Inheritance tax in France

News & Guides / Inheritance tax in France

In France, there isn’t a fixed amount of tax-free inheritance for everyone; instead, the amount of inheritance tax you must pay will depend on your relationship to the deceased. You will find two tables below that explain how this is calculated. The first shows the amount which is tax free and the second shows the rate you pay beyond the tax-free amount. It is important to remember that there is no inheritance tax whatsoever between spouses or those in civil partnerships. Also, like other areas of taxation in France, if you are a non-resident, there is a double taxation treaty with many countries to ensure that you are not taxed both in France and again in your country of residence. Instead, you will be taxed in France and then only pay the difference if your home country has a higher tax rate.

Once you know how much your tax-free allowance is then for children you need to refer to the table below to calculate how much inheritance tax is due on the remainder.

For brothers and sisters, the rate is 35% up to 24,430 Euros and 45% after that, taking into account the initial tax-free allowance of 15,392 Euros. Other inheritors are taxed at either 55% or 60% depending on the relationship with the deceased.

One way for your future inheritors to avoid paying any inheritance tax on your passing is to create a French company such as an SCI or SARL de Famille as you can donate shares to them while you are still alive. If you are planning to rent the property out and want to reduce your income tax due on your rental income and/or you want to take advantage of a VAT rebate on the property price of an off plan/brand new property when signing a rental mandate with hotel services, then setting up a SARL de Famille to own the property could be well worth doing.