Top 7 Places to Hold Property for Estate Planning in 2026

Sources: PwC / OECD data, HMRC, PwC data, 2026 tax guides.

1. United Arab Emirates

No inheritance tax, no personal income tax on PwC data, and a deep prime market in Dubai. The zero applies at the asset’s end; a UK-scoped or US-scoped owner may still owe at home.

2. Singapore

No estate duty since 2008, top-tier title security, and Asia’s deepest prime market. The preservation-and-succession pairing in one jurisdiction.

3. Australia

No inheritance tax since 1979. Capital gains rules apply to inherited assets when later sold, so the zero is at death, not forever.

4. New Zealand

No inheritance tax, second-safest country on the 2026 Global Peace Index, and an investor residency route via Active Investor Plus.

5. Hong Kong

Estate duty abolished, bilingual legal infrastructure, and direct pathways for family succession planning in Asia’s traditional wealth hub.

6. Portugal

Spouses and children inherit Portuguese assets with zero tax, which quietly strengthens the retirement-and-golden-visa case for direct-line family wealth.

7. Canada

No inheritance tax, but death triggers a deemed disposition for capital gains, so the estate pays on accrued growth. Clean, but not free.

Sources: PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, OECD data, HMRC, and 2026 international tax guides. Reliefs, treaties, and forced-heirship rules vary by circumstance; take qualified advice.

How does estate planning combine with the other buyer intents? It is the reason preservation buyers hold what they hold, where they hold it. The London purchase made for sterling safety and clean succession structures, the Dubai purchase made where nothing is due at death, the residence chosen a decade early: estate planning is rarely the stated reason for a purchase, and very often the real one.

• Situs: a UK property stays in UK IHT scope whoever owns it, and non-residents face US estate tax above just US$60,000 of US-situs assets.
• The owner’s regime travels: the UK now scopes worldwide estates by residence (ten of the last twenty years, with a tail after leaving).
• Envelopes are dead: offshore company ownership stopped sheltering UK homes in 2017 and still triggers ATED; plan with qualified advice, not structures from 2015.

Every estate pays one of two prices: the tax, or the planning. The cheapest planning is done a decade before anyone needs it.

“The last tax bill: estate planning and inheritance tax in 2026” goes deeper on the full 2026 rate map from 0% to 55%, the situs traps, and the residence rules that changed in the UK. Access it through the free Explorer tier at intricglobal.com/en/subscribe.

Which countries have no inheritance tax in 2026?

The UAE, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong among others, with Portugal exempting direct-line heirs and Canada applying capital gains rather than inheritance tax at death.

Which country has the highest inheritance tax?

Japan, at up to 55%, followed by South Korea at 50%. France charges up to 60% on non-family transfers.

Do non-residents pay US estate tax on US property?

Yes, on US-situs assets above an exemption of just US$60,000, one of the most commonly missed cross-border traps.

What changed in UK inheritance tax recently?

Scope became residence-based from April 2025, covering worldwide estates after ten years of UK residence in the last twenty, and full business and agricultural reliefs were capped from April 2026.

This article is information only and is not tax, legal, immigration, or investment advice. Rules change frequently and vary by circumstance; take qualified professional advice. Property values can fall as well as rise and capital is at risk. Figures are rounded and attributed to PwC, HMRC, the OECD, and 2026 international tax guides.