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Inheritance tax in Colombia 2026
Colombia routes inheritances and gifts through the capital-gains tax: the recipient pays a flat 15% on the value received, never a dedicated estate tax.
The allowances do real work — 13,000 tax value units (UVT) of the deceased's urban home, 6,500 for other real estate, and 3,250 for each heir's or the surviving spouse's share are exempt.
At a glance
- top rate
- 15% flat on the taxable part
- entry band
- 3,250 UVT (≈ COP 170 million) exempt per heir
- tax year basis
- Taxed in the year of the inheritance or gift
- filing deadline
- August-October with the recipient's return
- residency basis
- Residents: worldwide inheritances; non-residents: Colombian assets
- regime flag
- Books, clothes and household effects of the deceased are fully exempt
Rates
Inheritances and gifts (2026)
| Rate | Base | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | First 13,000 UVT (≈ COP 681 million) | The deceased's urban dwelling |
| 0% | First 6,500 UVT (≈ COP 340 million) | Other real estate of the deceased |
| 0% | First 3,250 UVT (≈ COP 170 million) | Each heir's or legatee's share, and the surviving spouse's marital share |
| 0% | 20% of the gift, max 1,625 UVT | Lifetime gifts and other free transfers |
| 15% | Value above the allowances | Everything else received by inheritance or gift |
Thresholds & allowances
- Personal effectsFully exempt
Books, clothing, furniture and household items of the deceased
- Life insuranceTreated as capital gain
Proceeds fall under the same 15% regime
Residency
Residency trigger
The recipient is the taxpayer: residents owe the 15% on inheritances and gifts from anywhere, non-residents only on Colombian assets.
Non-resident treatment
Non-resident heirs pay the 15% on Colombian-located assets they receive; property transfers also face registration tax at the public registry.
Notes
- Inherited assets keep working thresholds low: the exemptions are per concept, so a family can combine the home, other-property and per-heir allowances in one estate.
- Gifts of property between living people may carry registration tax and, above 20,000 tax value units, the property-transfer stamp duty of up to 3%.
- Received assets enter the heir's wealth at their tax cost and count toward the annual net worth tax above 72,000 tax value units.
- There are no estate or gift tax treaties — relief for foreign death taxes comes only through the ordinary foreign-tax-credit rules.
FAQ
Does Colombia have inheritance tax?
Not as a separate tax — heirs pay the 15% capital-gains rate on what they receive above the allowances, such as 3,250 tax value units (≈ COP 170 million) per heir.
How are gifts taxed in Colombia?
As capital gains at 15% for the recipient, with 20% of the gift exempt up to 1,625 tax value units.
Figures: tax year 2026, compiled from public sources. Not tax advice.