Gift Tax in France
21st Dec 2022
Although you are unlikely to be liable for gift tax at Christmas, there are a myriad of rules around making substantial gifts.
…
To read the article you need take out a Premium Subscription to France Insider.
A premium subscription will also give you unrestricted access to the complete back catalogue of our articles.
A gift tax has existed in France since Napoleon, primarily to bolster the entrenched inheritance rights of children and to minimise the leakage of revenues from inheritance tax.
De Gaulle famously called the tax "le vice national des Français", but he never got around to reforming it.
Since then successive national leaders have played ping-pong with it, although allowances (mainly to children) have remained unchanged for a decade.
There are some tax optimisation approaches that can be taken, but they are complicated and not insubstantial notaire fees are payable.
Gifts can also be taken into consideration as part of the inheritance calculation, which can complicate and delay the process.
We have recently updated our guide to give further elaboration to these issues, about which you can read on the clickable links in the table below.
Gift Tax in France |
| 1. Definition of a 'Gift' |
| 2. Liability for Gift Tax |
| 3. Rates of Gift Tax |
| 4. Gift of Real Estate |
| 5. Gift and Inheritance Taxes |
| 6. Gift Procedures |
Related Reading: