Gifting property in France to my children while I live abroad, how does it work?

Guide led by Arthur Merlino, founder of BRIVEOReviewed by the Briveo teamUpdated on October 28, 2026

A building located in France is gifted by notarial deed, before a French notaire, whatever the residence of the donor or the donee, and French gift duties always apply to that building under article 750 ter of the tax code. The allowances are those of any donee, 100,000 € per parent and per child, renewable every 15 years, then the direct-line scale from 5 % to 45 %. The donor may keep the usufruct, duties then fall only on the bare ownership, valued by the donor's age. Nobody has to travel, each signs by notarial power of attorney or by remote appearance. The country of residence may tax as well, and the few treaties France has signed on gifts settle the split.

A French notarial deed, and French duties on the building

The civil code requires every gift to be made before a notaire, and the transfer of a building located in France must be registered at the land registry, which only a French notaire can do. A parent settled in Montreal or Dubai who wants to pass on their flat in Bordeaux therefore goes through a notaire in France, who receives the deed with the powers of attorney of those absent, drawn up in notarial form because a gift requires it.

Article 750 ter of the tax code sets three cases where French duties are due. When the donor is domiciled in France, on all the assets given. When the donee is domiciled in France and has been for at least 6 of the last 10 years, on all the assets received. And in every case, on assets located in France, the building of course, but also company shares in proportion to their French property. A French building gifted by a non-resident to a non-resident child is therefore taxed in France, as notaires sum it up, if the assets are located in France they are taxable in France.

Allowances and scale, the same for everyone

Impots.gouv.fr puts it simply, each parent may give up to 100,000 € to each child without paying duties, and the allowance may be used every 15 years in one or several gifts. A couple thus passes on twice that to each child. Grandchildren are entitled to 31,865 €, great-grandchildren to 5,310 €, a spouse or civil partner to 80,724 €, a brother or sister to 15,932 €, a nephew or niece to 7,967 €, and a disabled person to a further 159,325 €, cumulative. Notaires point out that these allowances apply even if the donee is not a French tax resident.

Above the allowance, the taxable share bears the direct-line scale below. The donee pays the duties, but the donor may bear them without this counting as a further gift. Gifts made less than fifteen years earlier are brought back on the donor's death for the computation of the estate's allowances.

Taxable share	Rate
Up to 8,072 €	5 %
From 8,073 € to 12,109 €	10 %
From 12,110 € to 15,932 €	15 %
From 15,933 € to 552,324 €	20 %
From 552,325 € to 902,838 €	30 %
From 902,839 € to 1,805,677 €	40 %
Above 1,805,677 €	45 %

Scale of gift duties in the direct line, after the allowance

Keeping the usufruct, and gifting from afar

A gift with retained usufruct is the most common form for a dwelling. The parent keeps the right to live in the property or collect its rent until death, the child receives the bare ownership, and duties are computed only on that bare ownership, whose value depends on the donor's age under the article 669 scale, from 10 % of full ownership for a donor under 21 to 90 % beyond 91. On death the usufruct lapses and the child becomes full owner with no further duties. The question on selling a split property describes what happens if the property is sold in the meantime.

Nothing requires travelling. The donor and the donee sign by power of attorney received by a notaire, in France or abroad with an apostille or legalisation, or by remote appearance by video call before the French notaire. The deed stands as the return, the notaire computes and pays the duties. For a gift that goes through no deed, a gift of money or a hand-to-hand gift, the return is made on form 2735 within the month, with the non-residents tax office when the donee lives outside France. The country of residence may tax on its side, France having signed only a handful of treaties on gifts, and the notaire looks at the applicable treaty before setting the strategy.

Donee	Allowance
Child, per parent	100,000 €
Grandchild	31,865 €
Great-grandchild	5,310 €
Spouse or civil partner	80,724 €
Brother or sister	15,932 €
Nephew or niece	7,967 €
Disabled person, on top of the kinship allowance	159,325 €

Gift duty allowances, renewable every fifteen years

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Frequently asked questions

My husband and I live in Germany and want to give our Strasbourg flat to our two children, who also live in Germany. Who taxes?

France, because the building is in France, with 100,000 € of allowance per parent and per child. Germany may tax too under its own law, and the French-German treaty on inheritance and gifts settles the double taxation. The French notaire receives the deed with your powers of attorney.

Can I give the bare ownership and keep the usufruct while living abroad?

Yes, the retained usufruct does not depend on residence. You keep the rent or the use, duties fall on the bare ownership alone, and your rent remains taxable in France under the non-resident rules.

Must I declare the gift in my country of residence?

Often yes, each state applies its own law to the donor or donee living there. The French notaire gives you a copy of the deed and a statement of the duties paid in France, which your local adviser uses for the credit or exemption provided by the treaty, if there is one.

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