Cantonal guide: Basel-Landschaft
Much of inheritance law is cantonal – for example where the will is handed in and which taxes apply. Here are the key points for the canton of Basel-Landschaft.
Handing in and opening the will
In the canton of Basel-Landschaft, the inheritance office (Erbschaftsamt) of the civil law administration of Basel-Landschaft is the inheritance authority for the whole canton – since 2014 at a single location: Domplatz 9, 4144 Arlesheim (phone 061 552 45 70, erbschaftsamt@bl.ch); the former district registries (Bezirksschreibereien) no longer exist. Anyone who owns or finds a will, an inheritance contract or a similar document of the deceased is obliged to hand it in to the inheritance office (Erbschaftsamt) without delay for opening – in the original, even if it looks incomplete or probably invalid. The inheritance office checks of its own accord, after every death, whether the deceased deposited a will in the will deposit (Testamentendepot) of the civil law administration. It opens the testamentary disposition to all legal and appointed heirs as well as to any executor – usually in writing by registered mail, or it invites people to an opening hearing (Eröffnungsverhandlung) at its offices in Arlesheim; heirs and legatees who do not take part in the opening receive written notice with a copy of the opened documents. Deadlines begin to run with the opening; the certificate of inheritance can be issued at the earliest one month after the opening. The opening carries a fee under the cantonal ordinance on fees for civil-law matters (fixed amounts, as of 2013): CHF 250 for the opening hearing and CHF 80 per person for the written notice including copies, plus postage; the costs are charged to the estate.
Certificate of inheritance
In the canton of Basel-Landschaft, the inheritance office (Erbschaftsamt) of the civil law administration in Arlesheim issues the certificate of inheritance – only on request, not of its own accord; the issuance does not happen automatically. It names the heirs of the deceased and entitles them to dispose of the estate – for example to transfer bank accounts or a property to the community of heirs. It is issued only once the inheritance is accepted and all heirs have stated their position on acceptance or renunciation – using the inheritance office's form, which you receive with the dispatch of the inventory, or tacitly after the three-month renunciation period expires, which under this form begins with the delivery of the inventory –, and at the earliest one month after the death; if there is a will or an inheritance contract, at the earliest one month after its opening. Whoever still wants to renounce the inheritance does not submit a declaration of acceptance. In an ongoing procedure, you receive the necessary forms with the inventory, and the inheritance office informs you directly of the further course of the procedure; the certificate of inheritance requires a written request – with a copy of your ID, a power of attorney if represented, or, as a deputy, the deed of appointment. The online form "Erbbescheinigung bestellen" at forms.bl.ch applies only to already closed procedures – for example if you need a further copy later; in that case ordering is only possible this way. The fee is CHF 100 per inheritance case – for the first issue as for every later issue – plus postage, payable in advance; dispatch normally takes place 14 days after receipt of the order. If all heirs have renounced and bankruptcy has been opened, no certificate of inheritance is issued. You need the certificate of inheritance mainly for banks, insurers and the land registry.
Renunciation and public inventory
In the canton of Basel-Landschaft, you declare the renunciation to the inheritance office (Erbschaftsamt) of the civil law administration in Arlesheim – in writing, signed and in the original by post, with the mandatory enclosures; an ordinary e-mail is not valid. You receive the form for this with the dispatch of the inventory; alternatively, you fill in the online form "Erbschaft annehmen oder ausschlagen" at forms.bl.ch and send it in the original with the enclosures. Accepting the renunciation is free of charge; only an extension of the deadline or reinstatement costs CHF 150. The period is three months and does not begin on the date of death, but with the registered delivery of the inheritance office's inventory. If, exceptionally, no inventory is drawn up – for example because no assets are expected –, the statutory period applies: three months from the day you learned of the death, for appointed heirs from the opening of the will. If in doubt, ask the inheritance office whether an inventory will be drawn up. The renunciation must be unconditional and without reservation; you cannot revoke it. If you have descendants, they take your place – they too must renounce if they do not want the inheritance; enclose a copy of the family record (Familienausweis) for this. For minor descendants, the renunciation needs the consent of the child and adult protection authority (KESB) – if the estate is not over-indebted, the child and adult protection authority (KESB) usually does not grant it. If all the next legal heirs renounce, the bankruptcy office (Konkursamt) liquidates the estate. A public inventory with a call to creditors (Rechnungsruf) can be requested from the inheritance office by any heir who could renounce – orally or in writing, at any time, but at the latest one month after the period to accept or renounce is set. An advance on costs of CHF 1'500 must be paid for this; the fee is CHF 1'500 for the public inventory and CHF 100 for the call to creditors, plus CHF 20 per claim and per notice. The costs are borne by the estate, and where it is not enough, by the heirs who requested the inventory – even if they renounce the inheritance afterwards. The call to creditors appears in the official gazette (Amtsblatt); creditors have six weeks from publication to register their claims. Tax debts and other public-law claims are excluded from the registration duty and remain owed. After the public inventory, the period to accept or renounce is one month; whoever accepts under public inventory is liable only for the inventoried debts.
Inheritance tax
Spouses and registered partners, parents and direct descendants (children, grandchildren) pay no inheritance tax in the canton of Basel-Landschaft; for direct descendants it has been abolished since 5 March 2001. Stepchildren and foster children are treated the same as descendants and therefore tax-exempt, if they lived with the deceased in a domestic community for at least ten years before their 25th birthday. Other heirs pay a fixed rate on their share of the inheritance, after deduction of an allowance, depending on their relationship to the deceased: 7.5 % for other stepchildren and foster children (allowance CHF 50'000); 15 % for full and half siblings, grandparents and great-grandparents, parents-in-law, sons- and daughters-in-law, step-parents and step-grandchildren (allowance CHF 30'000) – cohabiting partners are treated the same way if, at the time the tax liability arose, that is at death, they had lived together with the deceased without interruption for at least five years in a domestic community and at a shared residence; 22.5 % for aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, great-aunts and great-uncles, great-nieces and great-nephews, cousins (allowance CHF 20'000); 30 % for everyone else, including non-relatives (allowance CHF 10'000). The rate is linear, so independent of the size of the share; the allowance is granted only once within ten years, and household effects taken over are tax-free for persons from the shared household. Example: a niece inherits CHF 50'000 – after the CHF 20'000 allowance, CHF 30'000 remains taxable, the tax is CHF 6'750; the tax calculator at steuerrechner.bl.ch works through your case. The tax is assessed by the cantonal tax administration (Steuerverwaltung) of Basel-Landschaft, special taxes division (phone 061 552 53 00, spezialsteuer@bl.ch; correspondence to Steuerverwaltung, Rheinstrasse 33, 4410 Liestal), on the basis of the official estate inventory (Erbschaftsinventar) and the notifications from the land registry offices; heirs do not file an inheritance-tax return – only if a case does not become officially known to the tax administration must it be reported within 30 days. The heirs are jointly and severally liable up to the amount they received. The tax is due 30 days after the assessment is issued; after that, statutory default interest runs. If the assessment is not possible within eleven months, the tax administration issues a provisional invoice, and the tax becomes due at the latest twelve months after the death. For collection, the law (as of 2013) still names the district registries (Bezirksschreibereien), which merged into the civil law administration in 2014. The same rates and allowances apply to lifetime gifts.
Inventory and asset declaration
In the canton of Basel-Landschaft, the inheritance office (Erbschaftsamt) of the civil law administration draws up an inventory of the estate assets after every death – the estate inventory (Erbschaftsinventar) under § 110 of the cantonal introductory act to the Civil Code (EG ZGB), which also serves as the inventory for the direct federal tax (Art. 154 ff. DBG); it is waived only if it can be assumed that there are no assets, and for a minor estate an inventory report (Inventarbericht) suffices. You do not have to report the death to the inheritance office yourself: the civil registry office reports it without delay to the civil law administration – for a death outside the canton, to the municipality of residence –, and the inheritance office announces the inventory-taking to the heirs. The inventory is a statement of assets and debts as at the date of death, based on your information; the inheritance office balances the assets and liabilities and establishes the marital-property and inheritance-law claims. If at least one heir owes inheritance tax, the ordinary procedure applies, with personal inventory-taking at the inheritance office's premises in Arlesheim – it is enough if one person with legal capacity who knows the circumstances takes part; on request it can also be done in writing. If no heir owes inheritance tax, the simplified procedure applies: instead of an appointment, you fill in the inheritance office's asset declaration (Vermögensdeklaration) (template or online counter) – to be submitted by the heirs, their representative, or the executor – and send it signed, by post or, after signing, as a PDF, with supporting documents such as account statements as at the date of death, land-registry extracts for properties outside the canton, and mortgage certificates. Every heir is obliged to give information and to hand over documents: give truthful information, produce documents such as account and custody statements as at the date of death and insurance policies, and hand over wills or inheritance contracts not already held by the inheritance office; whoever conceals estate assets risks, under the tax law, a fine of up to CHF 10'000, in serious cases up to CHF 50'000. If an heir is permanently absent without representation, an heir expressly requests it, or creditors make a threatened disadvantage credible, the inheritance office seals – confiscating keys, sealing rooms (fee CHF 500); it does not block bank accounts automatically, but only by means of such a sealing at the request of an entitled person. If an heir is under deputyship or absent, or an heir requests it, the inheritance office additionally draws up a safeguard inventory (Sicherungsinventar). You receive the completed inventory by registered mail – at the latest six weeks after all documents have been received; this delivery starts the three-month period for acceptance or renunciation, and it is the basis for the inheritance tax. The inventory-taking carries a fee under the ordinance on fees for civil-law matters (fixed amounts, as of 2013): ordinary inventory CHF 1'200, simplified inventory CHF 740, inventory report CHF 280, safeguard inventory CHF 1'200; for complex cases a surcharge is added, family certificates and postage are billed separately.
The deceased's tax return
Death ends the deceased's tax liability; a last tax return has to be filed up to the date of death – for the period from 1 January to the date of death. The tax return usually has to be filed within 30 days of delivery of the forms with the responsible municipal tax office or the cantonal tax administration; extensions granted by the tax authorities remain reserved – submit the request before the deadline expires. In it you state income and deductions up to the date of death and the assets as at the date of death; you reconcile these figures with the inheritance office's inventory. Spouses and registered partners are assessed jointly up to the date of death: the joint tax return shows the joint income from the start of the year up to and including the date of death and the joint assets on the date of death; from the date of death, the surviving person is assessed alone, with income from the day after the date of death to 31 December and assets as at 31 December. The deceased's outstanding taxes fall due on death; the heirs pay them before the division of the estate, and the tax administration can require them to designate a joint representative. From the day after the date of death, the heirs are themselves liable to tax for their share of the undivided estate: they declare assets and income proportionally in their own tax return, using the form for participants in communities of persons (for example communities of heirs) and asset pools without legal personality from steuern.bl.ch; in E-Tax BL you mark these values as «Unverteilte Erbschaft».
Last checked: September 2026, against the canton's official pages. Is something no longer right? Let us know.
The application prepares; you act. It does not replace legal or tax advice.