What Are Philippine Inheritance Laws and Taxes for U.S. Citizens?

The short answer: the Philippines is one of the few countries where your own national law follows you. Under the Philippine Civil Code, who inherits from you and how much are governed by the law of your nationality, not by where you lived or where the property sits. For a U.S. citizen who is not also Filipino, that means the law of your U.S. state decides who takes the Manila condominium, and Philippine forced heirship does not apply. But two things cut the other way. The Philippine Constitution prohibits foreigners from acquiring land except by intestate succession, so a will leaving Philippine land to a U.S.-citizen child can fail. And Filipino-Americans who hold both citizenships are Filipino in the eyes of Philippine law, which brings forced heirship back. Whatever the succession law, the Philippine estate tax of 6 percent applies to Philippine-situs property and must be paid within a year.

This article covers the choice-of-law rule and its exceptions, the land ownership restriction, the estate tax, how the Philippines treats American trusts, the will and settlement procedures, and what a U.S. citizen with Philippine ties should have in place. It is written for the large community of Filipino-American families we serve, and it is a guide to the conversation with Philippine counsel, not a substitute for it.

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Which Law Governs a U.S. Citizen’s Philippine Estate?

Article 16 of the Philippine Civil Code provides that intestate and testamentary succession, “both with respect to the order of succession and to the amount of successional rights and to the intrinsic validity of testamentary provisions,” is regulated by the national law of the person whose succession is under consideration, “whatever may be the nature of the property and regardless of the country wherein said property may be found.” Article 1039 says the same for capacity to succeed.

The Philippine Supreme Court applied this rule squarely to an American in Bellis v. Bellis, a 1967 case involving a Texas citizen who left Philippine property and whose illegitimate children claimed the reserved shares Philippine law would have given them. The Court held that Texas law governed, Texas had no forced heirship, and the Philippine legitime could not be applied. The result for a U.S. citizen today is the same: the law of your U.S. state decides who inherits, and Philippine rules protecting children and spouses do not override your will.

Two caveats are essential. First, the Philippines will look to the law of your nationality as a whole, and since U.S. succession law is state law, Philippine courts and notaries will need proof of the applicable state’s rules, usually through an affidavit of law from a U.S. attorney. Second, the rule protects only those who are not Filipino citizens, which brings us to dual citizens.

What If You Are a Dual Citizen?

Many Filipino-Americans have reacquired Philippine citizenship under Republic Act 9225 or held it from birth alongside U.S. citizenship. For succession purposes, Philippine law treats a dual citizen as Filipino. That means Philippine forced heirship applies to the entire estate, not just Philippine property.

Under the Civil Code, legitimate children together are entitled to one-half of the estate as their legitime. A surviving spouse with one legitimate child receives one-quarter of the estate; with two or more, a share equal to each child’s. Each illegitimate child receives one-half of a legitimate child’s share. Only what remains after these compulsory shares is free for the testator to dispose of. A dual citizen’s will leaving everything to a surviving spouse, or favoring one child over another, can be reduced to protect the compulsory heirs.

How a U.S. court would treat the same estate is a separate and unsettled question, and a dual citizen with assets in both countries should expect the two systems to disagree. This is the single most important issue for Filipino-American families to raise with counsel on both sides before signing anything.

Can a U.S. Citizen Inherit Land in the Philippines?

Only in one way. Article XII, Section 7 of the 1987 Constitution provides that “save in cases of hereditary succession,” no private land may be transferred to anyone not qualified to hold public land, which excludes foreign nationals. The Supreme Court held in Ramirez v. Vda. de Ramirez that the exception covers intestate succession only, reasoning that allowing devises of land to foreigners would let anyone evade the prohibition by paying for a bequest.

The practical consequences for a family with a Filipino parent and U.S.-citizen children:

• If the parent dies without a will, U.S.-citizen children inherit the land under the intestacy rules and may hold it.
• If the parent leaves land to a U.S.-citizen child by will, the devise is void as to the land, and the land passes as if by intestacy.
• Condominium units are different. Under the Condominium Act, foreigners may own units so long as foreign ownership of the project does not exceed 40 percent, and a condominium may be left by will to a U.S. citizen.
• Former natural-born Filipinos who have lost Philippine citizenship may acquire limited areas of land under special statutes, and those who reacquire citizenship under Republic Act 9225 have the same rights as any Filipino.

A U.S.-citizen heir who inherits land intestate may keep it, use it, or sell it, but cannot buy more.

How Does Philippine Estate Tax Work?

Since the 2018 tax reform known as the TRAIN law, Philippine estate tax is a flat 6 percent of the net estate for anyone who died on or after January 1, 2018. For a Philippine citizen or resident, the tax reaches worldwide property. For a non-resident alien, which is what a U.S. citizen living in the United States is, the tax reaches only property situated in the Philippines.

Deductions matter. A citizen or resident estate takes a standard deduction of 5 million pesos with no substantiation, plus a family home deduction of up to 10 million pesos. A non-resident alien’s estate takes a standard deduction of only 500,000 pesos. The estate tax return is due, and the tax payable, within one year of death, and the Bureau of Internal Revenue will not issue the electronic Certificate Authorizing Registration needed to transfer title to real estate or shares until the tax is paid. Heirs may withdraw from the decedent’s Philippine bank accounts within one year of death, but the bank must withhold a 6 percent final tax on the withdrawal.

The estate tax amnesty that had allowed families to settle old, unpaid estate taxes at reduced cost expired on June 14, 2025 and has not been extended. Families still holding Philippine property in a long-dead grandparent’s name now face the full tax plus penalties and interest.

There is no estate or gift tax treaty between the United States and the Philippines. The United States taxes its citizens on their worldwide estate with a 15 million dollar basic exclusion for 2026, so most Filipino-American estates owe no U.S. federal estate tax, but larger estates must rely on the U.S. foreign death tax credit rather than a treaty to avoid double taxation.

How Does the Philippines Treat an American Trust?

Better than most civil-law countries. Philippine law, shaped by American law during the colonial period, recognizes trusts, and Philippine tax law addresses them directly. Property in a revocable trust is included in the settlor’s gross estate and taxed at death, just as under U.S. law. A transfer to an irrevocable trust is treated as a donation and subject to donor’s tax, also at 6 percent, at the time of transfer. The choice between the two is largely a choice between paying 6 percent now on today’s value or 6 percent later on the value at death.

The constitutional land restriction is where American trusts run into trouble. A trustee holding Philippine land must itself be qualified to own land, so a U.S. trust with a U.S. trustee cannot hold title to a house or lot in the Philippines. A U.S. revocable living trust funded with Philippine land is a defective transfer. Condominium units within the foreign ownership cap, bank accounts, and shares can be held in trust with fewer obstacles, though local registrars may still require the trust to be evidenced in a form they recognize. The prudent course is to keep Philippine land out of U.S. trusts entirely and to hold other Philippine assets in trust only after Philippine counsel has confirmed the mechanics.

What Philippine Planning Tools Should Be on the Table?

A Philippine will. A notarial will must be signed by the testator and attested by three credible witnesses in the presence of the testator and of one another, with every page signed and numbered, an attestation clause stating the number of pages, and an acknowledgment before a notary public. A holographic will, entirely handwritten, dated, and signed by the testator, needs no witnesses. Either can be made in the Philippines or abroad.

Your U.S. will, recognized in the Philippines. Under Articles 816 and 817 of the Civil Code, a will made by a foreigner is effective in the Philippines if it complies with the law of the place where it was made or the law of the testator’s nationality. A properly executed U.S. will can govern Philippine property. But no will passes property in the Philippines until a Philippine court allows it. A will already probated in the United States can be recognized through a simplified proceeding called reprobate under Rule 77 of the Rules of Court, in which the petitioner proves the foreign probate rather than re-proving the will.

Extrajudicial settlement. When there is no will and no debts, the heirs may divide the estate among themselves by a notarized public instrument filed with the Register of Deeds, published once a week for three weeks, and secured by a bond for the value of personal property. This is the route most Filipino-American families use, and it is why many families with a parent who died without a will find the process simpler than those with a will.

Special power of attorney. Heirs in the United States act in the Philippines through an attorney-in-fact under a special power of attorney, signed before a notary and apostilled. Nearly every Philippine estate with U.S.-based heirs requires one.

Lifetime transfers. Because donor’s tax and estate tax are both 6 percent, lifetime gifts of Philippine property to Filipino-citizen children can fix values and simplify later administration, at the cost of the U.S. step-up in basis and with U.S. gift tax reporting.

What Happens to Assets Back in the United States?

U.S. property passes under U.S. procedures regardless of Philippine law. Real estate requires probate or another transfer route in the state where it sits, retirement accounts pass by beneficiary designation, and New York and Connecticut impose their own estate taxes. Our overview of how probate works in New Jersey and New York explains what to expect. For a dual citizen, however, Philippine forced heirship claims can reach U.S. assets in a Philippine proceeding, and the two probates need to be run with that conflict in mind.

Should You Have One Will or Two?

The answer depends on citizenship more than on geography, because the Philippines is the one country in this series where your national law follows you.

For a U.S. citizen who is not also Filipino, the choice is about procedure. Whatever will you use, a Philippine court must allow it before Philippine property can pass under it. A single U.S. will works, but it reaches the Philippines only after the U.S. probate is finished and then goes through reprobate under Rule 77, which requires authenticated copies of the will and the U.S. probate order, proof of U.S. law, and its own round of notice and hearing. A separate Philippine will covering Philippine assets can be presented to a Philippine court directly, without waiting for the American court, which matters when the one-year estate tax deadline is running. For families with a condominium, Philippine bank accounts, or shares, a Philippine will is usually worth having. Some practitioners take a middle path and draft the U.S. will to satisfy Philippine notarial-will formalities as well, with three witnesses, signed and numbered pages, an attestation clause, and a notarial acknowledgment, so that one document can be proved in either country. Ask both lawyers whether that fits your situation.

For land, no will is the right tool. A devise of Philippine land to a U.S.-citizen child fails under the Constitution, so neither will should attempt it. Land passes to foreign heirs only by intestacy, and families who want a different result use lifetime transfers to Filipino-citizen family members or accept intestate succession for that asset while planning everything else by will.

For a dual citizen, two wills do not divide the problem, because Philippine forced heirship applies to the whole estate wherever it sits. The plan has to be unified: a set of documents drafted on both sides that respects the legitime of the compulsory heirs while carrying out the rest of the client’s wishes, or a deliberate decision, made with eyes open, to have U.S. assets pass under a U.S. will that Philippine heirs may later challenge in a Philippine court. This is a decision for the client and both counsel together, not a drafting detail.

Whichever structure you choose, the same rules apply as in every cross-border plan. Neither will may contain a general revocation clause that cancels the other. Each must say which assets it covers and which it leaves to the other. The residuary clauses must not overlap or leave a gap. And both should be reviewed by both lawyers before either is signed.

How Do You Coordinate Planning on Both Sides?

A Philippine lawyer handles the Philippine will or the reprobate of the U.S. will, the estate tax return and certificate, the land ownership analysis, and the extrajudicial settlement. A U.S. attorney handles the U.S. will and trusts, federal and state estate tax, beneficiary designations, and the affidavit of U.S. law that Philippine proceedings will need. The facts that drive everything are the citizenship status of the decedent and of each heir, including whether anyone has reacquired Philippine citizenship, and whether the Philippine property is land or a condominium. Bring those, a complete asset list by location and title, and every existing will and trust.

Plan Well. Live Better.

Filipino-American families are among the most closely connected to two countries of any community we serve, and their estate plans have to work in both. At Milvidskiy Law Group, we handle the U.S. side of cross-border plans and coordinate directly with Philippine counsel so the pieces fit. Learn more about our international estate planning services.

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice, and it does not address Philippine law as a Philippine practitioner would. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship. Cross-border succession and tax rules depend on individual facts, especially citizenship, and change over time. Figures and rules were verified in September 2026 against Philippine and U.S. sources and should be confirmed before relying on them.