Cantonal guide: Thurgau
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 Thurgau.
Handing in and opening the will
In the canton of Thurgau, the notary and land registry office (Notariat) is the inheritance authority. It is part of the Notariat of the district where the deceased last lived: Frauenfeld, Kreuzlingen, Weinfelden, Arbon or Münchwilen (based at Gemeindeplatz 1, Aadorf); Weinfelden runs a branch office in Bischofszell. The former branch office in Diessenhofen has been closed since the end of 2024; the Notariat Frauenfeld is now responsible there. As a replacement, the Notariat Frauenfeld offers, according to its website, consultation days by appointment at the municipal administrations of Diessenhofen, Basadingen-Schlattingen, Schlatt and Wagenhausen. The civil registry office reports every death to the Notariat without delay, and the Notariat opens of its own accord, after the death, any will deposited with it. A will or inheritance contract that you find at home, in a bank safe-deposit box or with a third party, you hand in to the Notariat without delay – in the original, even if the document looks incomplete or probably invalid. The Notariat identifies the legal heirs and everyone named in the will and officially opens the testamentary disposition to them; how it handles an inheritance contract, it tells you when you hand it in. With the opening, deadlines begin to run – for example the renunciation period for appointed heirs and the periods for a contestation. To secure the estate, the Notariat may seal rooms and containers if an heir requests it or the Notariat considers it necessary; if it orders an estate administration, this costs, under the price list (Preisliste), between CHF 1'000 and CHF 20'000 or 0.5 %. The opening costs, under the price list of the land registry and notary offices (as of 1.1.2026), from CHF 400 plus authentication fees, an executor's certificate (Willensvollstreckerbescheinigung) CHF 100; the costs are charged to the estate. The CHF 100 mentioned there (CHF 50 for each further disposition filed at the same time) is the deposit fee (Depotgebühr) for lifetime deposit, not the opening. Disputed questions – for example the invalidity of a will – are decided not by the Notariat, but by the court.
Certificate of inheritance
In the canton of Thurgau, the Notariat at the last residence issues the certificate of inheritance – in the Thurgau forms it is called "Erbenbescheinigung". It is issued only on application, never of its own accord; any heir or the heirs' representation may apply for it, whether under legal or testamentary succession. Use the form "Bestellung Erbenbescheinigung und Annahmeerklärung der Erbschaft" from gni.tg.ch; at least one heir signs it. The Notariat establishes the heirs – this takes some time. The certificate of inheritance is usually issued only after the three-month renunciation period has passed. If all heirs sign the application, the certificate of inheritance can already be issued before the period expires – because, by signing, you declare, according to the form, the "unconditional and unreserved acceptance of the inheritance", which rules out any renunciation from then on. Whoever still wants to renounce the inheritance therefore does not sign. The Notariat sends the certificate of inheritance together with the fee invoice to the address you give in the form; under the price list (Preisliste) of the land registry and notary offices (as of 1.1.2026), it costs from CHF 200 if the Notariat has previously opened a will, otherwise from CHF 400. You may appeal a fee invoice within 30 days to the Department of Justice and Security (DJS). State, when you apply, how many copies you need. You need the certificate of inheritance mainly for banks and the post office, for insurers and for transferring property in the land registry (Grundbuch); for recording the succession, the land registry charges 1 ‰ of the taxable value (at least CHF 100, at most CHF 2'000), and the 1 % real estate transfer tax (Handänderungssteuer) does not apply to transfers between parents and descendants, stepchildren and sons- and daughters-in-law, and siblings.
Renunciation and public inventory
In the canton of Thurgau, you declare the renunciation to the district court (Bezirksgericht) at the last residence of the deceased – in writing, signed and in the original, using the form "Ausschlagungserklärung" of the Thurgau district courts (bezirksgericht.tg.ch, "Formulare"); an information sheet on the renunciation, which the Kreuzlingen district court provides there, explains the consequences. In the form, you declare that you renounce the inheritance "unconditionally and without reservation". The period is three months and 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; you also address a request for an extension or restoration of the period to the district court. Whoever interferes with the estate – that is, does more than manage it – can no longer renounce; therefore do not pay any invoices from the estate before your decision, not even funeral costs. The renunciation is binding. If you live under a marital community-of-property regime (Gütergemeinschaft), your spouse must consent to the renunciation. If you renounce as a legal heir, your position passes to your descendants – they too must renounce if they do not want the inheritance; adult descendants with their own form, for minor children, according to the form, both parents sign if they both hold parental authority, otherwise the parent who holds it. The renunciation may trigger court costs, which according to the information sheet are borne by the renouncing heirs; the information sheet does not state an amount – ask the district court. If all the next legal heirs renounce, the district court decides on the opening of bankruptcy, and the bankruptcy office (Konkursamt) liquidates the estate; these costs are usually borne by the bankruptcy estate, not the heirs, and any surplus is paid out, according to the information sheet, after deduction of the Konkursamt's outlays and fees. You do not have to formally renounce a legacy – legatees are not liable for debts. You also request the public inventory with a call to creditors (Rechnungsruf) from the district court within one month from the same point in time; the same applies to the official liquidation. The single judge (Einzelrichterin/Einzelrichter) of the district court orders the inventory and instructs the notary and land registry office (Notariat) with it, which publishes the call to creditors in the official gazette (Amtsblatt) – creditors have one month to file their claims; the Notariat also carries out the official liquidation on the court's instructions. The costs – under the price list (Preisliste) of the notary offices, from CHF 1'000 to CHF 10'000 for the public inventory, plus any court costs – are borne by the estate, and where it is not enough, by the heirs who requested it. Once the inventory is ready, you have one month to declare whether you renounce, request the official liquidation, or accept the inheritance under public inventory or unconditionally.
Inheritance tax
Spouses, registered partners and descendants (children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren; adopted children count as descendants) do not pay inheritance tax in the canton of Thurgau. Stepchildren and foster children count as descendants if the step or foster relationship lasted at least seven years – for foster children without interruption; their own descendants, however, are taxable. Transfers of assets up to CHF 5'000 also remain tax-free. All other heirs pay the cantonal inheritance tax on their share of the inheritance, after deducting the tax-free allowance. It is calculated in two steps: a basic rate (Grundtarif) depends on the relationship to the deceased – 2 % for parents; 4 % for grandparents, siblings, daughter-in-law and son-in-law as well as foster children after at least two years of the foster relationship who are not exempt; 6 % for uncles and aunts as well as nieces and nephews (descendants of siblings); 8 % for everyone else with a right of inheritance and for non-relatives, and, according to the tax administration's information sheet, also for foster children after less than two years of the foster relationship – the law does not specifically mention parents-in-law, step-fathers and step-mothers, foster parents or cohabiting partners, so they too fall under this 8 %. A surcharge (Zuschlag) is added according to the amount of the taxable share: 0.5 % of the tax calculated under the basic rate (the "simple tax") per CHF 1'000, until at CHF 500'000 it reaches its maximum value of 250 % – from there the maximum rate applies. The tax thus amounts to at most 7 % for parents, 14 % for siblings, 21 % for uncles, aunts, nieces and nephews and 28 % for non-relatives. A tax-free allowance of CHF 20'000 is deducted from the share of the inheritance for each parent and of CHF 100'000 for persons permanently in need of care and support; the law does not say whether the two allowances accumulate – if in doubt, ask the tax administration (Steuerverwaltung). For everyone else there is no allowance. The basis of the assessment is the estate inventory (Nachlassinventar) of the competent Notariat, which draws up a draft assessment (Veranlagungsentwurf) for this purpose; you usually do not file a separate inheritance-tax return. The tax administration of the canton of Thurgau (Steuerverwaltung) notifies the taxable heirs of the assessment by way of a ruling. If you do not agree, you may lodge a written objection with the tax administration within 30 days of notification; against the objection decision, an appeal is open within 30 days. The tax is to be paid within 60 days of the assessment being issued – this payment deadline is interrupted neither by a legal remedy (objection, appeal or complaint) nor by a request for deferral or waiver; after it expires, default interest is owed without a reminder. The heirs are jointly and severally liable for the inheritance tax, each person up to the amount they received from the estate. On steuerverwaltung.tg.ch there is a tax calculator for the inheritance tax.
Estate inventory
In the canton of Thurgau, the district Notariat at the last residence draws up an estate inventory (Nachlassinventar) after a death; the civil registry office reports every death to it. The tax act provides for it to be drawn up, as a rule, within 14 days of the death (a directory rule of tax practice (Steuerpraxis)), though in practice it often takes longer; if no assets are to be expected, the Notariat may waive it. The duty exists even when no inheritance tax is due, for example because only the spouse and children inherit: the inventory also serves to check the income and wealth tax. If no heirs are known, the Notariat draws up an official inventory. Assets and debts as at the date of death are recorded – usually also the assets of the surviving spouse or registered partner, provided the income and wealth taxes were assessed jointly, and those of minor children under parental authority: accounts, securities, insurance, property, vehicles, household goods, open invoices and the deductible funeral costs. The Notariat asks you in writing, with a deadline, to draw up the inventory and decides whether it is completed on site, at the Notariat, or in writing. A simplified procedure applies if no inheritance tax is due, no property belongs to the estate and the securities do not exceed CHF 100'000; otherwise the Notariat carries out the ordinary procedure. The simplified form works with flat amounts for outstanding invoices and funeral costs (CHF 10'000 and CHF 20'000). You are obliged to cooperate: give truthful information, allow inspection of records, and report assets discovered later to the Notariat without delay, at the latest within ten days; banks and other third parties are likewise obliged to provide information. Until the inventory is drawn up, you may dispose of estate assets only with the consent of the Notariat as inventory authority; to secure them it may seal rooms and containers, if an heir requests it or it considers this necessary. If inheritance tax is due, the inventory is the basis for the assessment: the Notariat draws up a draft assessment (Veranlagungsentwurf), the tax administration (Steuerverwaltung) issues the assessment. Drawing it up carries a fee under the price list (Preisliste) of the land registry and notary offices (as of 1.1.2026; it states, for an official inventory, from CHF 500 to CHF 5'000 as well as hourly rates of CHF 200 for notaries and CHF 120 for staff). Keep the records of assets and debts as at the date of death in a safe place. If previously untaxed assets come to light in the inventory, it is worth declaring them openly: if the heirs cooperate unconditionally, back taxes are usually levied only for the last three tax periods before the year of death – details on steuerverwaltung.tg.ch under "Nachbesteuerung in Erbfällen".
The deceased's tax return
The deceased's tax liability ends on the date of death; for the year of death, a part-year tax return has to be filed from 1 January up to and including the date of death. The heirs receive it sent to them – by the tax office of the municipality of residence (Gemeindesteueramt) or by the tax administration (Steuerverwaltung); the deadline is stated on it or in the cover letter. If there is not enough time, submit the request for an extension before the deadline expires to the Gemeindesteueramt – many Thurgau municipalities offer an online form for this. In the tax return you state income and deductions up to the date of death and the assets as at the date of death; you reconcile the asset figures with the Notariat's estate inventory (Nachlassinventar), and send the tax return back signed. Spouses and registered partners file two tax returns for the year of death: a last joint one up to the date of death and one of the surviving person's own from the day after the death to 31 December. On the day after the date of death, the heirs become liable to tax, unless they renounce the inheritance: until the estate is divided, they declare the assets and income of the undivided estate in proportion to their share of the inheritance in their own tax return – for larger inheritances the tax administration recommends form 3 "Fragebogen zur Ermittlung der Anteile an Einkommen und Vermögen von Erbgemeinschaften" for this, to which it is useful to attach a copy of the estate inventory; the inheritance itself is declared, in the year of devolution, on page 4 of the main cover sheet of the tax return (item 30.5, undivided inheritance). The information sheet "Steuerpflicht bei Todesfällen und Erbschaften" of the tax administration on steuerverwaltung.tg.ch explains the details.
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.