Filing inheritance and gift tax in the Canary Islands: modelos 650 and 651, the deadlines, the right office and the reference value

In the Canary Islands a son who inherits his mother's flat, or a daughter who receives a gift of money from her parents, may owe almost nothing in inheritance and gift tax. The return still has to be filed, on the right form, within a deadline that is counted in months and with the right tax office, and until it is filed the bank will not release the accounts and the Land Registry will not put the flat in the new name. Whether a gift or an inheritance costs less is a question our colleagues at Olga Caballero work through in their piece on giving to your children in the Canaries. This note is about the filing itself: which form, which office, how long you have, what the property is worth for the tax, which papers go with the return and how it is paid.

The forms

Inheritances are declared on modelo 650 and gifts on modelo 651. In the Canaries the inheritance form comes with a companion, modelo 660, which lists everything the deceased owned and is common to everyone with an interest in the estate; the Canary Tax Agency's help program generates a modelo 650 for each heir from it. The heirs can file together, with one 660 and all their 650s, or one by one, each with a 660 of their own, and the Agency warns that returns for the same estate that do not list the same assets at the same values may be selected for checking (Agencia Tributaria Canaria, modelo 650 page, as read on 6 October 2026). Self-assessment is compulsory in the Canaries: the taxpayer calculates the tax and pays it when filing (Ley 29/1987, articles 31 and 34).

Which office

Two administrations collect this tax, and the question of where to file is separate from the question of which rules apply. The tax is handed over to the regions only for the yield de los sujetos pasivos residentes en España, of taxpayers resident in Spain (Ley 22/2009, article 32). When the person who died, or the person who receives, lived outside Spain, the return goes to the State's tax agency, to a single office in Madrid, the Oficina Nacional de Gestión Tributaria. The rules can still be the Canary ones: the State agency says that todos los sujetos pasivos pueden optar por la normativa estatal o autonómica, all taxpayers may choose the State rules or the regional ones, whether they live in the European Union or in a third country, following the connecting points of the Act's second additional provision (Agencia Tributaria, questions and answers on inheritance and gift tax for non-residents, as read on 6 October 2026).

The table follows the State agency's own tables of competence. On two points the Canary agency's page on modelo 651 reads differently: among those who file with it, it lists donees who live abroad when the greatest value of what they receive is in the Canaries, and donees who live in the Canaries and are given a property abroad. Until the two agencies say the same, a donee in either position should confirm with both offices, in writing, before filing.

Residence here means the region where the person spent most days of the five years before the death or the gift (Ley 22/2009, article 28; Ley 29/1987, second additional provision), and the Canary agency asks for the historical certificate of registration at the town hall: the deceased's for an inheritance, the donee's for a gift of money or other movable assets.

Two rules catch families who live between two countries. A person who lives in Spain is taxed on what he or she inherits con independencia de dónde se encuentren situados los bienes o derechos, wherever the assets or rights are situated (Ley 29/1987, article 6): a resident of Fuerteventura who inherits a house in another country from a parent who lived there files modelo 650 with the Madrid office, and may deduct the similar tax paid abroad within the limit the Act sets (article 23). And an heir or donee who lives outside the European Union has to name, before the filing deadline ends, a person or company resident in Spain to represent them before the tax office; those who live in a State of the European Economic Area with which rules on mutual assistance exist are exempt (Real Decreto 1629/1991, article 18). That duty reaches heirs who live in the United Kingdom.

How long you have

For an inheritance the Canary rule and the State rule are the same: the return is filed en el de seis meses, contados desde el día del fallecimiento del causante, within six months counted from the day of the death (Decreto Legislativo 1/2009, article 27). For a gift they are not. In the Canaries it is filed en el de un mes, a contar desde el momento en que se cause el acto o contrato, within one month from the moment of the act or contract; at the State agency the regulation gives en el de treinta días hábiles, a contar desde el siguiente a aquel en que se cause el acto o contrato, thirty working days from the day after it (Real Decreto 1629/1991, article 67). The same deed therefore has a shorter clock at the Canary agency than at the Madrid office.

The inheritance deadline can be extended once, by another six months. The request must be made dentro de los cinco primeros meses del plazo de presentación, within the first five months of the filing period, and silence works in the heirs' favour: Transcurrido un mes desde la presentación de la solicitud sin que se hubiese notificado acuerdo, se entenderá concedida la prórroga, if a month passes from the request without a decision being notified, the extension is taken as granted (article 68). It has a price, late-payment interest from the end of the first six months, and in the Canaries it is personal: únicamente se aplicará la prórroga del impuesto a aquellos herederos o legatarios que la soliciten expresamente, the extension applies only to the heirs or legatees who ask for it expressly. A lawsuit over the estate interrupts the deadline, which starts again when the judgment is final (article 69).

One Canary deadline is new, added by a Canary Act of December 2025 (Ley 9/2025): a taxpayer who stops meeting the conditions of a Canary tax relief must file a complementary return dentro del plazo de un mes desde el día siguiente a aquel en que se produzca el hecho determinante del incumplimiento, within one month from the day after the event that breaks the condition, and pay what was saved, with interest (Decreto Legislativo 1/2009, article 27).

What the property is worth

For this tax a property is not worth what the family thinks or what the deed of the last purchase says. The Act fixes it: su valor será el valor de referencia previsto en la normativa reguladora del catastro inmobiliario, a la fecha de devengo del impuesto, its value shall be the reference value laid down in the rules of the property cadastre, on the date the tax accrues, which is the day of the death or of the gift; if the value declared is higher, the declared value counts (Ley 29/1987, articles 9 and 24). The reference value comes from the Catastro, and the return must state the cadastral reference of every property. Where a property has no reference value, or the Catastro cannot certify it, the base is the higher of the value declared and the market value, which the office can check.

A reference value that looks too high can be disputed in only two ways: by asking for the correction of the return already filed with it, or by appealing the assessment the tax office issues. In both, the office decides after a binding report from the Catastro (article 9).

The papers

The regulation lists what goes with an inheritance return: the death certificate and the certificate of the register of last wills, an authorised copy of the will or, without one, of the declaration of heirs, the life insurance contracts, proof of the debts and expenses to be deducted and of the age of heirs under twenty-one, the bank balances on the day of the death, the book value of shares in unlisted companies and the deceased's title to each property (Real Decreto 1629/1991, article 66). The Canary agency adds the tax numbers of the deceased and of every heir, the deed of acceptance if there is one, and the heirs' statement of their own wealth on the day of the death.

For a gift the paper that matters most is the deed. The Canary rebate of 99.9 per cent of the tax on gifts to descendants, spouses and ascendants applies siempre que la donación se formalice en documento público, provided the gift is formalised in a public document (Decreto Legislativo 1/2009, article 26 sexies); a gift of money made without a notary does not get it.

For a family with papers from another country, the State agency's questions and answers set out the rules it applies. Every heir and every donee needs a Spanish tax number. Documents issued by a foreign authority go with the Hague apostille and a sworn translation, and of any document issued abroad in another language deberá aportarse traducción jurada de la misma, a sworn translation of it must be supplied. Civil-status certificates from European Union countries are the exception: they are accepted with the multilingual standard form, without apostille or translation. A European Certificate of Succession can take the place of the death certificate and of the will or declaration of heirs; for it a plain translation into Spanish is enough. And a deed signed before a foreign official does not start the limitation clock until it reaches Spain: el plazo de prescripción se computará desde la fecha de su presentación ante cualquier Administración española, the limitation period is counted from the date of its presentation to any Spanish administration, unless a treaty fixes another date (Ley 29/1987, article 25).

Filing and paying

In the Canaries the return is prepared with the help program for the year of the death or of the gift and filed online or, printed, at a tax office, where staff also help to fill it in. One warning on the Agency's page is worth repeating: La presentación del modelo por registro electrónico carecerá de validez, teniéndose por no presentado, a form sent through the general electronic registry is not valid and is treated as not filed. The tax is paid with the return, through the banks that work with the Agency, and a client of those banks who cannot pay at once can choose to pay in instalments.

The Act has its own rules for the assessments of an inheritance: where the estate does not hold enough cash or easily sold assets to pay the tax, the office can defer payment for up to a year or split it over as many as five annual payments, with interest and, for the instalments, a guarantee, if the request is made before the payment deadline (Ley 29/1987, article 38). The heirs can also ask to pay the tax out of the deceased's own bank accounts, and the Canary agency states the condition: Es requisito para la concesión de esta autorización la conformidad de todos los interesados, the agreement of everyone with an interest in the estate is required.

After filing

The stamped return is the key to everything else. Documents that contain an inheritance or a gift no se admitirán ni surtirán efecto en oficinas o registros públicos sin que conste la presentación del documento ante los órganos competentes para su liquidación, shall not be admitted or take effect in public offices or registers unless it is shown that the document was presented to the bodies competent to assess it (Ley 29/1987, article 33). Banks may not hand over assets to anyone but their holder sin que se acredite previamente el pago del impuesto o su exención, unless payment of the tax or its exemption has first been shown, and insurers may not pay out a life policy without proof that the return was filed (article 32); a bank that pays regardless becomes liable for the tax behind the heirs (article 8). An asset discovered later is declared in a complementary return that starts again from the whole estate and pays only the difference. And a return filed late pays the surcharges described in our note on late filing.

What our advisory does

Our Caleta de Fuste and Costa Calma offices handle paperwork and taxes for residents and non-residents alike, and deal with the tax agency on your behalf, from routine filings to appeals. The succession itself, the will, the heirs and the deed, is the ground of our colleagues at Olga Caballero, covered in their guide to inheritance in the Canaries. What we do for individuals is on our advisory page, and you can book a consultation with the death certificate or the draft deed of gift and the cadastral references of the properties.

Common questions

My father lived in Fuerteventura and I live in Germany. Where do I file, and do I lose the Canary relief?

You file with the State tax agency's office in Madrid, not with the Canary agency, and you may choose the Canary rules because your father lived here. The deadline is the same six months from the death, and as a resident of the European Union you do not have to appoint a representative in Spain.

We signed a gift of a flat in Corralejo last week. How long do we have?

One month from the signing if the return goes to the Canary Tax Agency, which is the case when the donee lives in Spain. A donee who lives abroad files with the State agency and has thirty working days.

Six months will not be enough to find all the accounts. What can we do?

Ask for the extension within the first five months. If no answer arrives in a month it is granted, it adds six months, and it costs late-payment interest. In the Canaries each heir has to ask for it.

The tax office values the flat at more than we could sell it for. Which value do we declare?

The tax is calculated on the cadastre's reference value on the day of the death or the gift, unless you declare more. If you think that value is too high, the Act gives two routes: file, and then ask for the return to be corrected, or appeal the assessment the office issues (Ley 29/1987, article 9).

Can the bank pay the tax from my mother's account?

Yes, with an authorisation from the tax office. The Canary agency requires the agreement of everyone with an interest in the estate; at the State agency it has to be requested before the return is filed.

Facts verified in October 2026 (Ley 29/1987, articles 6, 8, 9, 23, 24, 25, 31 to 34 and 38 and its second additional provision; Real Decreto 1629/1991, articles 18 and 66 to 69; Ley 22/2009, articles 28 and 32; Decreto Legislativo 1/2009 of the Canary Islands, articles 26 sexies and 27; the Canary Tax Agency's pages and procedure sheets on modelos 650 and 651; the State Tax Agency's questions and answers, tables of competence and form 651 instructions for non-residents, all as they stood on 6 October 2026). This is general information, not an opinion on a particular estate or gift.