P.R. Laws tit. 13, § 31033
(a) The following items shall be deductible from the gross decedent’s estate:
(1) Decedent’s debts. — Personal debts enforceable at the time of death or on the fixed or determinable date proven to be the date on which the decedent assumed the same during his/her lifetime.
(2) Taxes. — Taxes of any kind that at the time of death are enforceable from the decedent by the Government of Puerto Rico. Tax debts that were not duly bonded must be paid in full by the executor of the gross decedent’s estate before the issuance of the certificate of cancellation in full or the conditioned authorization mentioned in § 31162 of this title.
(3) Mortgages. — The total sum of mortgages in effect or other debts in connection with a specific property, if the value of the share of the decedent therein, without discounting the value of such mortgages or other debts, shall be included in the gross decedent’s estate. The deductions granted under this clause are limited to the amount owed on the mortgages or other debts at the time of death, but up to a maximum of the value of the share of the decedent in the mortgaged property. When dealing with deductions originated by transactions between relatives that are within the third degree of consanguinity or second degree of affinity, it shall necessary to prove that the consideration, whether money or its equivalent, involved in the transaction that originated the mortgage or debt was sufficient.
(4) Funeral expenses. — Funeral expenses up to a maximum of six thousand dollars ($6,000), insofar such expenses are justified by presenting the corresponding receipts of payments.
(5) Fortuitous losses not compensated by insurance or otherwise. — The total sum of losses caused by fire, earthquakes, or hurricanes that have taken place within nine (9) months following the time of death of the decedent, up to the total sum of such losses that are not compensable by insurance or otherwise.
(6) Fees. — The total sum of fees charged by attorneys, accountants, appraisers, land surveyors, estate appointees, and executors, actually payable until the date of filing the final tax return, up to a maximum amount of five percent (5%) of the total sum of the gross decedent’s estate.
(7) Property received by the surviving spouse. — The value of the property received from a testator by bequest or inheritance (except for the dower) by the surviving spouse, insofar as such transfers do not exceed the amount that the decedent would have been able to transfer without impairing the rights of his/her heir apparent, as these are established under the Civil Code of Puerto Rico. This deduction shall be available only if the value of such property has been included in the gross estate of the testator.
History —Jan. 31, 2011, No. 1, § 2023.03, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2011.