Real Estate in Turkey The Inheritance Law and the Transfer-Inheritance T | Page 2

 The first heirs of the deceased person are the children and the husband or wife who get
a specific share.
 If the deceased person does not have children, his family will be his heirs (father and
mother).
 In the absence of children and parents, the spouse/wife shares the inheritance with the
grandfather of the deceased or his brother.
 If the deceased person does not have relatives alive, the entire property goes to the
husband or wife.
 In the absence of any heirs, all the deceased’s properties will go to the Turkish
government.
The deceased’s properties shall be distributed to the previous categories after the discharge of
the inheritance, if any, the debts of the deceased are paid to banks, installments, or any
mortgage.
According to Turkish law, half of the property will be for the wife and the other half for the
children equally, as the male and female quotas are equal. This leads investors to question
whether their country’s inheritance laws can be followed, which is permitted, provided that it is
applied to all heirs.
Papers required for transferring the property to heirs in Turkey
The following papers must be submitted to each of the heirs in order for the properties to be
transferred:
1. The family statement “inheritance inventory “shows heirs and kinship, certified and
translated to the Turkish language.
2. Registration in the tax register in Turkey and obtaining tax numbers.
3. Valid passport.
4. Providing personal photos.
Are there taxes on inheritance and properties’ transference?
Foreigners are subject to inheritance and transfer tax if the funds inherited or transferred within
the borders of the Republic of Turkey; also whether the heir is living in or outside Turkey, in the
event of receiving funds through inheritance or free transfer.
In comparison with other EU countries, the value of inheritance tax in Turkey is relatively low
and varies depending on the value of the investor's property, where a lower tax rate is deducted
whenever the property price falls.
The inheritance tax rate varies from 1% to 30%, depending on the residence status of the heir
and location of the property.
Thus, when foreigners’ properties are subject to Turkish law, it will inevitably be subject to
inheritance and transfer tax. The tax is divided into two types of properties. Each property has a