Family and couples · Separation · the home
Buying out your ex’s share of a home in France: soulte, tax and fees
The soulte buys out the share of the owner who leaves. It is usually worked out on net value: the home’s value minus the capital still owed, multiplied by the leaving owner’s share. After a divorce or the end of a PACS, the partition deed bears a 1.10% duty on the net assets divided (articles 746 and 748 of the tax code), not just on the soulte. Unmarried partners are taxed differently.
- Official texts cited
- Sources checked on
- Drafted with AI assistance, our method
General legal information with official references and dated checks. It is not personalised advice: for a decision that commits you, have your situation checked by a qualified professional.
Julie by AlphaDeep
Is a soulte received taxable in France?
Between spouses or PACS partners, no: these partitions are not treated as transfers of ownership as far as the buyout goes, and capital gains tax on property does not apply. Between unmarried partners, the share sold falls under property capital gains rules unless an exemption applies, notably if the home is still the seller’s main residence on the day of the sale.
Read the referencesYou are keeping the home and buying out your ex’s share: I can work out the soulte and costs for your situation.
3 free questions at signup. Avoid names and sensitive information.
How is the buyout worked out when a mortgage remains?
Start from the property’s value at the date of division, as close as possible to the deed, taking the charges on it into account: subtract the capital still owed, then apply the leaving owner’s share. A home worth €300,000 with €120,000 still owed, split equally: the buyout is €90,000.
This assumes the owner who stays takes over the loan alone. The deed must say so, and the bank must agree before the other is released.
What will your buyout cost?
Enter the value, the capital still owed and the leaving owner’s share: the tool gives the buyout, the duty with its base and a rough range for the notary’s fees.
Fictional example · buyout and costs
Buyout of €90,000, with €1,980 of duty worked out on all the net assets, not just the buyout.
- Net value (value minus capital owed)
- €180,000
- Buyout due to the leaving owner
- €90,000
- Partition tax at 1.10% on all net assets
- €1,980
- Land registry contribution (0.10%)
- €300
- Notary fees before VAT, rough range
- €1,861 to €3,491
Worked out on the shares in the deed, without adjustments for a personal deposit. Notary fees run from the scale for dividing jointly owned property to the scale for voluntary partitions, depending on the deed.
Which duty applies to your situation?
| Status | Deed | Duty | Base |
|---|---|---|---|
| Married, after divorce or legal separation | Partition | 1.10% | Net assets divided, buyouts not deducted |
| PACS partners, after it ended | Partition | 1.10% | Net assets divided, buyouts not deducted |
| Married or PACS partners | Licitation | 2.50% | Property value, buyer’s share not subtracted |
| Unmarried partners | Partition with a buyout | 2.50%, plus sale duties on the buyout | Net assets, buyout deducted |
| Unmarried partners | Licitation or sale of the share | Sale duties at the département’s rate | Price of the share, debts taken over included |
| Everyone | Registering the deed | 0.10% | Property value |
Each département sets the sale-duty rate within the limits of the tax code: the notary applies it to the deed.
Code général des impôts, article 746Code général des impôts, article 748Code général des impôts, article 750BOFiP, BOI-ENR-PTG-10-20: partitions with a buyoutCode général des impôts, article 683Code général des impôts, article 1594 DCode général des impôts, article 881 K
Is the partition tax charged on the soulte or on the whole home?
On all the net assets divided. After a divorce, legal separation or end of a PACS, the rate is 1.10%, and the partition is not treated as a sale as far as the buyout goes: tax is charged on the net value of the assets divided, without deducting the buyout. In the example, 1.10% of €180,000, or €1,980.
If the deed takes the form of a licitation between spouses or partners, the duty is 2.50% on the property’s value, without subtracting the buyer’s own share.
Code général des impôts, article 746Code général des impôts, article 748Code général des impôts, article 750
What does a buyout cost between unmarried partners?
The favourable regime does not cover them. According to the tax authority’s guidance, the buyout is taxed at sale rates, and the 2.50% partition tax applies to the net assets divided, minus the buyout. In the example: 2.50% of €90,000, or €2,250, plus sale duties on the €90,000 buyout.
Each département sets the sale-duty rate. A licitation of the undivided share is also taxed at sale rates, on the price of the share including any debt taken over.
Code général des impôts, article 746Code général des impôts, article 748BOFiP, BOI-ENR-PTG-10-20: partitions with a buyoutCode général des impôts, article 750Code général des impôts, article 683Code général des impôts, article 1594 D
How do you account for a personal deposit?
It depends on how you own the home. Between spouses under community property, separate funds put into the shared home give a right to reimbursement, which cannot be less than the remaining benefit when the money paid for the purchase. In joint ownership, the shares in the purchase deed set each person’s rights.
Improvement and maintenance costs one co-owner paid personally are also taken into account fairly. These adjustments are settled in the partition deed, before the buyout is fixed.
Code civil, article 1433Code civil, article 1469Code civil, article 815-13
What has changed since 2021?
The partition tax after a divorce, legal separation or end of a PACS falls from 2.50% to 1.80%.
It falls to 1.10%, the current rate.
The new article 840 of the Civil Code expressly covers spouses, PACS partners and unmarried partners: division goes to court when one refuses an amicable partition or disputes how it is done.
What does article 829 of the Civil Code say about valuing the home?
En vue de leur répartition, les biens sont estimés à leur valeur à la date de la jouissance divise telle qu’elle est fixée par l’acte de partage, en tenant compte, s’il y a lieu, des charges les grevant. Cette date est la plus proche possible du partage. Cependant, le juge peut fixer la jouissance divise à une date plus ancienne si le choix de cette date apparaît plus favorable à la réalisation de l’égalité.
In plain English: For the division, property is valued at the date the deed sets for the division of enjoyment, taking any charges on it into account. That date is as close as possible to the division, though the judge may choose an earlier date if it better achieves equality.
For a separating couple, the value at the time of division, not at purchase or separation, is what the buyout is worked out on, unless the judge picks an earlier date that better achieves equality.
What else do separating owners ask?
Is a soulte received taxable in France?
Between spouses or PACS partners, no: these partitions are not treated as transfers of ownership as far as the buyout goes, and capital gains tax on property does not apply. Between unmarried partners, the share sold falls under property capital gains rules unless an exemption applies, notably if the home is still the seller’s main residence on the day of the sale.
Can the soulte be paid in instalments?
It is payable in full, unless you agree otherwise. In some preferential allocation cases, up to half can be deferred for at most ten years, with interest at the legal rate; after a divorce, it can always be decided that the whole buyout is paid at once. If the property’s value moves by more than a quarter meanwhile, the sums still due move in proportion.
Code civil, article 832-4Code civil, article 515-6Code civil, article 1476Code civil, article 828
Who chooses the notary for the buyout?
In an amicable division you choose together, and each of you can bring your own notary: several notaries working on one deed does not increase the fee. In a court-ordered division, the co-owners choose the notary, or the court does if they disagree.
Code de commerce, article R444-63Code de procédure civile, article 1364Code de commerce, article A444-121Code de commerce, article A444-122
Does paying the soulte release your ex from the mortgage?
No. Your ex is only released from the loan for the future if the bank expressly agrees; otherwise they remain jointly liable. Ask the bank for the release alongside the deed.
Code civil, article 1327-2Service-public: co-borrowers after divorce or separation
Which texts is this calculator based on?
- Code général des impôts, article 746Légifrance
- Code général des impôts, article 748Légifrance
- Code général des impôts, article 750Légifrance
- Code général des impôts, article 683Légifrance
- Code général des impôts, article 1594 DLégifrance
- Code général des impôts, article 881 KLégifrance
- Code général des impôts, article 150 ULégifrance
- Code civil, article 829Légifrance
- Code civil, article 832-4Légifrance
- Code civil, article 828Légifrance
- Code civil, article 1476Légifrance
- Code civil, article 515-6Légifrance
- Code civil, article 840Légifrance
- Code civil, article 1433Légifrance
- Code civil, article 1469Légifrance
- Code civil, article 815-13Légifrance
- Code civil, article 1327-2Légifrance
- Code de procédure civile, article 1364Légifrance
- Code de commerce, article A444-121Légifrance
- Code de commerce, article A444-122Légifrance
- Code de commerce, article R444-63Légifrance
- BOFiP, BOI-ENR-PTG-10-20: partitions with a buyoutBOFiP-Impôts
- Service-public: co-borrowers after divorce or separationService-public.fr
Texts cited last checked: 17 October 2026