Wealth transfers

What does the survey comprise?

Purpose

Providing a picture of wealth transfers between persons in the Netherlands. Wealth can be transferred from one person to another person through an inheritance or a gift.

The statistic about wealth transfers consist of three separate topics, each with a comprehensive description:

  • Wealth transfers: Inheritances
  • Wealth transfers: Receivers of inheritances
  • Wealth transfers: Gifts

Target population

Wealth transfers: Inheritances
Deceased people from the population of the Netherlands, in the year under review.

Wealth transfers: Receivers of inheritances
Receivers of inheritances in the year under review

Wealth transfers: Gifts
Gifts with a unique combination of donor and recipient in the year under review.

Statistical unit

Figures about inheritances have the unit ‘deceased person in the year under review’. Receivers of inheritances are only receivers of an inheritance for which a tax-registration on the inheritance is available. Gifts has as unit ‘gifts with a tax-registration available on the gift in the year under review’, with a unique combination of donor and recipient of the gift.

Date/ year survey started

2007

Frequency

Annual.

Publication strategy

In the autumn three years following a research year, preliminary data are available. One year later, these are replaced by final data.

How is the survey conducted?

Survey type

The survey is based on integral registrations.

Survey method

Matching, integration, and processing of various registrations.

Data suppliers

Tax Administration, Basic Registration of Persons.

Quality of the results

Accuracy

Due to integral observation, there are no sampling margins. However, registrations are not flawless. To a certain degree, there are restrictions regarding the timeliness, completeness and accuracy of data.

  • It takes some years before registrations on inheritances and gifts are processed and established at the Tax Administration Office. For that reason statistics are published only three years after the year under review.
  • Statistics on received inheritances and statistics on gifts are only registered if the inheritance or gift is higher than the amount free of duty. For that reason, the wealth transfers are unknown for receivers of 65 percent of the inheritances and an unknown percentage of gifts.
  • Figures on inherited wealth are as well only registered if the amount is higher than the amount free of duty. From the 65 percent of deceased people without a registration, the amount of wealth on the 1st of January in the year of dead is used as a proxy for the inherited wealth. Between the 1st of January and the date of death, changes in the amount of assets and liabilities can occur. In these cases the amount of inherited wealth might be over- or underestimated.

Sequential comparability

The current figures give comparable figures from 2007 onwards.

More information

More detailed information about the statistics on wealth transfers can be found here:

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