A 70-year-old resident of Skopje, Liljana Matic, recently received an unexpected tax assessment from local authorities after the death of her husband. Despite having lived in their apartment since 1986, Matic was shocked to discover that she was required to pay taxes to transfer the property into her own name.
The couple had purchased the apartment in 1995 following the country's transition to a market economy, with the title registered solely in the husband's name. While immediate family members are typically exempt from inheritance taxes in North Macedonia, the tax authorities classified Matic as a second-order heir.
This legal categorization stems from the Law on Inheritance, which was enacted in 1996. Under this legislation, spouses without children are not afforded the same status as those with offspring, leading to financial penalties for surviving partners who attempt to inherit their shared family home.
Matic, who had assumed the transfer would be straightforward given their long-term residency, was unaware of the specific provisions within the three-decade-old law. The case highlights the ongoing legal complications faced by childless couples in the country when dealing with property succession.
