Steuer: Finanzamt fordert Steuer – obwohl der Erbe leer ausgeht

The deceased had initially planned to bypass legal inheritance rules by leaving a handwritten will, dividing his estate equally among a man, the man's mother, and another woman. Upon the testator's death, the surviving heirs requested an inheritance certificate at the local district court. Since the court was unaware of the handwritten will, the certificate named only the legal heirs, each receiving half of the estate.

Eight years later, the certificate reappeared, and the man attempted to reclaim his inheritance. Two years later, a new certificate was issued, granting the man, his mother, and the other woman an equal share. In 2017, the man learned that his father's estate also entitled him to a compulsory share of 250,000 euros, which had already been paid out to the two legal heirs in 2013.

The tax office issued an inheritance tax assessment in 2018, despite the man having received nothing from the estate. The man challenged the assessment, requesting it be set to zero. The tax office initially rejected his appeal, but later agreed to set the tax at zero. The man had unsuccessfully tried to invalidate the initial inheritance certificate for nine years, and it later emerged that the two legal heirs had exhausted the estate by 2016, one of them receiving disability benefits.

Both women living abroad. The tax office upheld the decision but required it to be set to zero due to what it considered an incorrect application of the German tax code. The court acknowledged that the tax office may assume an inheritance has been received according to the will, provided the estate is sufficient to cover tax-free allowances.

However, it did not check if the man was entitled to substitute claims against the two legal heirs. The Federal Finance Court pointed out that the district court had failed to verify this. Therefore, inheritance tax could be reduced if an heir, without any fault of their own, inherits nothing. The burden of proof lies with the heir to prove they made every effort to secure the estate or claim substitute rights.