Countries with no inheritance tax, or none between close family, no-tax countries first
Countries with no inheritance tax, or none between close family, no-tax countries first
Countries with no inheritance tax, one by one
1. United Arab Emirates
The UAE imposes no inheritance, estate or gift tax on individuals. Source: taxsummaries.pwc.com, checked September 29, 2026. PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, last reviewed September 9, 2026
Under the United Arab Emirates' tax rules, foreign income is untaxed for new residents, and 90 days Source: tax.gov.ae, checked September 29, 2026. 90 days in 12 consecutive months with a residence permit plus a permanent home or UAE business (Federal Tax Authority's unofficial translation of Cabinet Decision No. 85 of 2022) in the country make you tax resident. The UAE has no personal income tax, and a self-employed person pays no corporate tax while business turnover stays at or below AED 1,000,000 (about $272,000) a year.
Nothing is due when assets pass at death or as gifts in life, which makes the UAE an easy base for handing a business or portfolio to children early.
2. Mauritius
Mauritius has no inheritance, estate or gift tax. Source: taxsummaries.pwc.com, checked September 29, 2026. PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, last reviewed June 15, 2026
Under Mauritius's tax rules, foreign income is taxed only when it is brought into the country, and 183 days Source: mra.mu, checked September 29, 2026. Income Tax Act section 73(1)(a)(ii); the 270-day, 3-year test allows about 90 days a year once established in the country make you tax resident. On the Premium Visa, pay for remote work done from Mauritius is taxed only when remitted to Mauritius, and spending with a foreign card does not count, so earnings kept abroad pay 0%.
No inheritance, estate or gift tax and no capital gains tax either, so a foreign share portfolio can be sold or passed on without Mauritian tax.
3. Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands have no inheritance, estate or gift tax. Source: taxsummaries.pwc.com, checked September 29, 2026. PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, last reviewed May 29, 2026
Under the Cayman Islands' tax rules, foreign income is untaxed for new residents, and there is no income tax residence test to pass. The Cayman Islands tax no individual income at all, but the remote worker program closed to new applicants in 2022, so residence now takes a Cayman business, a local job or an investment of KYD 1,000,000 (about $1,200,000).
No estate, inheritance, gift or income tax, but residence needs capital or a local business, so it suits wealth already made rather than a freelancer building it.
4. The Bahamas
The Bahamas has no inheritance, estate or gift tax. Source: taxsummaries.pwc.com, checked September 29, 2026. PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, last reviewed July 21, 2026
Under the Bahamas' tax rules, foreign income is untaxed for new residents, and there is no income tax residence test to pass. The Bahamas has no personal income tax, so a self-employed resident pays only National Insurance of 10.3% on profit up to BSD 43,160 (about $43,160) a year.
There is no capital gains tax either, so a family portfolio pays nothing in The Bahamas while it grows or when it passes on.
5. Mexico
Mexico has no inheritance, estate or gift tax, and income a resident receives by inheritance is exempt from income tax. Source: taxsummaries.pwc.com, checked September 29, 2026. PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, last reviewed August 6, 2026
Under Mexico's tax rules, foreign income is taxed, and residence follows your home and intentions rather than a day count. Mexico taxes residents on worldwide income, but a self-employed resident billing under MXN 3,500,000 (about $197,000) a year can use RESICO and pay 1% to 2.5% of gross income.
Tax residence follows your home rather than a day count, and inherited money is exempt from income tax, though Mexico taxes a resident's other income worldwide.
6. Singapore
Singapore abolished estate duty for deaths on or after February 15, 2008. Source: taxsummaries.pwc.com, checked September 29, 2026. PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, last reviewed July 2, 2026
Under Singapore's tax rules, foreign income is untaxed for new residents, and 183 days Source: iras.gov.sg, checked September 29, 2026 in the country make you tax resident. Singapore taxes a resident's trade income at 0% to 24% and leaves foreign income untaxed, but it has no visa for freelancers: the main route for a remote worker needs a salary of SGD 30,000 (about $23,500) a month.
Singapore also leaves a resident's foreign dividends untaxed, so a family portfolio pays nothing while you hold it and nothing when it passes on.
7. Malaysia
Malaysia has no inheritance, estate or gift tax. Source: taxsummaries.pwc.com, checked September 29, 2026. PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, last reviewed June 16, 2026
Under Malaysia's tax rules, foreign income is untaxed for new residents, and 182 days Source: mdec.my, checked September 29, 2026. MDEC FAQ: after 182 days a DE Rantau holder is resident under section 7 of the Income Tax Act 1967. PwC (last reviewed June 16, 2026) gives the same 182 days in the country make you tax resident. A foreign freelancer working from Malaysia for foreign clients is taxed there at resident rates of 0% to 30% after 182 days, while foreign income a resident brings in is exempt until December 31, 2036.
Foreign dividends and gains a resident brings in are exempt until December 31, 2036, so the returns on an inherited foreign portfolio can come into Malaysia untaxed.
8. Hong Kong
Hong Kong has no estate duty and no gift tax. Source: taxsummaries.pwc.com, checked September 29, 2026. PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, last reviewed July 22, 2026
Under Hong Kong's tax rules, foreign income is untaxed for new residents, and 181 days Source: ird.gov.hk, checked September 29, 2026. More than 180 days in the year of assessment (April 1 to March 31), or more than 300 days over 2 years in the country make you tax resident. A sole trader in Hong Kong pays 7.5% profits tax on the first HKD 2,000,000 (about $255,000) of profit from work done there, plus up to HKD 18,000 (about $2,290) a year of MPF, and nothing on profits arising abroad, dividends or capital gains.
With no estate duty, no gift tax and no tax on dividends or gains, a family portfolio held in Hong Kong pays nothing while it grows or when it passes on.
9. Cyprus
Cyprus abolished estate duty from January 1, 2000, and has no inheritance or gift tax. Source: koufettaslaw.com, checked September 29, 2026
Under Cyprus's tax rules, foreign income is partly exempt for new residents, and 60 days Source: gov.cy, checked September 29, 2026. Income Tax Law art. 2 as amended by Law 244(I)/2025. The 60-day rule needs all its conditions; otherwise more than 183 days in the country make you tax resident. A new resident who runs a Cyprus company and takes profit as dividends pays 15% corporate tax plus a 2.65% health contribution on dividends, about 17% of profit, because non-domiciled residents pay no defence contribution on dividends for up to 17 years.
Cyprus pairs no inheritance tax with a non-dom status that removes the defence contribution on dividends, which suits a founder planning both income and succession.
10. Armenia
Armenia does not tax property or money an individual receives as a gift or inheritance from other individuals. Source: arlis.am, checked September 29, 2026. English consolidated Tax Code on arlis.am
Under Armenia's tax rules, foreign income is taxed, and 183 days Source: arlis.am, checked September 29, 2026. Tax Code Article 25(1) and (2); PwC places the count in the calendar tax year in the country make you tax resident. Armenia taxes residents on worldwide income; a freelancer registered as an individual entrepreneur on the turnover tax pays 10% of sales on services (less 6% of documented costs), about 11% of profit, while IT activities on the Government's high-tech list pay 1%.
Gifts and inheritances from other individuals are exempt from income tax, but a resident's foreign dividends are taxed at 5%, so the saving comes at death more than during life.
11. Malta
Malta has no inheritance, estate or gift tax; heirs pay 5% duty only on inherited real estate in Malta, and a family home passing to a spouse or children is exempt. Source: taxsummaries.pwc.com, checked September 29, 2026. PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, last reviewed August 26, 2026
Under Malta's tax rules, foreign income is taxed only when it is brought into the country, and 183 days Source: taxsummaries.pwc.com, checked September 29, 2026. The Nomad Residence Permit 10% rule does not depend on tax residence in the country make you tax resident. A freelancer on Malta's Nomad Residence Permit pays 0% on remote-work income for the first 12 months, then a flat 10% on net income for up to 4 years, plus Class 2 social security capped at €4,362 (about $4,960) a year: 15.8% of profit at $100,000 of revenue.
For a non-dom, Malta combines no inheritance tax with no tax on gains arising abroad, which suits a family that keeps its investments outside Malta.
12. Panama
Panama has no inheritance, estate or gift tax. Source: taxsummaries.pwc.com, checked September 29, 2026. PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, last reviewed August 4, 2026
Under Panama's tax rules, foreign income is untaxed for new residents, and 183 days Source: impuestospanama.com, checked September 29, 2026 in the country make you tax resident. Panama leaves foreign dividends, interest and pensions untaxed, but the Index taxes remote work done in Panama as Panamanian-source: 29.3% of profit at $100,000 of revenue in income tax, educational insurance and social security.
Panama adds no inheritance, estate or gift tax to a territorial system, so foreign assets are untaxed both while you live there and when they pass to heirs.
13. Czechia
Czechia has no inheritance tax, and gifts from close relatives are exempt from income tax. Source: taxsummaries.pwc.com, checked September 29, 2026. PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, last reviewed July 27, 2026
Under Czechia's tax rules, foreign income is taxed, and 183 days Source: zakonyprolidi.cz, checked September 29, 2026. A permanent home in Czechia makes a person resident with fewer days in the country make you tax resident. A freelancer in Czechia can pay one fixed monthly amount of CZK 9,162 (about $427) covering income tax, pension and health insurance on revenue up to CZK 1.5 million (about $70,000); above the CZK 2 million (about $93,300) limit the 60% flat expense allowance keeps tax and insurance near 18% of profit at $100,000 of revenue.
Inheritances are tax-free, while the income tax exemption for gifts covers close relatives only, so lifetime transfers to anyone else need a separate check.
14. Estonia
Estonia does not tax property received as an inheritance; income tax applies only to the gain if inherited property is later sold. Source: emta.ee, checked September 29, 2026
Under Estonia's tax rules, foreign income is taxed, and 183 days Source: emta.ee, checked September 29, 2026. A place of residence in Estonia makes a person resident with fewer days in the country make you tax resident. A resident who runs an Estonian OÜ and pays profit out as dividends pays 22% corporate tax on what is distributed and nothing more at the personal level, while profit kept in the company is untaxed until paid out.
Profit kept in an Estonian company is untaxed until it is paid out, so a family company can pass to heirs with its retained profit still untaxed.
15. Romania
Romania levies no gift tax and no inheritance tax, except on transfers of real estate in certain circumstances. Source: taxsummaries.pwc.com, checked September 29, 2026. PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, last reviewed September 25, 2026
Under Romania's tax rules, foreign income is taxed, and 183 days Source: static.anaf.ro, checked September 29, 2026. The law says more than 183 days. Domicile or the center of vital interests can make a person resident with fewer days in the country make you tax resident. A freelancer resident in Romania pays a flat 10% income tax plus 25% pension contribution on a base of 24 minimum wages and 10% health contribution capped at 72 minimum wages, about 22% of profit at $100,000 of revenue; digital nomad visa holders who stay 183 days or less are not taxed on pay from their foreign employer or company.
The exception is real estate transferred in certain circumstances, so a Romanian apartment needs its own check even though money, shares and other assets pass tax-free.
16. Georgia
Georgia has no separate inheritance tax: gifts and inheritances received by first and second line heirs (spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, siblings, nieces and nephews) are exempt from income tax; grandparents, great-grandparents, uncles and aunts are exempt up to GEL 150,000 (about $57,500) a year; anyone else pays 20% income tax on an inheritance. Source: matsne.gov.ge, checked September 29, 2026. Consolidated English Tax Code, amendments to July 2, 2026. Article 82(4)(c) defines the four heir lines; Article 81(1) taxes taxable income at 20%
Under Georgia's tax rules, foreign income is untaxed for new residents, and 183 days Source: matsne.gov.ge, checked September 29, 2026. Tax Code Article 34(2) in the country make you tax resident. Georgia taxes work done in the country but not foreign income: an individual entrepreneur in an eligible activity pays 1% of turnover up to GEL 500,000 (about $192,000) a year, and foreign dividends and gains are tax-free.
Georgia handles inheritance inside income tax, so what matters is the heir's line: close heirs pay nothing, grandparents, uncles and aunts have a yearly exemption, and anyone else pays 20% income tax.
17. Croatia
Croatia charges 4% inheritance and gift tax on cash, securities and movable property worth over €6,700 (about $7,620), with exemptions for close relatives. Source: taxsummaries.pwc.com, checked September 29, 2026
Under Croatia's tax rules, foreign income is partly exempt for new residents, and 183 days Source: porezna-uprava.gov.hr, checked September 29, 2026. General Tax Act art. 43 (zakon.hr consolidated text to NN 105/26, read September 29, 2026): domicile (prebivaliste) is where the person owns or has at their disposal a home continuously for at least 183 days in one or two calendar years, and living in it is not required; habitual residence (uobicajeno boraviste) is a stay of at least 183 days in one or two calendar years. The Tax Administration page states the same domicile rule, including that living in the home is not required. A home at one's disposal can make a person resident with few days of presence in the country make you tax resident. A non-EU remote worker on Croatia's digital nomad permit pays 0% income tax on pay from an employer or own company registered abroad, for a stay of up to 18 months, with no compulsory Croatian health or pension contributions.
For a remote worker, Croatia's pull is less its inheritance rules than the 0% digital nomad permit on foreign pay.
18. Monaco
Monaco taxes inheritances only on assets situated in Monaco, at 0% for a spouse and direct-line relatives such as children and parents, 8% for siblings, 10% for uncles, aunts, nephews and nieces, 13% for other relatives and 16% for unrelated persons. Source: monservicepublic.gouv.mc, checked September 29, 2026
Under Monaco's tax rules, foreign income is untaxed for new residents, and 91 days Source: monservicepublic.gouv.mc, checked September 29, 2026. The residence permit is for people who reside in Monaco more than 3 months a year (page updated September 25, 2026). The tax residence certificate then needs more than 183 days, or a principal place of business in Monaco, or the majority of the year in Monaco (certificate page updated December 23, 2024). 91 days is the permit floor; the principal place of business test sets no day count in the country make you tax resident. Monaco has no personal income tax for residents who are not French, and a freelancer selling advisory or expert services abroad runs a civil activity outside the 25% profit tax, so the only charge is fixed social contributions of about €6,604 (about $7,510) a year, about 9% of profit at $100,000 of revenue.
Because only assets in Monaco are taxed, a resident's foreign portfolio passes to any heir free of Monaco tax, while an apartment in Monaco left to a sibling pays 8% and to a friend 16%.
19. Switzerland
Swiss inheritance and gift taxes are cantonal: Schwyz and Obwalden levy none, every canton exempts a spouse, and most cantons also exempt children and grandchildren. Source: taxsummaries.pwc.com, checked September 29, 2026. PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, last reviewed July 1, 2026
Under Switzerland's tax rules, foreign income is taxed, and 30 days Source: fedlex.admin.ch, checked September 29, 2026. 30 days with gainful activity, 90 days without. A tax domicile starts on moving in, with no day count in the country make you tax resident. A self-employed person living in a low-tax commune such as Wollerau pays federal, cantonal and communal income tax plus 10% old-age and disability contributions, about 16% of profit at $100,000 of revenue, but non-EU freelancers rarely get a residence permit.
The canton decides the bill: Schwyz and Obwalden levy nothing, and most others exempt children, so the commune you register in matters more than the national rule.
20. Hungary
Hungary taxes inheritances and gifts at 18% (9% on a home), but a spouse, lineal relatives such as children, grandchildren and parents, and siblings are exempt. Source: net.jogtar.hu, checked September 29, 2026. Act XCIII of 1990 on duties, text in force September 27 to 30, 2026. Gifts to lineal relatives, a spouse and siblings are exempt under section 17(1)
Under Hungary's tax rules, foreign income is taxed, and 183 days Source: net.jogtar.hu, checked September 29, 2026. 183 days is written into s. 3 point 2(b) for EEA nationals. A sole permanent home makes a person resident with fewer days in the country make you tax resident. A freelancer who moves to Hungary pays a flat 15% income tax plus 18.5% social security and 13% social contribution tax; with the flat-rate regime's 45% cost allowance and the 2% local business tax that comes to about 29% of profit at $100,000 of revenue.
Children, grandchildren, parents, a spouse and siblings inherit tax-free, while nieces, nephews, cousins and friends pay 18%, or 9% on a home.
21. Portugal
Portugal charges 10% stamp tax on inheritances and gifts, but a spouse or partner, children and parents are exempt. Source: info.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt, checked September 29, 2026. The 10% rate is from PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries (Portugal, other taxes, last reviewed July 24, 2026)
Under Portugal's tax rules, foreign income is taxed, and 183 days Source: info.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt, checked September 29, 2026. The law says more than 183 days. The home test can make a person resident with fewer days in the country make you tax resident. A freelancer who moves to Portugal pays progressive income tax of 12.5% to 48% on 75% of revenue plus 21.4% social security on 70% of revenue, about 43% of profit at $100,000 of revenue.
Spouses, partners, children and parents pay no stamp tax, while siblings, nieces, nephews and friends pay 10%, and Portugal's income tax on a freelancer is the highest on this list.
No inheritance tax or close family exempt: the 2 groups on this list
Countries in the first group charge nothing on what heirs receive, whoever the heirs are. Countries in the second have an inheritance or gift tax but exempt a spouse and children, and in most cases parents, so the tax falls on more distant relatives and friends. The second group differs on who counts as close family and what everyone else pays:
What the close-family countries charge everyone else
| Country | Exempt | Everyone else |
|---|---|---|
| Portugal | Spouse or partner, children, parents | 10% stamp tax |
| Hungary | Spouse, lineal relatives and siblings | 18%, or 9% on a home |
| Georgia | First and second line heirs | 20% income tax; grandparents, uncles and aunts exempt up to GEL 150,000 (about $57,500) a year |
| Monaco | Spouse and direct line | 8% for siblings to 16% for unrelated heirs, on assets in Monaco only |
| Switzerland | Spouse in every canton, children in most | Set by the canton; none in Schwyz and Obwalden |
The first group has its own fine print. Malta charges heirs 5% duty on inherited Maltese real estate, with a family home passing to a spouse or children exempt, Romania taxes some transfers of real estate, and Estonia taxes the gain when an inherited asset is later sold.
Reading "close family exempt" correctly
Nothing due
You live in Hungary and leave your apartment and savings to your wife and 2 children. Transfers between lineal relatives and to a spouse are exempt, so they pay nothing.
Taxed
You assume the same apartment can go to your nephew tax-free. A nephew is neither a lineal relative nor a sibling, so he pays 9% on the home and 18% on the savings.
Which country taxes your estate: citizenship, past residence and where assets sit
Moving to a country on this list stops that country taxing your estate. Whether another country still can depends on 3 things: your citizenship, how long you lived in the country you left, and where each asset is.
- US citizens file income, estate and gift tax returns on the same rules abroad as at home, so moving does not take a US citizen's estate out of US estate tax.
- Long-term UK residents, meaning UK tax resident for 10 of the previous 20 years, stay within UK inheritance tax on overseas assets for up to 10 tax years after leaving; after 10 to 13 years in the UK, that tail is 3 years.
- Everyone else can still owe tax where the assets are. A person who is neither a US citizen nor a US resident has US estate tax on US real estate and US company shares, with a return due once those assets pass $60,000.
US shares follow you to Dubai
A UAE or Singapore resident with no US ties who dies holding stock in US companies still has a US estate. Above $60,000 of US assets the executor must file a US estate tax return, and US shares count even when the certificates are held abroad or in a nominee's name. Shares in a fund organized outside the US are not stock of a US corporation.
Estate check before you move
- List every asset by where it sits: real estate answers to the country it is in, and US shares to the US.
- Count your years in the country you are leaving, since the UK keeps long-term residents in scope for up to 10 years after they go.
- Check where each heir lives, because some countries tax the heir who receives rather than the estate that gives.
- Check lifetime gifts too: the UAE, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Malaysia and Panama have no gift tax either.
- Get the new country's tax residence certificate, the proof an old country asks for when it decides whether you had left.
Inheritance tax next to income, gains and company tax
Wealth that passes at death was usually built through a business or a portfolio, and the same countries tax those very differently. The UAE and Hong Kong charge a one-person company 0% on $100,000 of profit paid out to a non-resident owner, which puts both among the lowest corporate tax jurisdictions, while Cyprus charges 15% and Estonia 22% once the profit is distributed.
Crypto holders get a different split. The UAE, the Cayman Islands, The Bahamas, Singapore and Hong Kong leave both crypto gains and inheritances untaxed, while Portugal exempts crypto held 365 days or more but charges 10% stamp tax on what passes outside close family.
For a remote worker still building wealth, the yearly income tax usually matters more than a one-off estate bill. Mexico, Georgia and the UAE tax $100,000 of revenue at 5% or less, while Hungary and Portugal sit above 25%, outside the range of the low tax countries.
How this list is ranked
A country qualifies when it has no inheritance or estate tax on what heirs receive, or has one but exempts transfers between close family, and the rule is confirmed in the statute, at the tax authority or in a Big 4 or law firm summary. No-tax countries come first, then close-family-exempt countries.
Within each group, countries follow their Nomad Tax Index score: the tax a self-employed remote worker pays at $100,000 of revenue, how foreign dividends, interest and gains are taxed, how easy the country is to get into, the days you must spend there and recent stability.
David's note
I would treat inheritance tax as the tiebreaker, not the reason to move. Income tax is paid every year you live somewhere; an estate is taxed once, and by then the country you left and the places your assets sit often decide more than the new country's 0%.
