Hello, this question is about parents gifting money or property to their children in France. I understand that, depending on circumstances, this is tax free up to €100,00 per parent. But what is the situation if one parent is deceased? Would such a gift be considered from the parent’s estate, and thus from each parent, or only from the surviving parent? In the UK it’s the former, but I can’t find any information about it in France. Thanks if anyone can help.
There may be something in the reference attached to this post:
As always, it may be sensible to obtain professional advice from a Notaire - perhaps the one who dealt with the deceased parent’s estate?
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Thanks, I’m looking at it…the parents are British and are/were British resident.
If the parent are/were British and UK residents then surely French law if irrelevant? She is allowed to receive legacies!
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Not, as far as I know, if the recipient is a French resident paying French tax…
That is confusing. I do not think that the “were” is relevant. What is relevant is where they are tax resident at the time when the gift is made and thus, which country’s tax laws apply to them.
from what I’ve read on this thread… it is not clear if the children are Adult or underage …
The French Tax folk are very helpful, so perhaps either the Parent or the Adult Child could contact their local Tax Office and ask the question…
UK tax laws would apply to them, yes, but if they have an adult child in France as the recipient, would French tax laws not be applicable to him/her?
Perhaps the OP could clarify the tax residency of the parent donor at the time of the gift/bequest as that is crucial in determining how it is treated by the French tax authorities.
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You are right of course, for some reason I was thinking young children and assuming they all lived together.
Yes everyone who is resident in France has to abide by French tax laws. But the inheritance tax will have been paid in the UK surely? There isn’t double taxation!
According to this the fisc are only interested in legacies of property, either property based in France or any property if the inheritor has lived in France for 6 of previous 10 years
As it happens, no inheritance tax was due in the UK because it was from two parents and didn’t go over the inheritance tax threshold. As I understand it, in France, if it’s passed on by the surviving parent as a gift, it’s taxable after €100,000 euros. The inheritance itself was originally from two parents but I’m not sure if that would matter to the French tax authorities.
now I’m completely baffled… if the inheritance came from 2 parents… why are we now talking about it coming from just 1 ???
There is a difference between gifts to children while the parents are alive, and an inheritance. These are limited to €100,000 every 15 years. When we gave a cash gift we had to go through a process to make sure it was above board in both countries.
But the inheritance I received from mother was tax paid in the UK and was of no interest to the French tax person.
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