How is the value of inherited property set for inheritance tax in Lebanon?

Key facts#

What is taxed

Each heir's net share, valued at the market value at the date of death^[1] (PBL)

Who values it

A Ministry of Finance controller, per Kallas^[2]

Heirs' own valuation

Heirs may submit a report from a real estate expert accredited by Banque du Liban^[4] (Finance Minister memo, April 2025, as reported by Annahar)

Exchange rate for dollar property

Not published; ask the Ministry of Finance^[2]

Declaring the estate

within 90 days of the death^[2,4,5], file completed within six months of the death^[2,4]

Paying the tax

Per Kallas: within two months; 1% per month if late^[2,5], counted from service of the collection order

Life insurance

5% of the insured value^[2,5], in the policy's currency (Kallas)

How the valuation happens, step by step#

1. 1
   Get a Land Registry extract for each property. The extract (ifadeh aqariyeh) shows the owner, mortgages and restrictions on the plot^[6,7]. Each property is identified by its plot number and real estate district, plus a section number for an apartment. If you do not have these, ask the Land Registry office for the property's real estate district. See how to get a Land Registry extract. These real-estate certificates go into the estate declaration^[2].
2. 2
   File the estate declaration. Heirs file it with the competent financial department of the Ministry of Finance within 90 days of the death^[2,4,5]. Per Kallas, it goes on the Ministry's form, and the documents include the death certificate and any will, the deceased's executed family extract and each heir's family extract, the mukhtar's statement of heirs, real-estate certificates and vehicle papers, statements of securities and shares, bank statements at the date of death, and a copy of any sale contract between the deceased and an heir in the two years before death^[2].
3. 3
   Complete the file. All documents are due within six months of the death^[2,4]. Per Kallas, you add the Probate Decision and any will. For unbuilt land you add an area statement, a location map and a municipal contents certificate, and for apartments an area statement, a municipal certificate and built-property-tax clearance. Company share documents, bank statements, vehicle papers, treasury bonds and debt documents go in too^[2].
4. 4
   Decide whether to submit an expert report. Within the same six months, heirs may hand in a valuation by a Banque du Liban-accredited real estate expert^[4]. Read it carefully before you file it, because you share responsibility for the figure.
5. 5
   Read the controller's valuation when it is served. If you disagree, object within two months of notification, per Kallas^[2,5]. A lawyer is the right person to draft an objection.
6. 6
   Pay the tax. Per Kallas, the tax is due within two months; 1% per month if late^[2,5], counted from service of the collection order. Also per Kallas, notaries and the Land Registry cannot register any transaction on the estate until the Ministry issues its clearance, and it issues that clearance only after the tax is paid or security is given for twice its maximum amount^[2]. The next stage is in transferring inherited property to the heirs.

It depends on#

• The date of death. The current schedule applies to deaths after 15 November 2022^[3,5,8], and earlier estates are assessed under the previous one. PwC alone reports an exemption for deaths before 1 January 2007^[3], so confirm it with the Ministry before relying on it. See old estates that were never declared.
• Heirs living abroad. Per Kallas, the financial department may extend the declaration deadline by up to one year^[2,9] on request, at its discretion, and deaths abroad are handled by the Beirut transfer-fee department. Heirs can also act through a power of attorney covering every step^[9]. See acting for heirs abroad.
• Deadlines in 2026. Law 46/2026 suspended deadlines running 1 March to 31 July 2026^[10], and Annahar reports this covers tax deadlines. No source confirms how the Ministry applies it to estate files, so ask the transfer-fee department.
• What the estate holds. Life insurance follows the currency of the policy^[2,5]. For dollar-priced property and lollar deposits there is no published rule, so ask the Ministry or a tax adviser.

Common questions#