Inheritance tax and hereditary assets

There comes a point in the reconstruction of the estate's assets where banking technique meets legal substance. It's the moment when it's necessary to establish what actually exists in the deceased's estate at the exact moment of death , and what is merely an accounting reflection, a recording that comes later, after life has already stopped.

Response no. 131/2026 from the Revenue Agency addresses precisely this issue. A purchase of Treasury bills made just hours before the death, but accounted for by the bank only two days later. A seemingly minor circumstance, but one that can change the taxable base for inheritance tax.

The story is concrete, almost cinematic in its temporal precision. The deceased places the purchase order at 9:34 am on April 22, 2025. She dies at 10:00 pm on the same day. The bank records the transaction with a value date of April 24, 2025. In the inheritance certificate, the balance is therefore higher. The BOT has not yet been "deducted."

The heirs dispute that the money was no longer there. The Agency confirms that they are right.

Substance before accounting

The heart of the answer lies in a principle the Agency forcefully reiterates: What matters is the moment the transaction is finalized , not the moment the bank records it. The accounting entry is merely a technical matter, an administrative step that has no impact on the legal reality.

The document states: "It follows that, for the purposes of determining the current account balance on the date of opening the estate, consideration must be given to the completion of the purchase transaction of the security, with no relevance to the subsequent accounting entry in the current account."

This is a sentence that shifts the focus of estate reconstruction. Estate is not what the bank shows, but what actually existed at the time of death.

The BOT does not enter the hereditary assets

The Agency's reasoning is based on a clear regulatory fact. BOTs, like all government debt securities, are exempt from inheritance tax. Article 12 of the TUSD unambiguously places them outside of taxable assets.

This means that if the security was purchased before death, it cannot be treated as liquidity still present in the account. The bank may have debited it later, but the transaction had already been completed. The money was no longer available. The BOT had already "born," even if not yet accounted for.

Does the bank certify a higher balance? Can heirs correct it?

Response No. 131/2026 grants heirs an important power: to correct the balance certified by the bank when it does not represent the actual situation at the time the succession is opened.

The Agency explicitly states: "The applicants will therefore be able to subtract the amount of the purchase of the ordinary Treasury bond from the balance of the current account communicated by the bank [...] since this transaction appears to have been carried out before the death."

This step protects heirs from a common misunderstanding. The bank certifies what it "sees" in its systems, not what actually existed in the deceased's estate. The inheritance declaration , however, must adhere to the substantive reality, not the banking timeline.

The time of operation and the time of life

The Agency's response brings clarity to a gray area: the area where the financial transaction has already been finalized but not yet settled. Civil case law, cited in the document, has been stating this for years: accounting records have merely declaratory value. The "true" balance is the one resulting from transactions already concluded, regardless of when they are recorded.

In the case of dematerialized securities, the principle is even clearer. Ownership arises with the execution of the order, not with the liquidation of the consideration.

Death, in this context, is a clean break. Everything completed beforehand enters (or exits) the estate; anything merely registered afterward does not change the succession picture.

A conclusion that avoids undue taxes

Response No. 131/2026 has a very concrete effect: it prevents the taxation of liquidity that, at the time of death, no longer existed. The BOT had already been purchased. The money had already been allocated to an exempt asset. The bank simply recorded it afterwards.

The inheritance tax return must therefore be based on the actual balance, not the accounting balance. And heirs can deduct the BOT amount without any fear of dispute.

Probate captures reality, not accounting. The deceased's estate is what actually existed at the time of death, not what the bank recorded in the days that followed.

And once a government bond has already been purchased, that money is no longer taxable liquidity. It has already become an asset exempt from taxation. To delve deeper into the matter, it's always helpful to consult with the professionals at Agenzia delle Successioni, starting with a consultation.