Sending money inherited in Türkiye abroad requires, first, that the money be properly paid to the person entitled to it and, then, that the bank transfer be completed. The certificate of inheritance, the tax documents and the documents showing the source of the money should be prepared together. A transfer does not take the place of the partition of the inheritance or of a tax return. [1] [2]
First, the source of the money to be sent is determined
Bank deposits, the sale price of an inherited house, an insurance payment, the price of a company share and rental income are different sources. For each of them, a set of documents is compiled showing the right to payment and its tax character. If the money belongs to all the heirs, there should be a valid instruction for sending it to one person’s foreign account and a method for accounting for it afterward.
If a transfer abroad is requested directly from the decedent’s bank account, the bank’s inheritance procedure is completed. If the money has passed to the heir’s account in Türkiye, this first payment and the second transfer are documented with separate bank receipts (dekont). Making a transfer to the heir’s own account does not remove the need to explain the source of the money.
Which documents may the bank request?
| Source | Supporting document |
|---|---|
| Inherited deposit | Certificate of inheritance, date-of-death balance and payment record |
| Sale of immovable property | Land registry transaction document and sale payment bank receipt |
| Partition payment | Valid partition agreement and calculation |
| Insurance or BES | Entitlement and the company’s payment breakdown |
| Company share | Transfer or valuation documents and payment documents |
| Rental income | Lease agreement and periodic collection records |
Identity documents, tax number, tax residency and recipient account details may also be requested. Translation of foreign documents and, where necessary, their certification are prepared. The bank’s source-of-funds review does not re-establish the right of inheritance; it is a separate check with regard to payment security and legal obligations.
The tax document and the distinction from free transfer
The safeguards of the Inheritance and Transfer Tax Law (Veraset ve İntikal Vergisi Kanunu) relating to payment by banks should be satisfied. For money coming from a sale at the land registry, the related tax position and the sale document are important. A transfer having been made does not show that no tax arose; nor does payment of the tax show that the bank cannot request any additional document. [2]
The movement of money in Türkiye and the notification or tax obligation in the recipient country are examined separately. The principal of the inheritance may not fall into the same category as rental or interest income that arose afterward. Without seeing the rules of the country concerned, a conclusion covering all countries, such as “there is no tax at all when sending money abroad,” cannot be drawn.
Account, currency and costs
The recipient’s full name and bank account should match the inheritance and identity documents. In countries that use IBAN, the IBAN is used; in other countries, the required local account and routing codes are confirmed. The SWIFT/BIC, the intermediary bank and the payment description are added when needed. A difference in the account holder’s name may cause the transfer to be held or returned.
If currency conversion is to be made, the exchange rate used, the commission and the net amount expected to reach the recipient are obtained in advance. Who will bear the charges of the sending bank, the receiving bank and the correspondent bank is clarified. If a large amount has to be divided into parts for operational reasons, the bank’s clear instructions are followed; the amount should not be divided into parts for the purpose of avoiding a notification or review obligation.
Sending by power of attorney
The collection, banking-transaction and transfer powers in the power of attorney are checked against the intended transaction. The existence of authority to sell may not automatically cover all foreign currency and account transactions at every bank. The bank can review the document in advance; so that no deficiency emerges at a last-minute appointment, the sample text should be assessed before the transaction. [3]
Sending through the attorney-in-fact’s own account can make it harder to explain who the actual person entitled to the money is. Payment directly to the account of the entitled person and a clear description of the transaction make proof easier. Where several heirs are jointly represented, conflicts of interest and limits on sharing personal data should be addressed separately.
If the transfer is held or returned
The transfer reference, the status of the transaction and the reason for the hold are obtained from the sending bank. The problem may arise from the recipient’s name, a missing source document, a review by the correspondent bank or the account’s acceptance conditions. Before a new transfer is instructed, the outcome of the first transaction should be clarified; otherwise there is a risk of duplicate payment.
In a dispute over bank charges or delay, the contract, instructions and correspondence are kept. An application to the institution, the appropriate consumer/commercial route and any judicial option are determined according to the specific relationship. The bank’s request for information and an unjustified indefinite hold are not subject to the same assessment.
How is the source chain established before the transfer?
The file to be submitted to the bank should show from start to finish where the money in the final account came from. The certificate of inheritance explains entitlement; on its own it does not prove that every sum in the account is inheritance. For the sale price of immovable property, the land registry transaction record, the buyer’s payment and the distribution to the heir complement one another; for a BES payment, the company’s letter on entitlement and the payment breakdown do so. [1] [2]
For example, if the sale price goes first to an account with joint authority, then to the heir’s account in Türkiye, and then to the foreign account, the amounts and descriptions of the three movements should be consistent. Notary expenses, tax or payments to other heirs in between are documented. A net amount lower than the original sale price is an explainable result; an unexplained difference, however, may lead to further review. Why the document requested by the bank is not available should also be explained in writing, and the official record that can be submitted instead should be asked about.
Inherited principal and income earned later are separated
The deposit at the date of death, interest that accrues after death, rental income from the inherited immovable property and the price of a later sale may have different characters. Sending all of them in a single transfer does not remove this distinction. Wording appropriate to the source is used in the payment description; each component can be shown in a supplementary schedule. The inheritance tax document in Türkiye does not on its own resolve the taxation and declaration of later income. [2] [4]
With regard to the recipient country as well, receiving an inheritance, owning an account abroad and reporting investment income may give rise to different obligations. For the document package prepared in Türkiye to be usable in the country concerned, any need for translation or certification should be asked about in advance. It would not be correct to give a general tax exemption or notification threshold without specifying the country.
Five critical items of information in the bank instruction
In the transfer instruction, the identity of the actual recipient, the account details, the currency, the allocation of the sending costs and the reason for payment should be consistent with one another. If an attorney-in-fact is carrying out the transaction, it should be clearly visible that the instruction is given on behalf of the entitled person. If the recipient account belongs to a third party, its valid legal ground and the heir’s express instruction are set out separately. [3]
Where account details have been changed by e-mail alone, it is useful to verify them through a known, independent communication channel. Recalling a transfer that has been completed to the wrong recipient does not always succeed. For this reason, verifying the IBAN or local account number is a more effective control step than a later recall request. If a small test transfer is to be made, the bank charges and its relationship to the main transaction can be agreed in advance; this method alone does not remove all compliance reviews.
Hold, rejection and return are different outcomes
In a pending transfer, the money may not yet have reached the recipient. In a rejected instruction, the money may remain in the sending account. In a returned transaction, the amount that comes back may differ because of correspondent charges or exchange-rate differences. The bank should be asked in writing which of these three situations applies and which additional document is required. Instead of a brief notice such as “the transaction has been carried out,” a record of the reference, date, currency and definite outcome is obtained.
The bank may not be able to disclose its entire internal assessment because of confidentiality or legislation; this does not mean that every hold is unlimited and unsupervised. The replies given to the documents requested, the dates of application and the transaction agreement are kept. In disputes involving a consumer transaction, a commercial relationship or a different legal character, the authority to which the application is made may not be the same. Monetary thresholds and procedural prerequisites are checked separately according to the date of application.
Example closing calculation
Hypothetically, suppose it has been agreed that 40,000 euros will be sent to the heir, and that 80 euros in charges arise at the time of sending and a 20-euro deduction arises at the recipient bank. 39,900 euros reaching the recipient’s account raises the question whether the debt between the parties has come to an end in full. The answer depends on which party the charge belongs to and on whether the agreed amount is net or gross. If the partition agreement is silent, a dispute may arise.
The closing schedule should show the starting amount, the exchange rate used, each deduction, the amount that reached the recipient and, if any, the remaining debt. If tax instalments or payments to other heirs are continuing, it is stated that only the international transfer stage has been completed. In this way, the completion of the bank operation is not misunderstood as meaning that the whole inheritance file has been closed.
How is the bank’s review distinguished from proof of the inheritance right?
While the certificate of inheritance shows entitlement, the bank’s customer and transaction review serves a different function. The bank is obliged to identify the person carrying out the transaction, the person on whose behalf the transaction is carried out and, where necessary, the beneficial owner. A request for a source document does not by itself mean that the inheritance is disputed or that a suspicion of an offense has been confirmed. It should be asked at what stage the requested document is needed, and the point that the existing document does not satisfy should be clarified. Law No. 5549.
Does the bank have to disclose all details of its review?
A request for information about the status of the transaction and the documents that can be completed is not the same as a request to learn whether a suspicious transaction report has been filed. The provision of Article 4/2 of the Law places a restriction on disclosure of the report. For this reason, a complaint petition should not ask the bank for the content of a confidential report; it should ask for the stage of the transaction that can lawfully be disclosed, the missing documents, the current status of the money and the outcome of the application. MASAK explanation of obligations.
It should not be assumed that the same time period, the same limit or the same document list applies to every high-value inheritance transfer. The bank, the currency, the recipient country, the correspondent institution and the source of the transaction affect the result. A bank’s general daily channel limit is distinguished from a transfer prohibition required by legislation. Instead of splitting the amount into small sums in order to get around the review obligation, the transaction should be explained from the outset and the appropriate channel determined with the bank.
A Court of Cassation example: An international transfer paid to the wrong person
The facts in the decision of the 11th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay 11. Hukuk Dairesi) dated April 27, 2015, E.2015/1261, K.2015/5869, concern 3,000 euros sent through PTT by the Western Union system to a spouse abroad being paid to another person. The institution that carried out the transaction argued that it had no authority to control the payment point abroad. The first-instance court’s judgment, which accepted liability with regard to transaction security and measures to prevent forgery, was affirmed. Court of Cassation 11th Civil Chamber, April 27, 2015, E.2015/1261, K.2015/5869.
The decision is not directly about inheritance, SWIFT or the liability of all correspondent banks. Its usefulness here is that it shows that receiving a transfer order and making a secure payment to the right person are different stages. It cannot be concluded that every delay or every exchange-rate loss will be compensated on the same reasoning. The payment system used, the contract, fault, causation and the documentation of the loss are examined in the specific file.
When a similar problem arises in an inheritance transfer, in addition to the bank receipt, the recipient’s identity details, changed payment instructions, correspondence with the bank and the account record of the actual recipient are kept. In the face of the answer “the money was sent,” it must be investigated to which recipient and on what date the payment was made. In the case of a suspicious change of account, it is important to verify before giving a new payment instruction and, if necessary, to send the bank a recall request without delay; the outcome of a recall is not guaranteed.
Application to the bank and the TBB Retail Customer Arbitration Committee
In a dispute arising from a banking service, involving a natural person and not of a commercial nature, the current scope of the TBB Retail Customer Arbitration Committee can be examined. A written application should first be made to the bank and the record of receipt preserved. According to the TBB’s statement, the bank’s general response period is 30 days; a 10-day extension is possible provided that notice is given within this period. After the bank’s reply or the end of the response period, there is a 60-day period for applying. The condition that the event took place within two years counting back from the date of application is also separately required. TBB application information.
This route is not a general inheritance court for resolving disputes among the heirs themselves over shares. Eligibility is checked in terms of the banking service, the status of the applicant and the nature of the request. There are admissibility limitations for applications that have been brought before a court or before other specified dispute-resolution bodies. It should not be assumed that an administrative complaint suspends all litigation time limits; which route to choose is determined according to the characteristics of the file.
What requests can be written in the application?
The application should include the transaction date and reference; the amount sent and the currency; the document reported as missing; the bank’s replies; and the result sought. Requests for completion of the transaction, a refund, an explanation of commission, or compensation for loss are kept separate from one another. If a loss is claimed, instead of only an estimated figure, documents showing the deduction, the exchange transaction and, if any, the additional payment made to the other party are submitted.
Is a transfer to one’s own account the same as a payment to a third party?
A transfer to a foreign account belonging to the heir himself or herself, the payment of a partition payment to another heir, and a payment without consideration to a relative are different legal grounds. Writing “inheritance” in a transfer description does not change the actual transaction. For example, if the heir later donates the money left to him or her to a child, the tax consequences of the new gratuitous transfer are examined separately. If a partition debt is being paid, a connection should be made with the agreement and the calculation schedule.
If the money of more than one heir needs to be temporarily collected in a single account, the purpose of use of the account, the authority to collect and the distribution schedule should be in writing. The account holder’s personal expenditures should not be mixed with estate money; each entitled person’s gross share, share of expenses and net payment should be shown separately. This record facilitates both the bank’s source review and accounting among the heirs.
Concrete outputs of a completed file
The final file contains the document showing entitlement, the tax procedure, the source chain, the signed instruction, the transfer reference and the net amount that reached the recipient. Open instalments or foreign-country notifications are listed separately. Instead of giving a general release stating that the whole inheritance file is closed before arrival in the recipient account has been verified, the completed transaction and the items that remain open should be clearly written.
Conclusion
Transferring inherited money abroad is a bank transaction managed with the right source document and a clear payment instruction. The criterion of completion is not the giving of the transfer order but the passing of the net amount into the account of the right entitled person.
Related articles: What Happens If Company Shares Are Inherited in Türkiye? Foreign Heir, Joint Ownership and Share Transfer; How Is Rental Income from an Inherited House Collected? Management and Accounting Rights of an Heir Living Abroad; Inheritance and Transfer Tax for Foreign and Overseas Heirs: Declaration, Time Limits and Documents; How Are Inheritance Procedures Carried Out Without Coming to Türkiye? Power of Attorney from Abroad and Remote Follow-Up.; Collecting inherited bank money in Türkiye; Blocked and joint inherited bank accounts; Estate Partition in Türkiye for People Living Abroad; Why Can an Inheritance Transfer Not Be Completed in Türkiye?
Frequently Asked Questions
If the money is going to my own account, will no documents be requested?
The bank may still request identity, source and tax documents.
Is it mandatory to send the sale price from the attorney-in-fact’s account?
No. Under suitable conditions, direct payment to the account of the entitled person can be planned.
Does the transfer bank receipt prove that the money has arrived?
It shows the sending; the credit to the account at the recipient bank should be verified separately.
Can inherited principal and rent be sent with the same description?
The source must be described correctly; the tax character of income and principal may differ.
Does the bank have to disclose its transfer review completely?
The status of the transaction can be asked about; there are statutory limits concerning the confidentiality of a suspicious transaction report.
Is a payment to a foreign account considered a gift?
A transfer to one’s own account, the payment of a partition debt and a gift to a third party are different transactions; the actual legal ground is the basis.
Does the TBB resolve every inheritance dispute?
No. The scope and application conditions of an individual dispute concerning a banking service are examined; heirs’ quarrels over shares are generally not resolved by this route.
Does all the money come back in a returned transfer?
A difference may arise depending on charges and exchange transactions; whether the deduction complies with the contract and legislation is assessed separately.
Sources and legal bases
- Law No. 4721, Turkish Civil Code (Türk Medeni Kanunu)
- Law No. 7338, Inheritance and Transfer Tax Law
- Law No. 6098, Turkish Code of Obligations (Türk Borçlar Kanunu)
- Law No. 193, Income Tax Law (Gelir Vergisi Kanunu)
- Law No. 5549
- MASAK explanation of obligations
- Court of Cassation 11th Civil Chamber, April 27, 2015, E.2015/1261, K.2015/5869
- TBB application information