French taxpayers who give money or financial assets to their children must follow strict legal procedures governing manual gifts, which require recipients to report all transfers to the tax administration regardless of whether tax is owed.
Under French law, these transfers are regulated by Article 757 of the General Tax Code. Article 894 of the Civil Code defines a manual gift as an act by which a donor currently and irrevocably divests themselves of property in favor of a recipient who accepts it.
The tax administration specifies on its official website that a manual gift consists of the simple physical transfer of movable property, such as money, cheques, physical objects, or shares. Real estate is excluded from this category because property transfers require a formal notarised deed.
A manual gift is permanent and cannot be revoked. The recipient holds primary responsibility for declaring the transfer to tax authorities. A donor may only submit the declaration if they act as the legal representative of a minor child or a protected adult recipient.
Taxpayers must submit a declaration even when no tax duties are due on the transferred amount.
Options for declaring manual gifts
Recipients have two main approaches when reporting a manual gift. They can proactively disclose the transfer to tax authorities, or they can wait for a tax audit.
The tax administration notes that recipients who choose proactive reporting have different filing options based on the size of the gift. For transfers of 15,000 euros or less, recipients may choose between an online declaration or a paper filing.
Online declarations must be completed through the recipient's personal tax account. Taxpayers cannot use their spouse's account to declare a gift, but must create an individual account if they do not already possess one.
Taxpayers who select paper filing must complete form 2735, which covers declarations of manual gifts and sums of money. The form is available at https://www.impots.gouv.fr/formulaire/2735/declaration-de-dons-manuels-et-de-sommes-dargent. Filing addresses are listed in the official tax service directory at https://www.impots.gouv.fr/annuaire-des-services-charges-de-lenregistrement.
Rules for larger donations and filing deadlines
Gifts that exceed 15,000 euros are subject to specific time limits set by law. Article 635 A of the General Tax Code stipulates that declarations for these larger amounts must be made within one month after the recipient discloses the gift to tax authorities.
Alternatively, the recipient may choose at the time of disclosure to file the declaration within one month following the death of the donor.
If the gift is revealed during a tax audit or in response to an official inquiry from the tax administration, the recipient must complete the declaration within one month of that disclosure.
Calculation of tax duties and allowances
A gift recipient becomes liable for tax duties as soon as they receive the transfer and report it, or when tax authorities discover the gift through a court decision or registered legal act.
The donor is permitted to pay the tax duties on behalf of the recipient. The tax administration does not treat this tax payment as an additional gift.
To determine the amount of tax owed, authorities compare the value of the property on the date of the gift with its value on the date of declaration. The tax administration retains whichever amount is higher.
The tax administration explains that taxable amounts are calculated after applying tax allowances, which depend on the recipient's family relationship to the donor. Article 757 of the General Tax Code states that duties are calculated based on the value of the gift on the day of declaration or registration, or on the date of donation if higher, using the tax rates and allowances in effect on the declaration date.
The Public Finances Directorate General manages tax declarations in France to track intra-family wealth transfers and monitor tax exemptions. French tax rules allow parents to transfer cash and assets to children within statutory allowances that reset periodically under national tax laws.
