Even if a person has not lived with the deceased as their sole partner for at least five years, the partner’s exemption may still apply for inheritance tax purposes.
Spouse’s allowance
Apart from the business succession scheme and the exemption for ANBIs and SBBI organisations, the partner exemption is by far the largest exemption under inheritance tax. For acquisitions in 2022, this exemption amounts to no less than €680,645. If the heir also receives a survivor’s pension or annuity, the value of this is deducted from the partner exemption, but at least €175,837 of the exemption always remains. Children and grandchildren must make do with an exemption of €21,559. Other beneficiaries see only a meagre €2,274 of their inheritance exempted.
Partner
For the purposes of inheritance tax married couples and registered partners as a partner, of course (unless an application for divorce or legal separation has been filed).
Also cohabitants may be regarded as each other’s partner for the purposes of inheritance tax, but must then meet a number of additional conditions:
- they must both be of legal age;
- are registered at the same residential address in the Basic Register of Persons;
- have a mutual duty of care under a notarised cohabitation agreement;
- are not blood relatives in the direct line (grandparents – parents – children – grandchildren);
- do not, together with another person, meet the conditions set out above.
Long-term cohabitation
The requirement for a notarised cohabitation agreement does not apply to cohabitants who have been registered at the same residential address in the Basic Register of Persons for an uninterrupted period of at least five years. As a result of this exception, siblings (who are blood relatives but not in the direct line) who have lived at the same address for a long period of time meet the conditions for the application of the partner exemption.
Arnhem-Leeuwarden Court of Appeal has ruled that a brother who has been living with his sister for a long period is also eligible for the partner allowance. The brother had been living with his sister and her husband since 1969. The husband died in 2017 and the sister in 2019. In 2019, the brother met the condition that he had been registered at the same address as his deceased sister for more than five years. The Tax and Customs Administration took the view that the five-year period only began in 2017, when the sister’s husband died. However, contrary to the District Court’s ruling, the Court of Appeal decided that the five-year period is not subject to the condition that no other person meets the conditions for tax partnership. The brother is therefore eligible for the partner exemption.