The calculation sheetInheritance · heirs and legatees
French inheritance tax return: the 6-month deadline and how the duty is worked out
After a mainland-France death, the inheritance return and payment are normally due within six months (CGI 641). Other territorial deadlines need checking. Each child has a €100,000 allowance, subject to earlier gifts; spouses and Pacs partners are exempt. Late filing adds monthly 0.20% interest and a 10% surcharge from the seventh month after the filing deadline. Unpublished property titles and special exemptions require separate review.
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Give the date of death, your link with the deceased and what the estate includes.
Example questions
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How much inheritance tax will you pay, and by which date?
Enter the date of death, your link with the deceased, the net value of your share and the date you plan to file: the calculator applies the allowance, the bands and, if late, the interest and the surcharge. The example: a child receiving €250,000 from a parent who died on 15 March 2026. The result is indicative: confirm the ordinary-case conditions; a special case or unknown decisive fact prevents calculation.
Fictional example · inheritance tax
Filed after 15 September 2026: 2 months of late interest, and the 10% surcharge will be added from 1 April 2027.
- Deadline to file and pay
- 15 September 2026
- Allowance applied
- €100,000
- Net taxable share
- €150,000
- Inheritance tax
- €28,194
- Late interest, 0.20% × 2 months
- €112.78
- Total to pay on filing
- €28,306.78
Indicative calculation for a mainland-France death, outside special deadlines and formal notices, for one heir with no gift received from the deceased in the last 15 years: a gift of less than 15 years reduces the allowance. A brother or sister over 50, single, widowed or divorced, who lived with the deceased for 5 years, is exempt.
Payment can be spread over 1 year, or 3 years if at least 50% of the estate is not liquid, on request.
In what order should you prepare the French inheritance tax return?
Four steps, from sorting the assets to paying, within the applicable territorial deadline.
Check whether a return is needed
No return for a child, a parent or the spouse if the gross estate is below €50,000 and there is no undeclared earlier gift; €3,000 for other heirs (General Tax Code, article 800).
List the assets and the debts
Everything owned on the day of death, accounts, furniture, property, debts and funeral costs; a property means going through a notary, according to impots.gouv.fr.
Add back gifts of the last 15 years
The return must mention them; they add to the share received and use up the allowance (article 784).
File and pay at the registration office
At the office for the deceased’s home, duty paid on filing (article 1701); payment in instalments or deferred on request (article 1717).
What is the deadline to file the French inheritance tax return?
6 months from a death in mainland France, one year in ordinary non-mainland cases; overseas departments can have 6, 12 or 24 months depending on domicile and death location, and unpublished property titles have special rules (General Tax Code, article 641). The day of death does not count, and a deadline that falls on a day the office is closed moves to the next working day (article 648): for a death on 15 March 2026, the deadline is 15 September 2026.
The deadline becomes 24 months when the estate includes a property whose ownership by the deceased had not been recorded in a published deed (article 641 bis). Other deadlines apply to Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, La Réunion and Mayotte, according to impots.gouv.fr.
Sources: CGI 641 · CGI 648 · impots.gouv.fr
How is French inheritance tax worked out?
On each heir’s net share, after an allowance of €100,000 for a child or a parent, €15,932 for a brother or sister, €7,967 for a nephew or niece, €1,594 where no other allowance applies (General Tax Code, articles 779 and 788). An heir with a disability has €159,325 more.
The rest follows the scale of article 777: from 5% to 45% by bands between parents and children, 35% then 45% between brothers and sisters, 55% up to the 4th degree, 60% beyond and between people who are not related. A child receiving €250,000 therefore pays €28,194 on €150,000 taxable, rounded to the euro (article 675).
Does French inheritance tax apply if the deceased or the heirs live abroad?
French duty covers all assets, in France or abroad, when the deceased had their tax home in France. When the deceased lived abroad, it covers only the assets located in France (General Tax Code, article 750 ter).
It also covers all assets received by an heir whose tax home is in France and who has lived there for at least 6 of the last 10 years. A tax treaty between France and another country can change the answer: check it before relying on this page.
Source: CGI 750 ter
What does a late French inheritance tax return cost?
Late-payment interest of 0.20% a month, counted from the first day of the month after the deadline to the last day of the month of filing (General Tax Code, article 1727). For a deadline of 15 September 2026 and filing on 10 November, that is 2 months, or 0.40% of the duty.
A 10% surcharge is added from the first day of the seventh month after the deadline, 1 April 2027 in this example, and 40% if the return is not filed within 90 days of a formal notice (article 1728). Co-heirs are jointly liable for the payment, except those who are exempt (article 1709).
Who is exempt from French inheritance tax?
The surviving spouse and the Pacs partner, whatever the amount received (General Tax Code, article 796-0 bis). A brother or sister who is single, widowed, divorced or separated, over 50 or disabled, and who lived with the deceased for the 5 years before the death, is exempt too (article 796-0 ter).
Being exempt does not always mean no return: the spouse files one once the gross estate reaches €50,000 (article 800). An heir who gives assets received to a foundation or a public-interest association within 12 months of the death also deducts their value from their share (article 788).
Sources: CGI 796-0 bis · CGI 800 · CGI 779
Which allowance and which rate apply by family link?
The allowance applies to each heir’s share; the rate, to what is left.
| Heir | Allowance | Rate | Text |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spouse or Pacs partner | Exempt | No duty | CGI 796-0 bis |
| Child or parent | €100,000 | From 5% to 45%, by bands | CGI 779 and 777 |
| Brother or sister | €15,932 | 35% up to €24,430, 45% beyond | CGI 779 and 777 |
| Nephew or niece | €7,967 | 55% | CGI 779 and 777 |
| Other relative up to the 4th degree | €1,594 | 55% | CGI 788 and 777 |
| More distant relative, unrelated person | €1,594 | 60% | CGI 788 and 777 |
| Heir with a disability | €159,325 extra | Depends on the link | CGI 779 |
Scale between parents and children: 5% up to €8,072, 10% up to €12,109, 15% up to €15,932, 20% up to €552,324, 30% up to €902,838, 40% up to €1,805,677, 45% beyond.
Sources: CGI 777 · CGI 779 · CGI 784 · CGI 796-0 bis
What does article 641 of the General Tax Code provide?
Article 641 is the text that sets the filing deadlines, unchanged since 1979.
Les délais pour l’enregistrement des déclarations que les héritiers, donataires ou légataires ont à souscrire des biens à eux échus ou transmis par décès sont : De six mois, à compter du jour du décès, lorsque celui dont on recueille la succession est décédé en France métropolitaine ; D’une année, dans tous les autres cas.
In English, briefly (our summary, not an official translation): The deadlines for heirs, recipients and legatees to file the return of the assets they receive on a death are six months from the day of death when the deceased died in mainland France, and one year in all other cases. Article 648 adds that the day of death is not counted and that a deadline expiring on a closing day is extended to the next working day.
What changed for the French inheritance tax return in 2026?
The 2026 finance law changed filing by the notary and the formal notice; late interest keeps its rate in 2027.
The formal notice that raises the surcharge from 10% to 40% no longer has to be sent by registered post: the words are removed from article 1728 (law no. 2026-103 of 19 February 2026, the finance law for 2026).
Source: CGI 1728
A return filed online by the appointed notary counts as a compliant return once it bears the notary’s certification and electronic signature; the notary keeps the copy signed by the heirs (article 802 bis, law no. 2026-103, article 126).
Source: CGI 802 bis
Article 1727 on late-payment interest is reworded; the rate of 0.20% a month is kept (ordonnance no. 2025-1247 of 17 December 2025).
Source: CGI 1727
What do heirs ask before filing a French inheritance tax return?
Is a notary required for a French inheritance tax return?
Not always. Heirs can file themselves, but a notary is needed when the estate includes a property, a will, a gift between spouses or earlier gifts, or to draw up an attestation of heirship (acte de notoriété), according to impots.gouv.fr.
How is French inheritance tax paid?
On filing the return, at the registration office for the deceased’s home: in cash up to €300, by cheque, card or transfer, according to impots.gouv.fr. Above €10,000 of duty, handing over works of art or other assets can be accepted.
Can inheritance tax be paid in instalments in France?
Yes, on request: equal payments over one year after the filing deadline, three years if at least 50% of the estate is not liquid, such as property. Payment can also be deferred for assets held in bare ownership (General Tax Code, article 1717; impots.gouv.fr).
Does life insurance received on a death have to be declared?
In most cases yes, but separately: the beneficiary files a partial return (form 2705-A), one per insurer, at the registration office for the deceased’s home and within the applicable territorial estate deadline, which must be checked. The AGIRA service tells you on request whether you are the beneficiary of a policy, according to impots.gouv.fr.
Who signs the French inheritance tax return?
Each heir, legatee or recipient who has not renounced, or their legal representative; they can sign a single return for the whole estate (General Tax Code, article 800; impots.gouv.fr).
Which texts set the French inheritance tax deadlines and duty?
- General Tax Code, articles 641 and 641 bis (filing deadlines)Légifrance, in French
- General Tax Code, article 648 (day of death not counted, move to the next working day)Légifrance, in French
- General Tax Code, article 800 (no return below €50,000 or €3,000)Légifrance, in French
- General Tax Code, article 777 (scales of duty)Légifrance, in French
- General Tax Code, articles 779 and 788 (allowances)Légifrance, in French
- General Tax Code, articles 675 and 784 (rounding, gifts of less than 15 years added back)Légifrance, in French
- General Tax Code, article 1727 (late interest of 0.20% a month)Légifrance, in French
- General Tax Code, article 1728 (10% and 40% surcharges)Légifrance, in French
- Do I have to file an inheritance tax return when a relative dies?impots.gouv.fr, in French
- General Tax Code, articles 1701, 1709 and 1717 (payment on filing, joint liability, instalments)Légifrance, in French
- General Tax Code, articles 796-0 bis and 796-0 ter (exempt spouse, partner, brother or sister)Légifrance, in French
- General Tax Code, article 802 bis (return filed online by the notary)Légifrance, in French
- How can I pay inheritance tax?impots.gouv.fr, in French
- I am the beneficiary of a life insurance policy: how do I declare it?impots.gouv.fr, in French
- General Tax Code, article 750 ter (which estates fall under French duty)Légifrance, in French
Texts cited last checked: 25 September 2026