and with it the opportunity that you can make your will in a timely manner, taking advantage of the national campaign to have this procedure with discounts and extra benefits.
Although it is a document that gives peace of mind to the bereaved when a loved one dies, talking about a will is not so common in Mexico.
Among the reasons why Mexicans do not speak or prepare a will is not to throw salt and the issue of taxes, so they opt for other alternatives to get rid of the tax authority.
Do heirs pay taxes?
Miguel Ángel Tavares, president of the technical fiscal commission of the College of Public Accountants, explained that you do have to pay taxes for receiving an inheritance , however, as long as a couple of requirements are met, they are exempt.
“The inheritance is the succession in all the assets of the deceased, in all their rights and obligations that are not extinguished with death,” reads article 1281 of the federal Civil Code, pointed out Jesús Eduardo Fernández, tax specialist.
The beneficiaries of the “hereditary estate” have the obligation to comply with the payment of income tax (ISR), value added tax (VAT) and the tax on the acquisition of real estate. The latter is state-owned, specified the public accountant Tavares.
Article 93 of the ISR Law, section XXII, states that income received by inheritance or legacies, as well as donations, are income for which income tax will not be paid.
In order not to pay these taxes, if the amount of the inheritance is greater than 500,000 pesos, the heirs will have to register in the federal taxpayer registry (RFC) and inform the Tax Administration Service so that the ISR payment is exempt. .
It is important to point out that the exemptions are when it is inherited from parents to children, from children to parents or between spouses, that is, when the inheritance is from one natural person to another natural person.
The value added tax is not exempt, it has to be paid when it is due, said Miguel Ángel Tavares while pointing out that what is paid in VAT depends on what has been inherited.
In the case of real estate, such as a house, the property acquisition tax must be paid, said Tavares of the Association of Public Accountants. It is a state tax and must be paid when the new owner is awarded the property.
This tax ranges between 3% and 5% on the value of appraisal, cadastral or commercial, whichever is greater, “that is not exempt”, detailed the public accountant Tavares.
In the case of donations, they are exempt as long as they are made from parents to children or between spouses, provided that the total value in a calendar year is not greater than three times the minimum annual salary of the state entity. For the surplus, taxes will be paid.
For those who think that it is a better option to make a purchase-sale contract of a house, on the inheritance, Miguel Ángel Tavares explained that “the purchase-sales are not exempt (from the payment of taxes)”.
He explained that there is a partially exempt amount. Article 93 of the ISR Law establishes a limit of 700,000 investment units (UDIS). The UDIS as of September 6 were at 7.48 pesos, which gives an approximate amount of 5,240,000 pesos.
If someone is going to sell his house that is worth 10 million pesos (mdp), but that has a cost of one million pesos, he will have a profit of 9 mdp. The amount of exemption will be subtracted from those 9 million pesos and the rest does pay taxes, explained the president of the technical fiscal commission of the Association of Public Accountants.
It is important to point out that debts are also inherited , for example, from a credit card, they pointed out; except those credits or products that have death insurance, Tavares stressed.
What is the will?
The will is a document in which a person expresses what they want to be done with their assets once they die, which will facilitate the testamentary succession, carrying it out in an orderly and inexpensive way.
It is a document that will give peace of mind to the bereaved when the deceased person leaves assets -houses, cars, money, among others-. “Dying and not having a will generates problems between family and friends that can dissolve relationships, economic problems, and even legal ones that could lead to years of lawsuits,” says Luis Ordaz, director of financial education at Citibamanex.
What is the age to make a will?
In Jalisco and Michoacán, the minimum age to make a will – prepare a will – is 18 years old, according to information from the Ministry of the Interior.
In Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Colima, CDMX, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, State of Mexico, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Veracruz , Yucatán and Zacatecas is 16 years. In the rest of the entities it is 14 years.
In Chihuahua, Coahuila, Puebla, Quintana Roo, Sinaloa, Tabasco and Tlaxcala the minimum age for testing is 14 years.
September is the month of the will and during this month the public notaries extend their service hours, offer free advice on all issues related to the subject and reduce the costs of the process by 50%, which ranges from 1,500 pesos to 3,000 pesos, depending on the state where it is made.
What is needed to make a will?
Contrary to what one might think, making a will is simple, assured Miguel Ángel Tavares.
You have to make a list of important assets and documents such as bank accounts, insurance, real estate and belongings. It is important to remember the names of designated beneficiaries in any contracted financial product, Ordaz stressed.
These are the requirements to prepare a will:
- Fill out the application that is delivered by the notary public.
- Be in full use of mental faculties.
- Clearly express your will regarding the assets, proportion and beneficiaries of the inheritance.
- Prepare a list of all the assets to be inherited, their location and/or access codes.
- Provide general personal data: full name, date of birth, nationality, occupation, current address and marital status.
- Copy of the birth certificate.
- Original and copy of an official identification with photograph and signature.
- Names of parents, spouse, children (living or deceased) and their general data.
- Name of the person who will act as executor (administrator with the task of making the inheritance effective).
- Cover the payment of corresponding rights in the form and amount indicated by the Federal Rights Law.
This note was published on September 7. Information was only updated.
