Gift tax - Taxable property and main exemptions

Verified 01 January 2026 - Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Did you receive money or property by donation? You have to pay donation rights on what you received. Exemptions exist, either according to the type of property donated (money, real estate, etc.) or according to the recipient of the donation (family donations, victims of terrorist acts). The rules vary depending on whether the donor is resident in France or abroad. We tell you what you need to know.

In France

If the donor is domiciled in France, you must paying donation fees on all goods received, whether located in France or abroad.

However, special rules apply for certain goods, under strict conditions.

You must pay tax on donations of money you receive.

The intervention of a notary is not mandatory for manual donations and family donations of money.

However, if you receive money for a particular occasion (birthday, wedding, birth, passing an exam, etc.), you don't have to pay anything. This is a present of use.

But the amount offered must be reasonable, that is, proportionate to the income of the person offering it.

In addition, some donations of money are exempt from the payment of donation tax, subject to conditions:

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Family donations of money

The donor must have under 80 on the day of transmission.

To be recipient of the donation, you must be of age (or emancipated) and be one of the following:

  • Donor's child
  • Grandchild of the donor
  • Great-grandchild of the donor
  • Nephew or niece if the donor has no descendants
  • Grandnephew or grandniece in the event of the death of his parent.

Only the children of the donor's siblings are considered nephews or nieces.

You can receive up to €31,865 without having to pay duties.

This exemption limit applies to gifts made by the same donor to the same beneficiary.

The exemption is renewable every 15 years.

Example :

An aunt made a donation of €31,865 to his nephew on November 7, 2015.

She will again be able to give him a sum of money without fees to pay (up to a donation of €31,865) from 7 November 2030.

The donation can be made in one of the following ways:

  • Notarial deed
  • Written between donor and recipient (written by donor)
  • Manual donation (i.e. direct delivery of the money, without any special formality).

The exemption applies only to donations of money made by any of the following means:

  • Check
  • Transfer
  • Cash.

As the recipient of the donation, you must declare donation within a period of 1 month from the date of donation.

You must declare donation that you received from your space online :

Taxes: access to your space Private

The calculation of any gift tax due (when the gift is not exempt) is automatic.

You can use the paper declaration if you have any of the following:

You must declare the donation via the paper declaration form of manual donation and donation of money:

Declaration of manual donation and donation of money

You must send the form in double copy to your departmental tax department in charge of registration.

Please note

Your return will not be accessible in your secure personal area on the tax administration website.

The payment of duties if necessary (when the donation is not exempt), it is made at the same time as the declaration.

For notarial deeds, the notary is responsible for the registration formalities.

Family donations of money to buy a home or finance energy renovation work

You can benefit from a family donation of money exempt, to purchase a home or carry out energy renovation work.

The scheme applies to sums paid from 15 February 2025.

It's open until 31 December 2026.

To be recipient of the donation, you must be one of the following:

  • Child of donor
  • Grandchild of the donor
  • Great-grandchild of the donor
  • Nephew or niece if the donor has no descendants.

Only the children of the donor's siblings are considered nephews or nieces.

No age requirement is imposed for the donor.

Donations are doubly limited to:

  • €100,000 for the same donor to the same donee
  • €300,000 for a donee.

Example :

You can receive an exempt donation of €100,000 from your father and an exempt gift from €100,000 of your mother.

You must declare the donation via the paper declaration form of manual donation and donation of money:

Declaration of manual donation and donation of money

You must send the form in double copy to your departmental tax department in charge of registration.

Please note

Your return will not be accessible in your secure personal area on the tax administration website.

The payment of duties if necessary (when the donation is not exempt), it is made at the same time as the declaration.

You must use the money received, no later than the last day of the 6the month after payment, for one of the following purposes:

  • Acquisition of a new home
  • Acquisition of a home in the future state of completion
  • Work and expenses for the energy renovation of your main residence, which you own.

FYI  

If you are doing energy retrofits, they must be eligible for MaPrimeRénov'.

Depending on your situation, the accommodation must fulfill for 5 years one of the following obligations:

  • Remain your main residence, especially if you are doing energy renovation work in your home
  • Be rented as a principal residence, if you acquire the housing to rent it.

You cannot rent the accommodation to a member of your tax home.

Depending on your situation, the 5-year period starts from the following date:

  • Acquisition of housing
  • Completion of housing
  • Completion of energy renovation work.

If the obligation is not fulfilled for 5 years, the exemption from donation tax is called into question.

You must keep all the necessary supporting documents.

Warning  

The exemption does not apply to expenses that have allowed you to benefit from the home employment tax credit, a deduction of charges for income tax (e.g. on rental income) or MaPrimeRénov'.

Donations to victims of terrorist acts

The exemption applies to any person victim of an act of terrorismor their relatives in the event of their death.

It is exempt from donation tax on donations received in cash, including through online collection.

The relatives of the victim are:

  • Person who lived as a couple with her
  • Dependants (minor or infirm child, disabled person)
  • Descendants
  • Ascendants.

The exemption applies to donations received in the year that follows the act of terrorism or the death of the victim.

However, no time limit is required in the case of a donation made by a foundation, an association recognized as being in the public interest or an organization of general interest.

You must declare donation to the tax administration.

Donations to injured law enforcement officers in operation or as part of their mission

The exemption applies to military, police, gendarmes, firefighters or customs officers injured in operation or in the course of their mission.

They are exempt from donation tax on donations received in cash, including through online collection.

In the event of death, their relatives benefit from the exemption under the same conditions.

The exemption also applies to relatives of soldiers "dead for France" or "dead for the service of the nation".

The relatives of the deceased are:

  • No one who lived in a relationship with him
  • Dependants (minor or infirm child, disabled person)
  • Descendants
  • Ascendants.

The exemption applies to donations received in the year following the injury, or in other situations, the death.

However, no time limit is required in the case of a donation made by a foundation, an association recognized as being in the public interest or an organization of general interest.

You must declare donation to the tax administration.

You must declare and pay duties according to the estimated value of the property that you receive.

You can rely on an invoice or a declaration of value from an insurer.

You can also go to the store or on the internet to find the price of the property or a similar property.

You must take into account the age of the property.

If it is a high-value asset, you can have it appraised, for example by a commissioner of justice (formerly judicial bailiff and judicial auctioneer).

The estimated value of jewelry, stones, works of art or collectibles must correspond to at least 60% that declared, where applicable, in a contract of insurance against theft or fire.

Please note

If the property is the subject of a auction within 2 years after the donation, the (net) price of the sale replaces your estimate.

If you receive a high value property artistic or historical, you are exempt from duties if you make them donation to the State, with its approval.

These are the following assets, subject to certain conditions:

  • Work of art
  • Book or document
  • Collection object.

You must address your donation offer the tax office responsible for the donation declaration.

FYI  

You can choose to keep, for life, the use of the given property. You can also provide for a reversal in the event of death, so that your wife or spouse retains the use.

Gifts of real estate require the intervention of a notary and one authentic act.

If they wish, the donor can only give you the bare-property good and in preserve the usufruct.

On the death of donor, you will recover the entire property, without having to pay any additional fees.

The value of the transmitted bare property is calculated according to a tax scale which depends on the age of the person making the donation.

Example :

If the donor is over 68 years of age, bare ownership represents 60% the value of the property.

Special rules also apply for certain types of property, in particular in the following cases:

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Historic monument

If the building is classified or entered in the additional inventory of historical monuments, the donation is exempt under certain conditions.

Please note

The exemption also applies to movable property which are the historical or artistic complement of the building (furniture, works of art, etc.).

Rental accommodation acquired between August 1995 and December 1996

For the 1re transmission of the property, the donation benefits from a partial exemption under certain conditions.

New housing acquired between June 1993 and December 1994 (or between August and December 1995)

For the 1re transmission of the property, the donation benefits from a partial exemption under certain conditions.

Forest or agricultural property

The donation benefits from a partial exemption under certain conditions.

You are partially exempt rights to the donation of the following goods, under certain conditions :

  • ₪
  • Business shares or units.

Please note

Donations from companies to employees may also benefit from a partial exemption.

Abroad

Special rules apply to donation rights if the donor does not reside in France.

As the recipient of the donation, you must also check your situation.

Whether you are French or not, tax services consider that your tax domicile is in France if you fill in one of the following criteria :

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Your home is in France

Your tax domicile is in France if the habitual residence of your household is France.

Your home is made up of you and your family.

The tax authority detains the following persons:

  • Your married, past or common-law partner
  • Your children.

On the other hand, it does not hold back your other relatives (parents, siblings, etc.)

If you are single without children, your home is where you usually live, apart from your business trips.

Your main residence is in France

Your tax residence is in France if it is the place of your main stay, that is to say that you are staying there at least 183 days during the yeartherefore, more than 6 months.

For income tax purposes, France means the following territories:

You work in France

Your tax domicile is in France if you have your main activity there.

The main activity is the one you spend the most effective time on or the one that provides you with the bulk of your income.

If you have more than one activity, the main activity is taken into account.

An activity carried out incidentally is not concerned.

Please note

Your tax domicile is in France if you are a manager of a company whose head office is in France and it has a turnover of more than 250 million euros.

For income tax purposes, France means the following territories:

The center of your economic interests is in France

Your tax domicile is considered in France if you've made your major investments there.

Similarly, if the seat of your business, from where you administer your property, is in France.

For income tax purposes, France means the following territories:

One international convention concluded between France and a foreigner country may provide for different rules. If necessary, check your situation with the tax authorities of the foreigner concerned.

If you live in France and your spouse or partner Civil partnerships: titleContent to his tax domicile outside France (in application of a tax treaty), you must report the following income:

  • Your income and that of children and dependants who have their domicile in France
  • The income from a French source of your spouse or partner of Civil partnerships domiciled outside France (provided that the tax is attributed to France by the tax convention).

For know your tax residence, check your situation with your tax department.

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You are still in France

Consult your personal income tax service :

Who shall I contact

You can contact him directly from your online space:

Taxes: access to your space Private

You're abroad

Ask the non-resident tax service.

Who shall I contact

  • By phone

    +33 (0) 1 72 95 20 42

    Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm

    By mail

    Via your secure messaging on your personal account

    By post

    10 rue du Center

    ASD 10010

    93465 Noisy-Le-Grand Cedex

If you benefit from the donation, the tax rules vary depending on your situation:

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You reside in France on the day of the donation

The rules depend on your situation:

You have resided in France for at least 6 years during the 10 years prior to the donation

You are subject to payment of donation rights for donated goods, whether they are located in France and abroad.

You have not resided in France for at least 6 years during the 10 years before the donation

You are subject to payment of donation rights for donated goods, only if located in France.

You do not reside in France on the day of the donation

You are subject to payment of donation rights for donated goods, only if located in France.

FYI  

One international convention concluded between France and a foreigner country may provide for different rules. If necessary, check your situation with the tax authorities of the foreigner State concerned.

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