Inheritance Law in Poland for Foreigners

Polish inheritance law is a civil law system — fundamentally different from the common-law approach used in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. There's no probate executor with automatic authority. There's no simple will filing that transfers assets. Instead, all heirs must actively establish their inheritance rights through either a notarial certificate or court proceeding, and then separately deal with taxes, property registries, and banks.

For foreign heirs, three things cause the most trouble: the mandatory six-month acceptance window, the strict tax filing deadline, and the EU regulation that determines which country's inheritance law applies.

Which Country's Law Governs

Under EU Succession Regulation 650/2012, the law that governs the entire inheritance — including Polish real estate — is the law of the deceased's habitual residence at the time of death.

If your American parent lived in Warsaw for 15 years, Polish law governs their entire estate (including property in both countries) unless they explicitly chose US law in their will. If they lived in the US and owned a Polish apartment, US law governs the succession — but you still need Polish procedures to actually transfer the property.

This regulation applies across EU member states. Non-EU countries (US, UK post-Brexit, Canada, Australia) aren't bound by it, but Polish courts apply it from their side when determining which law to use.

Statutory Succession: Who Inherits Without a Will

If there's no valid will, Polish law follows a strict order:

First priority: Spouse and children inherit in equal shares, but the spouse's share cannot be less than one-quarter. If the deceased had a spouse and two children, each gets one-third.

Second priority: If there are no children, the spouse inherits jointly with the deceased's parents. The spouse gets half, each parent gets one-quarter.

Third priority: If there's no spouse, children inherit everything equally. If a child predeceased, their share passes to their own children (representation).

The system continues through grandparents, aunts, uncles, and eventually the State Treasury (Skarb Państwa) as the last resort.

Inheriting Polish Real Estate

Foreign heirs can inherit Polish property, but the rules depend on your citizenship:

EU/EEA citizens: No restrictions. Inherit freely through statutory succession or will.

Non-EEA citizens (US, UK, Canadian, Australian): If you inherit through statutory succession (no will), you're fully exempt from needing a government permit. If you inherit through a will (testamentary succession), you may need to apply for a permit from Poland's Ministry of Interior under the Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners. This distinction catches many families off guard.

After establishing your inheritance rights, you must update the Land and Mortgage Registry (Księga Wieczysta) by filing Form KW-WPIS at the local district court. The court fee is a flat 150 PLN regardless of the property's value or number of heirs.

The 5-Year Capital Gains Rule

Selling inherited Polish property within 5 years of acquisition triggers a flat 19% capital gains tax (PIT-39). But here's the critical detail: for inherited property, the 5-year clock runs from the end of the calendar year in which the deceased originally acquired the property — not when you inherited it.

If your parent bought an apartment in 2018 and died in 2026, you can sell immediately without capital gains tax because the 5-year period (ending December 31, 2023) has already passed.

If you must sell within the taxable window, you can avoid the 19% tax entirely by reinvesting the full proceeds into another residential property for your own housing within 3 years of the sale year (ulga mieszkaniowa).

The Six-Month Acceptance Window

Every heir has six months from learning of their inheritance to decide: accept fully, accept with limited liability (benefit of inventory), or reject entirely. The clock usually starts from the date of death, but can start later if you only learned about the inheritance after the fact.

If you do nothing, Polish law defaults to acceptance with benefit of inventory — your liability for the deceased's debts is capped at the net value of the inherited assets. This is better than unlimited liability, but worse than outright rejection if the estate is heavily indebted.

The Someone Died in Poland guide covers all of these rules with decision frameworks, deadline trackers, and step-by-step instructions tailored for English-speaking heirs navigating the Polish system.

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