Cantonal guide: Basel-Stadt
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-Stadt.
Handing in and opening the will
In the canton of Basel-Stadt, the inheritance office (Erbschaftsamt) of Basel-Stadt is the inheritance authority for the whole canton – for Basel, Riehen and Bettingen; it is part of the civil court (Zivilgericht) (Rittergasse 10, 4051 Basel, telephone 061 267 83 02). A will, an inheritance contract or a similar document of the deceased that you find at home, in a bank safe-deposit box or with a third party, you hand in there without delay – in the original, even if you consider it invalid; you are legally obliged to do so. The Erbschaftsamt is at the same time the cantonal depository for wills and inheritance contracts (deposit fee: CHF 40 to CHF 100, cash only) – a document deposited there it retrieves of its own accord once it learns of the death. The head of the Erbschaftsamt opens the disposition (§ 140 EG ZGB); the original stays kept with the Erbschaftsamt. The office brings the disposition to the notice of the legal and the appointed heirs, any executor and a heirs' representative, in copy; legatees receive an excerpt concerning them. After the opening of a will, a certificate of inheritance (Erbenbescheinigung) can be issued at the earliest one month later (Art. 559 ZGB). The opening costs CHF 50 to CHF 350 under the regulation on court fees, the opening certificate included; the costs are charged to the estate.
Certificate of inheritance
In the canton of Basel-Stadt, the inheritance office (Erbschaftsamt) of Basel-Stadt issues the certificate of inheritance (Erbenbescheinigung; banks often call it the "Erbschein") – on request, not of its own accord. It names the heirs of the deceased and entitles them to dispose of the estate, for example toward banks, insurers and the land registry. The release of the assets by means of the certificate of inheritance is made, on application, to all heirs jointly or to their joint representation – a single document for the community of heirs, not for each heir individually. It is issued once it is established who inherits – when all heirs have expressly accepted the inheritance or when the three-month renunciation period has expired, which begins with the delivery of the inventory; after the opening of a will, at the earliest one month later (Art. 559 ZGB). If you want to expressly accept the inheritance, the Erbschaftsamt gives you the "Annahmeerklärung" form; with the acceptance, a renunciation is no longer possible – whoever still wants to renounce the inheritance does not sign one. Request the certificate of inheritance from the Erbschaftsamt and state how many copies you need. It costs CHF 50 to CHF 300 under the regulation on court fees, in complex cases CHF 100 to CHF 1'000 (§ 29 Ziff. 4b und 4c); the regulation does not provide for a surcharge per copy. You need the certificate of inheritance mainly for banks, insurers and the land registry.
Renunciation and public inventory
In the canton of Basel-Stadt, you declare the renunciation to the inheritance office (Erbschaftsamt) of Basel-Stadt (§ 141 EG ZGB) – in writing with the Erbschaftsamt's renunciation form, which the office gives you. You sign it and enclose a copy of your ID (front and back); if you live under a community-of-property regime, your spouse also signs. Submit it in the original – whether by post or at the counter, the Erbschaftsamt tells you. The period is three months and, because the Erbschaftsamt draws up an inventory in every case of death, it does not run from the date of death but from the delivery of this inventory (Art. 553 Abs. 3 ZGB). The renunciation must be unconditional and without reservation – you cannot renounce in favour of a specific person –, and it cannot be revoked. If you have descendants, they take your place – your children may also renounce on the same form, with a tick, date and signature; adult children must do so themselves. For minor children, the holders of parental custody renounce, and the child and adult protection authority (KESB) must consent to this renunciation, if the estate is not over-indebted; submit the KESB's declaration together with it. The record of the renunciation costs CHF 20 to CHF 120 under the regulation on court fees. If all the next legal heirs renounce, the estate is liquidated by the bankruptcy office (Konkursamt). You request a public inventory from the Erbschaftsamt within one month; for the start and calculation of this period, the rules of the renunciation period under Art. 567 Abs. 2 und 569 ZGB apply – if in doubt, therefore from the day you learned of the death. Do not wait for the inventory to do so, but ask the Erbschaftsamt right away. The office calls on creditors and debtors, with a call to creditors (Rechnungsruf) published twice in the Kantonsblatt (§ 143 Abs. 2 EG ZGB), to register their claims and debts. After delivery of the public inventory, you have one month to renounce, accept under public inventory or request the official liquidation; whoever makes no declaration has accepted the inheritance under public inventory and is liable only for the inventoried debts. The fee regulation does not name a separate fee for the public inventory or an advance on costs; charged are the call to creditors (CHF 25) and each registration of a creditor (CHF 6). The costs are borne by the estate and, where that is not enough, by the heirs who requested the inventory (Art. 584 Abs. 2 ZGB). Instead of renouncing, any person entitled to inherit may also request the official liquidation of the estate, as long as no co-heir has declared acceptance – then you are not liable for the debts but also receive only what remains after the liquidation.
Inheritance tax
Spouses, registered partners and descendants – children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, adopted descendants and foster children who lived in the same household for at least one year during their minority – pay no inheritance tax in the canton of Basel-Stadt (§ 120 StG; registered partners are treated the same as spouses). All other heirs and legatees are liable to tax, including parents, siblings and cohabiting partners. A tax-free allowance of CHF 2'000 per person remains exempt (§ 129 StG); only what exceeds it is taxed, rounded down to CHF 100 (§ 132 Abs. 4 StG). The tax has two parts – a basic tax (einfache Steuer) based on the degree of relationship (§ 130 StG) and a surcharge based on the size of the inheritance share (§ 131 StG), in seven steps, from 25 % for shares up to CHF 100'000 to 175 % for shares over CHF 3 million. In total, parents and adoptive parents pay between 5 and 11 %; grandparents, siblings and half-siblings, sons- and daughters-in-law, stepchildren, parents-in-law and step-parents pay between 7.5 and 16.5 %; nephews and nieces – including those of half-siblings – pay between 10 and 22 %; uncles and aunts, brothers- and sisters-in-law pay between 12.5 and 27.5 %; all other legally entitled relatives as well as nephews and nieces with no blood relationship pay between 17.5 and 38.5 %; everyone else pays between 22.5 and 49.5 %. Cohabiting couples and other persons who, at the time of death, had lived with the deceased for at least five years in a shared household with the same tax domicile, pay, like siblings, between 7.5 and 16.5 % instead of the rate for non-relatives. The tax is assessed by the cantonal tax administration (Steuerverwaltung) of Basel-Stadt with the involvement of the inventory authority, on the basis of the Erbschaftsamt's official inventory – the ordinary taxes as at the date of death are set first, then the inheritance tax; you do not file a separate inheritance-tax return. The heirs are jointly and severally liable for the tax, each up to the amount of their own inheritance share (§ 119 Abs. 2 StG). The tax falls due 30 days after the assessment is delivered, but at the latest twelve months after the date of death; compensatory interest (Zinsausgleich) is calculated for the time after that. Payment is made to the cantonal court cashier's office (Gerichtskasse); instalment payments are possible. On bs.ch you find the Steuerverwaltung's Tariftabelle and its answers to frequent questions on inheritance and gift tax.
The inheritance office's inventory
If a person domiciled in the canton of Basel-Stadt dies, the inheritance office (Erbschaftsamt) of Basel-Stadt always draws up an inventory of its own accord in every case of death (§ 136 EG ZGB) – you do not need to apply for this; the office contacts the heirs. The inventory contains all the assets and all the debts of the deceased as at the date of death; if the deceased was married, it covers the assets of both spouses (§ 181 Abs. 2 StG), and lifetime gifts to heirs or third parties are also included. The inventory is taken at the deceased's home or at the Erbschaftsamt's office; the person in charge contacts you. Based on your information, the office asks PostFinance, employers, banks and insurers for the balances as at the date of death. You are obliged to cooperate – the more complete your information, the faster the procedure. You submit a statement of the funeral costs and the other debts – the Erbschaftsamt has the "Auslagen" form (No. 826-110) for this, which you print, sign and send to Rittergasse 10. For the funeral costs you may deduct a flat amount of CHF 10'000 instead of individual items, and for other bills owed as at the date of death a separate flat amount of CHF 3'000; you do not list outstanding taxes. The inventory can only be drawn up once all the information is available, which can take several months. Protective measures such as sealing the home are ordered by the head of the Erbschaftsamt on the reasoned request of a person entitled to inherit or an heir, or where the conditions for it are met – not automatically (under § 135 EG ZGB, sealing of its own accord or on the request of an heir). You receive the completed inventory by delivery; this delivery starts the three-month period for acceptance or renunciation. If the heirs raise no objections, the file goes to the cantonal tax administration (Steuerverwaltung) – first for the ordinary taxes as at the date of death, then for the inheritance tax. Taking the inventory carries a fee under the regulation on court fees (§ 29 Ziff. 18), charged to the estate – real estate and gifts CHF 50 to CHF 1'200, movable property 1 to 2 ‰, other assets 3 ‰ up to CHF 100'000, 2 ‰ up to CHF 5 million, 1 ‰ up to CHF 10 million and ½ ‰ above that, at most CHF 30'000 in total, increased or reduced by a third depending on the effort involved; sealing costs CHF 50 to CHF 1'200. The heirs are jointly liable for the fees and outlays of the Erbschaftsamt. In particularly complex cases, the fees can be increased up to double; if a fee would cause excessive hardship, the head of the office can reduce or waive it – ask about it.
The deceased's tax return
The death ends the deceased's tax liability; for the year of death, a last tax return has to be filed from 1 January to the date of death – in the canton of Basel-Stadt, a tax return for a partial-year tax liability, whose length you state in the return. The heirs file it with the cantonal tax administration (Steuerverwaltung) of Basel-Stadt; in it you state income and deductions up to the date of death and the assets as at the date of death – the wealth tax is calculated in proportion to the length of the tax liability. You reconcile the figures with the inventory of the inheritance office (Erbschaftsamt). Funeral costs and the inventory fees cannot be deducted in the deceased's tax return; a salary paid after the death (Lohnnachgenuss) is taxed at the heirs, and each heir reclaims the withholding tax in their own tax return, in their own canton of residence. If the tax liability ends during the current year, you fill in the return using the previous year's BalTax Online and select "Steuererklärung Beendigung" there; the Steuerverwaltung's guide (Wegleitung) "Steuern in Todesfällen" explains the details. The return has to be filed within 30 days of delivery or by the filing deadline printed on the main form or the enclosures folder; a first extension of up to 60 days is free and possible online – submit the request before it runs out. The direct federal tax becomes immediately due when the tax liability ends. If the deceased was married or in a registered partnership, both were taxed jointly up to the date of death – the surviving person files, for themselves and the heirs, the joint return from 1 January to the date of death, and for the period from the day after the death to the end of the year, a return of their own, as a single person. From the day after the date of death, the heirs are themselves liable to tax for the undivided estate – as members of the community of heirs, they declare assets and income according to their inheritance share in their own tax return.
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.