French Inheritance Tax Rates: Allowances, Bands, and Life Insurance

French inheritance tax rates are progressive for close family and flat for everyone else. Children and parents pay between 5% and 45% on what they inherit after a €100,000 allowance. Siblings pay 35% or 45% after a €15,932 allowance. Nephews, nieces, and more distant relatives pay a flat 55%. Friends, unmarried partners, and unrelated heirs pay 60%. Surviving spouses and civil-union (PACS) partners pay nothing at all.

The rate that applies to you depends almost entirely on one thing: your relationship to the person who died.

Who the Rates Apply To

If the deceased was a French tax resident, the whole worldwide estate is in scope: bank accounts, investments, property, and business interests wherever they sit. If the deceased was not a French resident, France taxes only assets located there. French real estate is the usual trigger, so a non-resident who owned a holiday home in Provence will owe French inheritance tax on that property even if the rest of the estate is handled elsewhere.

The tax is calculated heir by heir, not on the estate as a whole. Two siblings inheriting equal shares from the same parent each get their own allowance and each start at the bottom of the rate scale. That per-person structure is why splitting an inheritance across more beneficiaries lowers the total bill.

Allowances Before Any Rate Applies

Each heir subtracts a tax-free allowance (abattement) from their share before any rate is applied. The figures depend on the relationship to the deceased:

An extra allowance of €159,325 is available to any heir with a recognized physical or mental disability, and it stacks on top of the relationship-based figure. A disabled child would therefore subtract €259,325 before tax.4Légifrance. Article 779 – Code General des Impots

Allowances reset every 15 years. Lifetime gifts made within that window count against the inheritance allowance euro for euro, so a €100,000 gift to a child used up now leaves nothing to shield an inheritance received a few years later.

Rates for Children and Parents

After the €100,000 allowance, the remainder runs through a progressive scale. Each bracket applies only to the slice of the inheritance falling within it:5Service Public. What Are the Fees Payable on an Estate Depending on the Relationship with the Deceased?

  • Up to €8,072: 5%
  • €8,073 to €12,109: 10%
  • €12,110 to €15,932: 15%
  • €15,933 to €552,324: 20%
  • €552,325 to €902,838: 30%
  • €902,839 to €1,805,677: 40%
  • Over €1,805,677: 45%

A worked example makes the effective rate clear. A child inherits €300,000. After the €100,000 allowance, €200,000 is taxable. The first €8,072 is taxed at 5% (€404), the next slice up to €12,109 at 10% (€404), the slice up to €15,932 at 15% (€573), and the remaining €184,068 at 20% (€36,814). Total tax: roughly €38,195, or about 12.7% of the full €300,000. The top 45% rate only bites on amounts above €1,905,677 (the allowance plus the top-bracket threshold).

Rates for Siblings

Brothers and sisters use a simpler two-tier scale after their €15,932 allowance:6Notaires de France. French Inheritance Law: Order of Heirs and Scale of Inheritance Rights in France

  • Up to €24,430: 35%
  • Over €24,430: 45%

The jump from child to sibling is sharp. A sibling inheriting €100,000 pays roughly €31,719. A child inheriting the same amount pays nothing, because the entire sum sits within the €100,000 allowance.

A full exemption exists for siblings, but the conditions are strict. The sibling must be single, widowed, divorced, or separated; must be over 50 or have a disability that prevents them from working; and must have lived with the deceased for at least five years before the death. All three conditions have to be met.

Rates for Extended Family and Unrelated Heirs

Past siblings, the structure flattens into fixed percentages:

At 60%, more than half the value of any bequest goes to tax. That is where planning tools become the whole conversation, because the standard path leaves almost no room to reduce the bill.

The 20% Primary Residence Reduction

If the deceased’s main home is included in the estate, a 20% reduction is applied to the property’s value before the tax is calculated. The reduction is automatic when two conditions are met: the property was the deceased’s principal residence at the time of death, and it was also being used as the main home by the surviving spouse, PACS partner, or a minor or dependent adult child of the deceased.7Notaires de France. Primary Residence 20% Deduction in Inheritance Tax Declaration

On a home valued at €500,000, the reduction removes €100,000 from the taxable base, which can save tens of thousands depending on the bracket. Because the reduction applies to the property’s value before shares are divided, every heir who receives a portion of the home benefits proportionally.

Life Insurance: The Main Route Around the Rates

Life insurance (assurance vie) is the most widely used inheritance tax planning tool in France, and it operates largely outside the normal succession rules. When you designate beneficiaries in an assurance vie contract, the proceeds generally bypass the estate and follow their own tax regime.

Premiums Paid Before Age 70

For premiums the policyholder paid before turning 70, each designated beneficiary receives a separate €152,500 tax-free allowance on the death benefit. Above that threshold, a flat 20% rate applies up to €852,500 per beneficiary, and 31.25% applies to anything beyond.8Notaires de France. Life Insurance and Inheritance Tax

Set that against the standard path. An unrelated beneficiary would face 60% on nearly everything through a normal inheritance. Through an assurance vie funded before age 70, the same person pays nothing on the first €152,500 and 20% on the next €700,000. That is why the tool matters most for people leaving assets to friends, unmarried partners, or step-children.

Premiums Paid After Age 70

Premiums paid after the policyholder turns 70 are treated less favorably. The portion of the death benefit corresponding to premiums exceeding €30,500 (shared across all beneficiaries, not per person) falls back into the normal inheritance tax system, with standard rates and allowances applying.8Notaires de France. Life Insurance and Inheritance Tax Investment gains on those later premiums stay outside the inheritance tax base.

The age-70 cutoff is a planning line. A policy funded entirely before 70 with three named beneficiaries can pass up to €457,500 completely tax-free.

Deadlines That Change the Real Rate

Every heir who accepts a French inheritance must file a déclaration de succession. The deadline is six months from the date of death if the person died in France, or twelve months if the death occurred abroad, and the tax is due when the declaration is filed.9impots.gouv.fr. When and Where to Declare Missing the deadline triggers interest at 0.2% per month (2.4% annually) plus a surcharge that can run from 10% to 80% depending on the circumstances.10Service Public. Payment of Inheritance Tax Those additions sit on top of the rates above, so a late 20% bill can quickly turn into something considerably worse.

When the estate is heavy on property and light on cash, the tax office can authorize staggered payments over one year (up to three installments), or over three years with up to seven installments if more than half the estate consists of non-liquid assets.10Service Public. Payment of Inheritance Tax Interest is charged on the deferred amounts, and the tax office typically requires a guarantee before approving the arrangement.