{"id":7375,"date":"2026-03-23T08:00:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T08:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/steimle-consulting.ch\/2026\/03\/23\/pianificazione-successoria-in-presenza-di-beni-qualificati-come-situati-negli-stati-uniti-lesposizione-allimposta-federale-statunitense-sulle-successioni\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T08:51:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T08:51:16","slug":"succession-planning-exposura-to-us-federal-tax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/steimle-consulting.ch\/en\/2026\/03\/23\/succession-planning-exposura-to-us-federal-tax\/","title":{"rendered":"Succession planning: the exposure to US federal estate tax for Swiss tax resident individuals (non-residents, not citizens of the United States)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 fusion-flex-container has-pattern-background has-mask-background nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"--awb-border-radius-top-left:0px;--awb-border-radius-top-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-left:0px;--awb-flex-wrap:wrap;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row fusion-flex-align-items-flex-start fusion-flex-content-wrap\" style=\"max-width:1248px;margin-left: calc(-4% \/ 2 );margin-right: calc(-4% \/ 2 );\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-flex-column\" style=\"--awb-bg-size:cover;--awb-width-large:100%;--awb-margin-top-large:0px;--awb-spacing-right-large:1.92%;--awb-margin-bottom-large:20px;--awb-spacing-left-large:1.92%;--awb-width-medium:100%;--awb-order-medium:0;--awb-spacing-right-medium:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-medium:1.92%;--awb-width-small:100%;--awb-order-small:0;--awb-spacing-right-small:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-small:1.92%;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-column-has-shadow fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\"><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1\"><p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Introduction<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Subject to US estate tax are not only US citizens or persons tax resident in the United States (hereinafter also referred as US persons) , but the US\u00a0 extends also its taxing right ( if certain conditions are met and the estate of the deceased persons includes so called \u201cUS situs assets\u201d)\u00a0 to non US persons therefore to Swiss citizens and individuals who are\u00a0 tax resident in Switzerland. Subject to tax is the entire estate and not the individual inheritances. \u00a0Internal US tax laws treat US persons and foreign persons differently for tax purposes. Therefore, it is important to distinguish between these two types of taxpayers.<\/p>\n<p><em>Please click here <\/em><em>for <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/individuals\/international-taxpayers\/classification-of-taxpayers-for-us-tax-purposes\"><strong><em>Classification of Taxpayers for U.S. Tax Purposes | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov)<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>As the US federal estate tax rate is 40%, all parties involved in a future succession (testator, heirs, legatee, executor) shall be aware of the relevant US estate tax risk connected with notification obligations\u00a0 to the US Internal Revenue Service<\/p>\n<p>Since 2011, the US Internal Revenue Service has started to consequently tax heirs being Swiss citizens or Swiss tax resident individuals not resident in the United States on those estate elements being considered so-called <u>US situs assets<\/u>.<\/p>\n<p><u>US situs assets<\/u> is a definition from the US tax law and includes basically any movable or immovable asset having a certain territorial relation to the United States, such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Immovable and movable assets being located physically on US territory.<\/li>\n<li>Shares of companies being set up under US Law, independent from the place of stock exchange listing or physical deposit of such securities.<\/li>\n<li>Certain US bonds.<\/li>\n<li>Investment funds issued by US Institutions.<\/li>\n<li>Financial instruments and certain other contractual rights where the debtor is a US<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Many have been the cases in the last years of Swiss citizens or Swiss tax residents heirs having received an estate tax bill from the IRS although neither the deceased person nor his descendants had never been resident in the US and had never had US citizenship (or were\u00a0 Greencard holders), but the deceased person had invested in US situs assets such as shares and bonds that formed part of the overall estate.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><strong>\u00a0Apotential Swiss and US double taxation of an estate which comprises movable US situs assets cannot be avoided despite the\u00a0 provisions of the US-Switzerland Inheritance Tax Treaty<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>In the absence of an applicable inheritance (and\/or gift) bilateral tax treaty, international double inheritance (and gift) tax may occur. Wealth attributable to a foreign non-Swiss situs real estate (property) are however exempted from Swiss cantonal inheritance and gift taxation.<\/p>\n<p>The Switzerland-United States Inheritance Tax Treaty concluded on 9<sup>th<\/sup> July 1951 entered into force on 17<sup>th<\/sup> September 1952 but does not provide a relief from double taxation in the presence of US situs assets which are not US situs properties.<\/p>\n<p><em>If you wish to read the Switzerland-United States Inheritance Tax Treaty, please <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fedlex.admin.ch\/eli\/cc\/1952\/645_661_663\/it\"><strong><em>click here<\/em><\/strong><\/a> <em>for the today valid version.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The Inheritance Tax Treaty was concluded in 1951 and foresees in article 3 that also the succession of a \u201cdecedent who at the time of death was NOT a citizen of the United States and was NOT domiciled therein, but who was at the time of his death a citizen of or domiciled in Switzerland\u201d can be taxed in the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, Switzerland until today has not succeeded to renegotiate the Inheritance Tax Treaty of 1951, although the Swiss Parliament entrusted the Swiss Federal Council in summer 2011 to undertake the necessary political steps to initiate such renegotiation.<\/p>\n<p>This came because of the US Tax Administration (IRS) having reconfirmed the US Inheritance Tax Law in December 2010 under the Administration Obama after years of reducing, step by step, the Inheritance Tax and discussing to abolish inheritance tax completely.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><strong>The computation of the US federal estate tax exposure (as an introduction)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The computation of the tax requires an inventory of the total value of the US situs assets at the decedent\u2019s date of death as well as a separate statement of all assets of the estate situated outside the US, all at fair market value.<\/p>\n<p>These two statements are called \u201cthe gross estate in the United States\u201d and \u201cthe gross estate outside the United States\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Certain deductions are allowed, and certain lifetime taxable gifts must be added to obtain the correct US taxable estate.<\/p>\n<p>As specified in the Inheritance Tax Treaty of 1951, US non-residents non US citizens are allowed <em>\u201d a specific exemption which would be allowable under its law if the decedent had been domiciled in the United States <strong>in an amount not less than the proportion thereof which the value of the total property (both movable and immovable) subjected to its tax bears to the value of the total property (both movable and immovable) <\/strong>which would have been subject to its tax if the decedent had been domiciled in the United States.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The US Inheritance Tax basically is due when the total fair market value of the net estate in the United States exceeds the filing threshold of US$ 60\u2019000<\/p>\n<p>The exemption above referred to was US$ 2\u2019000\u2019000 in the years 2004\/2005 and was increased year by year to reach US$ 15&#8217;000\u2019000.- in 2026.<\/p>\n<p><strong>To better understand the mechanism of the exemption applicable, please refer to the following example:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Swiss citizen\/ Swiss tax resident individual not to be qualified as a US person died in February 2026 and his succession was opened in Switzerland. The US taxable estate formed of US situs assets amounts to US$ 5\u2019000\u2019000 market value and the taxable estate outside the United States amounts to US$ 10\u2019000\u2019000 thus in total US$ 15 mio. The proportion of the US estate to the total estate is therefore 33.33%. The exemption is US$ 15\u2019000\u2019000 in the present year 2026, thus 33.33% of it equals to US$ 5\u2019000\u2019000 which is the proportional exemption the heir can benefit considering a US estate formed of US situs assets of US$ 5 mio.<\/p>\n<p>The IRS therefore would not levy a US federal inheritance tax.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li><strong>LWho has an obligation to notify the estate to the IRS and to pay the estate tax due)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>According to US Tax Law, the testamentary executor is responsible for the payment of the inheritance tax. In absence of an executor, any person being in possession of assets of the decedent (like the heirs) can be considered as executor, also a bank having a relation with the deceased person.<\/p>\n<p>The heirs and the executor basically have the legal duty to notify the tax liability by filing the form 706-NA United States Estate Tax Return of non-US persons.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"5\">\n<li><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>When investing as an individual in US situs assets as better explained above, the IRS notification obligations as well as the US inheritance tax exposure shall in advance be taken into account as in case of death, US inheritance taxes would be due.<\/p>\n<p>While the transfer by death or inter vivos of a US situs property would in any case be exempted from Swiss Cantonal inheritance or gift taxes the transfer of <u>movable US situs assets<\/u> might well procure a double inheritance taxation or an unilateral US taxation should the heirs (even if not qualified as US persons) be the direct descendants of the deceased Swiss tax resident person.<\/p>\n<p>A succession planning with focus on US situs assets would be advisable.<\/p>\n<p>Steimle &amp; Partners Consulting SA is not a qualified US tax advisor, and the contents of this article cannot be regarded as legally binding. We strongly recommend reverting to qualified US tax experts for any in depth analysis of the US Inheritance Tax legislation as applicable on US federal level and state level.<\/p>\n<p>We also strongly recommend reverting to a professional asset manager with regard to the definition of \u201cUS securities\u201d according to the US \u2013 Switzerland Inheritance Tax Treaty, Article 4.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-separator fusion-full-width-sep\" style=\"align-self: center;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;margin-top:40px;width:100%;\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-2 paragrafo-disclaimer\" style=\"--awb-font-size:11px;\"><p><strong>For further information on the above, please do not hesitate to contact us<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The contents of the present document cannot be taken as being the expression of an opinion. They are of an exclusively informative and updating character. The reader who wants to use the said information should consult a professional advisor so as to assure compliance with legal and tax obligations in his or her country of residence. <strong>Steimle &amp; Partners Consulting SA <\/strong>declines any responsibility for any eventual damage, whether direct, indirect, incidental or consequential linked to an action or omission tied to the use of the information contained in the present document. We remain available for a closer examination of any of the topics mentioned above.<\/p>\n<\/div><div ><a class=\"fusion-button button-flat fusion-button-default-size button-default fusion-button-default button-1 fusion-button-default-span fusion-button-default-type\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/steimle-consulting.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Succession-planning-US-Federal-estate-tax.pdf\"><span class=\"fusion-button-text awb-button__text awb-button__text--default\">Scarica il PDF<\/span><\/a><\/div><div class=\"fusion-separator fusion-full-width-sep\" style=\"align-self: center;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;margin-top:100px;width:100%;\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-title title fusion-title-1 fusion-sep-none fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-three\" style=\"--awb-margin-top-small:0px;--awb-margin-right-small:0px;--awb-margin-bottom-small:20px;--awb-margin-left-small:0px;\"><h3 class=\"fusion-title-heading title-heading-left\" style=\"margin:0;\">Other content suggestion\u2026<\/h3><\/div><div class=\"fusion-blog-shortcode fusion-blog-shortcode-1 fusion-blog-archive fusion-blog-layout-grid-wrapper fusion-blog-infinite fusion-blog-no-images\"><style type=\"text\/css\">.fusion-blog-shortcode-1 .fusion-blog-layout-grid .fusion-post-grid{padding:20px;}.fusion-blog-shortcode-1 .fusion-posts-container{margin-left: -20px !important; 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