Cantonal guide: St. Gallen
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 St. Gallen.
Handing in and opening the will
In the canton of St. Gallen, the cantonal notary's office (Amtsnotariat) is the inheritance authority – the regional office of the Amtsnotariat at the last residence of the deceased is in charge (you find the locations on sg.ch). A will or inheritance contract 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 the document looks incomplete or probably invalid. A will deposited with the Amtsnotariat is opened by the Amtsnotariat of its own accord after the death. The Amtsnotariat identifies everyone named in the will and the legal heirs, and opens the testamentary disposition to them: all heirs receive a copy, legatees a copy of the section concerning them. After the opening you can order the certificate of inheritance, and deadlines begin to run – for example the renunciation period for appointed heirs and the period for a contestation. The opening carries a basic fee of CHF 400 plus CHF 30 per further person involved and the cost of the civil-status documents; the costs are charged to the estate.
Certificate of inheritance
In the canton of St. Gallen, the cantonal notary's office (Amtsnotariat) at the last residence issues the certificate of inheritance – only on application, not of its own accord. The heirs may order it with the form "Bestellung Erbbescheinigung" from sg.ch, signed; if you have already received the opening of the will, ordering by phone or e-mail is enough. You do not need any enclosures: the Amtsnotariat obtains the civil-status documents itself and determines the heirs of its own accord – this takes time, occasionally more for persons of foreign nationality or after a naturalisation. The certificate of inheritance is issued only after the three-month renunciation period has passed – or earlier, if all heirs unconditionally accept the inheritance with the form "Annahmeerklärung"; if there is a will, at the earliest one month after its opening. Note: with the declaration of acceptance, a renunciation is no longer possible – whoever still wants to renounce the inheritance does not sign one. The basic fee is CHF 300 – CHF 200, if a will was opened beforehand – plus CHF 30 per further heir and the cost of the civil-status documents; three copies are included, each further copy costs CHF 10 – order as many as you need right away. For an executor there is a separate executor's certificate (Willensvollstreckerbescheinigung) (CHF 64.90). You need the certificate of inheritance mainly for banks, insurers and the land registry.
Renunciation and public inventory
In the canton of St. Gallen, you declare the renunciation to the cantonal notary's office (Amtsnotariat) at the last residence – in writing, with your signature, using the form "Ausschlagung der Erbschaft" from sg.ch, in the original – within three months. The period runs for legal heirs from the day you learned of the death (usually the date of death), for appointed heirs from the opening of the will. The renunciation is binding and cannot be revoked. If you renounce as a legal heir, your position passes to your own descendants – they too must renounce if they do not want the inheritance: for minor children on the same form, signed by both parents; adult descendants with their own form. If all the next legal heirs renounce, the bankruptcy office (Konkursamt) liquidates the estate. The Amtsnotariat charges a recording fee of CHF 40 per person who renounces (CHF 15 for minor descendants who renounce along with them), plus their share of the outlays for civil-status documents; a certificate of the renunciation costs a further CHF 50. You also request the public inventory, with a call to creditors (Rechnungsruf), from the Amtsnotariat, within one month from the same point in time; the request of a single heir counts for all. The Amtsnotariat issues the call to creditors, publishes it in the official gazette (Amtsblatt) and draws up the inventory. The costs are borne by the estate, and where it is not enough, by the heirs who requested the inventory. Once the inventory is closed, the Amtsnotariat gives you one month to accept or renounce the inheritance; whoever accepts it under public inventory is liable only for the inventoried debts.
Inheritance tax
Spouses, registered partners, descendants (children, grandchildren; adopted children count as descendants) as well as stepchildren and foster children are exempt from inheritance tax in the canton of St. Gallen. Other heirs pay a fixed rate on their share of the inheritance, depending on their relationship to the deceased: 10 percent for parents, step-parents and foster parents, descendants of stepchildren and foster children, and for cohabiting partners – that is, persons who lived together with the deceased for at least five years before the death in a shared household with the same tax domicile; 20 percent for siblings, grandparents, parents-in-law, daughter-in-law and son-in-law; 30 percent for everyone else – nieces and nephews, uncles and aunts, non-relatives. A tax-free allowance remains exempt: CHF 25'000 for everyone at the 10 percent rate – parents, step-parents and foster parents, descendants of stepchildren and foster children, cohabiting partners –, CHF 10'000 for all other taxpayers. The allowance applies only once per deceased person and recipient: if it was already granted for an earlier gift from the same person, it no longer applies. The cantonal tax office (Kantonales Steueramt), inheritance and gift tax division, assesses the tax on the basis of the estate inventory (Nachlassinventar) and the deed of division (Erbteilakt), which also serve as the tax return; there is no separate inheritance-tax return. The heirs are jointly liable for the inheritance tax of all heirs, each person up to the amount they received from the estate. On sg.ch there is a tax calculator for the inheritance tax.
Estate inventory and deed of division
In the canton of St. Gallen, the heirs fill in the estate inventory (Nachlassinventar) themselves. After the death, the heirs, the heirs' representative or the executor receive a letter with the forms from the cantonal tax office (Kantonales Steueramt): the estate inventory (Nachlassinventar, form 30.11), the deed of division (Erbteilakt, form 31.33) and the information sheet 30.5 "Nachlassinventar und letzte Steuererklärung"; the deceased's last tax return is sent separately by the tax office of the last residence. In the estate inventory, you state the assets and debts as at the date of death (accounts, securities, insurance, property, vehicles, household goods, open invoices, funeral costs); in the deed of division, you record how the estate is divided among the heirs. The inventory also serves as the tax return for the inheritance tax and is filed even when no inheritance tax is due – the information then serves the heirs' income and wealth tax. All heirs sign and thereby confirm that the information is complete and truthful; if only a legatee, an executor or an estate administrator signs, the representation of the other heirs entitled is deemed granted. The estate inventory and the deed of division, with their enclosures, must be filed within four months of the date of death; the exact deadline is named in the letter, and a request for an extension is filed before it runs out online via eunds.sg.ch. The completed forms go to the cantonal tax office, inheritance and gift tax, Davidstrasse 41, Postfach 1245, 9001 St. Gallen. You are obliged to cooperate: give truthful information, allow inspection of records, rooms and containers, and report assets discovered later within ten days; banks, employers and other third parties are also obliged to provide information. At the request of an heir, the Amtsnotariat seals rooms and containers, or draws up a protective inventory (Sicherungsinventar) – the latter possibly also of its own accord. Keep the records of assets and debts as at the date of death in a safe place.
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 up to the date of death. The tax office of the municipality of the last residence sends it to the heirs; in it you state income and deductions up to the date of death and the taxable assets as at the date of death. The deadline is on the form and can be extended on request – ask before it runs out. You gather the figures yourself and send the tax return back signed; you also use the asset figures as at the date of death in the estate inventory. Spouses file two tax returns for the year of death: a last joint one up to the date of death, filled in by the surviving spouse, and one of their own from the day after the death to the end of the year with the assets as at 31 December. For the estate's assets and income from the date of death onward, the heirs are liable to declare and pay tax for their 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.