What will the estate tax be?
It is a hard thing to sit down and calculate, and families put it off — which is exactly what makes it expensive. The Philippine estate tax return is due within a year of the death, and until it is filed and paid, nothing moves: the house cannot be sold, the title cannot be transferred, the bank account stays frozen.
The good news, if there is any, is that the modern rules are generous. A flat 6% applies only to what is left after a ₱5 million standard deduction and the family home allowance — which means a great many ordinary family estates owe nothing at all. They still have to file.
Enter the decedent's share only. For a married couple under absolute community or conjugal partnership, that is usually half of what the couple owned together — putting the whole value in will roughly double the answer.
Estimated Philippine estate tax
₱0
The deductions cover the whole estate, so no estate tax is due — but the return still has to be filed, and nothing transfers to the heirs without the BIR's eCAR. "No tax owed" is not the same as "nothing to do."
| Gross estate | ₱6,500,000 |
|---|---|
| Less debts and claims | −₱0 |
| Less standard deduction | −₱5,000,000 |
| Less family home | −₱6,000,000 |
| Net taxable estate | ₱0 |
The clock: the estate tax return is due within 12 months of the death. The amnesty for old unsettled estates closed on 14 June 2025 — waiting no longer has a rescue coming.
No longer deductible under the TRAIN law, though older articles still list them: funeral expenses, judicial and administration expenses, medical expenses of the last illness.
A planning estimate for a Philippine citizen or resident, using statutory rates as of August 2026 — not a computed return. A non-resident alien is taxed only on Philippine property and gets much smaller deductions; estates with businesses, foreign assets, or transfers made within three years of death need an accountant. General information, not legal or tax advice.
What this doesn't cover
This is the Philippine side only. If your parent was also a US person, or you are inheriting as one, there is a second set of rules on the other side — reporting an inheritance, the US estate tax thresholds, and what happens to a US account. The practical order of operations, including which death certificate goes where, is in when a parent dies in two countries.
Once the estate is settled and you hold a clean title, the property transfer cost calculator covers what a later sale will cost. And the document that makes all of this survivable — knowing where the title, the IDs and the bank records actually are — is the family document locator, best filled in while everyone is still well.