Montenegro has no separate inheritance tax and no separate gift tax. What it has is a real estate transfer tax whose list of taxable events expressly includes inheritance and gift (Article 4(3) of the Real Estate Transfer Tax Act). So the question "is there inheritance tax in Montenegro" has a two-part answer: for Montenegrin real estate there is a tax on inheriting, and whether you pay it depends almost entirely on how closely you were related to the person who died or gave the property.
This page sets out that relationship test in one table, the rate for those who pay, and the dates that start the fifteen-day filing clock. It covers immovable property in Montenegro. It was checked against the consolidated Act and its 2026 amendments on 28 September 2026.
The table: who pays on inherited or gifted Montenegrin property
| Recipient | Inheritance | Gift | Article |
|---|---|---|---|
| Child | Exempt | Exempt | Art. 14(1)(1): first order of succession |
| Grandchild inheriting in place of a parent who died earlier | Exempt | See the note below | Art. 14(1)(1), with Succession Act Art. 12 |
| Spouse | Exempt | Exempt (spouse of the donor) | Art. 14(1)(1) |
| Registered same-sex life partner | Exempt | Exempt | Art. 14(1)(1) as amended by 132/2026, from 10 September 2026 |
| Parent | Exempt as heir of a child | Not in the first-order exemption; as a second-order recipient, exempt on one flat after a year of living together, otherwise taxed | Art. 14(1)(1) and (3) |
| Sibling, nephew or niece (second order) | Exempt on one flat if they lived with the deceased continuously for at least a year before death; otherwise taxed | Exempt on one flat after a year of living together; otherwise taxed | Art. 14(1)(3) |
| Second-order heir who is a farmer | Exempt on property used for farming, after three years of living together; the relief is clawed back if they change occupation within five years | Same | Art. 14(1)(2), (2) and (3) |
| Grandparents and more distant relatives | Taxed | Taxed | Arts. 11 and 14 |
| Unrelated person under a will, or a friend | Taxed | Taxed | Arts. 11 and 14 |
| Former spouse or former life partner dividing joint property on divorce | Exempt | Exempt | Art. 14(1)(4) |
| Montenegro as statutory heir; NGOs using the property for their purpose | Exempt | Exempt | Art. 14(1)(6) and (7) |
The grandchild note. Article 14(1)(1) exempts a gift to a recipient "of the first order of succession". The Succession Act puts children and the spouse in the first order (Article 11) and lets grandchildren inherit only in place of a parent who has died (Article 12). A grandchild whose parent is alive is therefore not obviously a first-order recipient. The Act does not answer the point directly, and it is worth settling with the municipal tax office before a grandparent signs a gift contract.
The rate for those who pay
Whoever is taxed pays the same progressive scale as a buyer, under Article 11:
- 3% of the value up to €150,000;
- €4,500 plus 5% of the value above €150,000, up to €500,000;
- €22,000 plus 6% of the value above €500,000.
The base is the market value of the property at the moment of acquisition (Article 9(1)). Where the document shows no price, as a will or a gift contract usually does not, the municipal tax office assesses the value from comparable sales in the same area, and if there are none, appoints a licensed valuer (Article 10).
A worked example. A brother inherits a flat in Budva that the tax office values at €200,000. He did not live with the deceased. He pays €4,500 plus 5% of €50,000, which is €7,000. Had he lived with his brother for more than a year before the death, and had this been the only flat he took under the exemption, he would pay nothing. A daughter inheriting the same flat pays nothing either way.
When the tax arises and when to file
The date that starts the clock depends on how the property passes:
- Inheritance: the day the succession decision becomes final (Article 15(3)), not the day of death.
- Gift: the day the gift contract is concluded (Article 15(1)).
- Lifetime maintenance contract (ugovor o doživotnom izdržavanju): the day the person being maintained dies (Article 15(4)).
The taxpayer is the person who acquires the property. The return must be filed with the municipal tax office within 15 days of that date, and the tax is paid at the same time as the return is filed (Article 16). Courts and notaries separately send the decision or contract to the tax office (Article 15(5)). If that document is not delivered, or is delivered late, the obligation is treated as arising on the day the tax office learns of the acquisition (Article 15(6)).
Who inherits, and what cannot be taken away
The exemption follows the order of succession, so the order matters to the tax as much as to the estate. Under Montenegro's Succession Act (Official Gazette 74/08, with the Constitutional Court decision published in 75/17):
| Order | Who inherits | Forced share if disinherited by will |
|---|---|---|
| First (Art. 11) | Children and spouse, in equal shares; grandchildren in place of a child who died earlier (Art. 12) | Descendants and spouse: half of their statutory share (Art. 28) |
| Second (Art. 13) | If there are no descendants: the parents take half and the spouse half; with no spouse, the parents take everything | Parents: one third of their statutory share (Art. 28) |
| Third (Arts. 17 to 19) | Grandparents, only if there is no spouse either | Only if they are permanently unable to work and without means (Art. 27) |
| Fourth (Art. 20) | Great-grandparents | As above |
A closer order excludes every more distant one (Article 10). Heirs are liable for the deceased's debts only up to the value of what they inherit (Article 140). The full treatment, including disinheritance and renunciation, is in our guide to Montenegrin inheritance for foreign owners.
Two consequences for planning. Gifts to children are tax-free but not estate-free: the Succession Act adds gifts made to heirs back into the estate when forced shares are calculated, which we explain in gifting Montenegrin property to your children. And a will made abroad, or a German or Austrian contract of inheritance, does not change who is a first-order heir under the tax Act; it may not survive in Montenegro at all, as we set out in succession planning for foreign assets.
Which country's law decides the heirs
Whether Montenegrin succession law applies to a foreign owner at all is a conflict-of-laws question, and the EU Succession Regulation does not bind Montenegro. The transfer tax, however, applies to any acquisition of property located in Montenegro, whoever the heirs are under the governing law. The cross-border side is covered in inheriting Montenegrin property under the EU Succession Regulation, and the practical period when the register still names the deceased in the unregistered inheritance title problem.
Whose side we are on, and how we are paid
Every other professional around a Montenegrin transaction is paid out of the transaction. The agent's commission depends on the sale completing. The developer's sales team belongs to the developer. The notary owes duties to the act, not to you. That is not a scandal; it is simply how those roles are funded, and it decides what each of them is able to tell you.
We take no commission from sellers, developers, agents or brokers. None, in any form, on any file. The fee you pay us is our only income from your matter, and it does not increase if you sign. That single fact is the whole difference: because our position does not move when the deal moves, "do not buy this one" costs us nothing to say.
What that looks like in the file, rather than in a slogan: we obtain the register extracts ourselves instead of accepting the copies handed over by the seller or the agent; we read the contract against your position rather than against completion; we put in writing when the answer is that the matter should not proceed; and where a defect can be cured, we tell you what it costs in time before you commit money.
One boundary we state plainly. We are lawyers, not licensed investment advisers. We do not give personal investment advice on financial instruments and we do not tell you whether an asset will make money. What we protect is your legal position: the title, the contract, the registration, the status, and the deadlines that decide all four. That is the service the fee buys, and paying for it directly is precisely what allows it to be given without regard to whether you sign.
Before you inherit, or before you give
The tax result turns on facts that are easy to document at the time and hard to prove later: who lived with whom, for how long, and in which order the family members died. If you are planning a gift, or dealing with an estate that includes Montenegrin property, send us the family facts and the property details and we will tell you who pays, how much, and by which date. Estate matters sit with our inheritance and estate practice.
