Is there an inheritance tax in Ghana?

No. Ghana does not levy any inheritance tax, estate duty or death tax. Whatever the value of the estate, the tax due on the inheritance itself is zero, though normal property-transfer fees and probate costs can still apply.

What happens if someone dies without a will in Ghana?

The Intestate Succession Act 1985 (PNDCL 111) governs distribution. After the spouse and children take the house and household chattels, the residue is split: roughly 3/16 to the surviving spouse, 9/16 to the children, 1/8 to surviving parents and 1/8 under customary law to the wider family.

Does the surviving spouse inherit everything?

Not automatically. Under the Intestate Succession Act the spouse and children share the household chattels and home, but the residue is divided between spouse, children, parents and family in fixed fractions, so the spouse does not take the whole estate.

Are there any taxes when transferring inherited property in Ghana?

There is no inheritance tax, but registering inherited land or property at the Lands Commission attracts stamp duty and registration fees, and a future sale of the property could attract capital gains tax. The inheritance itself, however, is untaxed.

Does this calculator store my data?

No. All calculations run locally in your browser and nothing is uploaded, so your details stay private.

Ghana Inheritance Tax Calculator

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This Ghana inheritance tax calculator answers the common question directly: Ghana has no inheritance tax, estate duty or death tax, so the tax payable on an inheritance is always zero. What the tool then does usefully is model how an estate is shared under the Intestate Succession Act 1985 (PNDCL 111) when the deceased left no will.

How it works

There is no tax computation — the inheritance tax due is fixed at GHS 0. For an intestate estate, after the spouse and children take the matrimonial home and household chattels, the residue is divided by statutory fractions:

spouse  = 3/16   (if a spouse survives)
children = 9/16  (if children survive)
parents = 1/8    (if parents survive)
family  = 1/8    (customary line)

If a category of relative does not survive, its share is redistributed among the remaining eligible categories in proportion to their fractions, so the whole residue is always allocated.

Example

A residue of GHS 320,000 with a surviving spouse, children and parents (no separate customary claim modelled) is split: spouse 3/16, children 9/16, parents 1/8. The shares are normalised so they total the full residue, and the inheritance tax remains zero.

Notes

The fractions follow PNDCL 111; the matrimonial home and chattels pass to spouse and children before the residue is shared, which this tool treats as a separate step you exclude from the residue figure. Stamp duty on registering inherited property and probate costs are not inheritance taxes and are not shown. This is general information, not legal advice.