on the basis of a claim to a reserved portion asserted
• acquisition by gift in the event of death
• other acquisitions to which the provisions of civil law applicable to legacies apply
• the acquisition on the basis of a contract concluded by the testator, which is acquired directly by a third party at the time of his death (e.B. life insurance contract)

The basis of assessment for the tax is the taxable acquisition. A taxable acquisition is the enrichment of the acquirer insofar as it is not exempt from tax. The transferred assets are valued in accordance with the Valuation Act.

Of particular importance is the valuation of real estate. If necessary, real estate values are determined in a separate procedure by the tax offices. The basis is the fair value of the land. Various valuation methods existed to determine the common value.

Deductible liabilities include all debts that have passed from the testator to the heirs. In addition, legacies, conditions and compulsory portion claims can be deducted. The funeral costs, grave care costs and costs of the estate settlement triggered by the inheritance are also deductible. To compensate for the latter costs, you can consider a lump sum of 10,300 euros without proof.

The tax bracket is also decisive for the amount of the tax. Because the tax class has an impact on the amount of your personal tax rate and allowance. Basically, the inheritance tax is more gentle the closer you are related to the testator.

The amount of the tax also depends on whether material tax exemptions are to be taken into account. Of particular importance from the exemption catalogue are the allowance for household effects in the amount of 41,000 euros for purchasers of tax class I, the allowance for other movable tangible property of 12,000 euros for purchasers of tax class I, the allowance of 12,000 euros for household effects and other objects together for purchasers of tax classes II and III. Also tax-free is in many cases the purchase of a family home.

The Inheritance Tax Act also provides for various exemption options for the acquisition of eligible business and share assets as well as agricultural and forestry assets.