French General Tax Code
In forceSont exonérés des droits de mutation à titre gratuit :
1.1° (Expired);
2° (Repealed);
3° interest shares held in a forestry group up to three-quarters of the fraction of the net value corresponding to the assets referred to in a below and sums deposited in a forestry investment and insurance account provided for in Chapter II of Title V of Book III of the Forestry Code, provided:
a. that the deed recording the donation or the declaration of the succession is supported by a certificate issued free of charge by the departmental director of the territories or the departmental director of the territories and the sea certifying that:
the woods and forests of the grouping are likely to present one of the guarantees of sustainable management provided for in articles L. 124-1 et L. 124-3 and to article L. 313-2 of the Forestry Code;
the fallow land and moorland belonging to the group is suitable for reforestation and has a forestry vocation;
the pastoral land belonging to the group is suitable for a normal exploitation regime;
b. That the forestry group undertakes, as appropriate, one of the commitments provided for in b of 2° of 2 and b of 3;
This group must also undertake:
to reforest its fallow land and moorland within five years of the issue of the certificate and thereafter to subject them to the regime defined in b of 2° of 2;
to subject its pastoral land for thirty years to a regime of normal exploitation or, failing that, to reforest it;
c. the shares have been held for more than two years by the donor or the deceased, where they were acquired for valuable consideration on or after 5 September 1979.
4° Shares in agricultural landholding groups and those in agricultural landholding groups, created in accordance with the loi n° 62-933 du 8 août 1962 et répondant aux diverses caractéristiques des articles L. 322-1 à L. 322-21 et L. 322-23 of the Code rural et de la pêche maritime, up to three-quarters of the fraction of the net value of the property given on a long-term lease or a transferable lease, subject to the provisions of article 793 bis, on condition:
a) That the articles of association of the grouping prohibit it from farming under direct tenancy;
b) That the agricultural property making up the assets of the grouping has been given on a long-term lease under the conditions provided for by the articles L. 416-1 to L. 416-6, L. 416-8 and L. 416-9 of the Rural and Maritime Fishing Code or a transferable lease under the conditions provided for in articles L. 418-1 to L. 418-5 of the Rural and Maritime Fishing Code;
c) That the shares have been held for at least two years by the donor or the deceased.
This period is not required where the donor or the deceased were parties to the contract setting up the groupement foncier agricole and, in this capacity, made contributions consisting exclusively of immovable property or immovable property rights for agricultural use.
The exemption does not apply to shares in agricultural land groups that are held by a société civile governed by Section 3 of Chapter IV of Title I of Book II of the Monetary and Financial Code or by an insurance or capitalisation company;
In accordance with the provisions of l'article L. 322-18 of the rural and maritime fishing code, the reimbursement of the tax benefits provided for in articles L. 322-1 to L. 322-23 of the same code is not due when the condition of relationship provided for in article L. 322-11 of the aforementioned code ceases to be met following gratuitous transfers;
The provisions of articles L. 322-1 to L. 322-21 and L. 322-23 of the Code rural et de la pêche maritime;
5° reversions of life annuities between relatives in the direct line;
6° transmission by death of the benefit of a deferred salary employment contract, the devolution of which is governed by article L. 321-14 of the Rural and Maritime Fishing Code;
2.1° (Repealed);
2° successions and donations inter vivos, up to three quarters of their amount, concerning properties in the nature of woods and forests, on condition;
a. that the deed recording the donation or declaration of inheritance is supported by a certificate issued free of charge by the Departmental Director of Territories or the Departmental Director of Territories and Sea certifying that the woods and forests are likely to present one of the guarantees of sustainable management provided for in articles L. 124-1 to L. 124-4 and article L. 313-2 of the Forestry Code;
b. it contains an undertaking by the heir, legatee or donee, on behalf of himself and his successors in title:
- either to apply one of the sustainable management guarantees provided for in articles L. 124-1 to L. 124-4 and article L. 313-2 of the said code;
- or where, at the time of the transfer, no sustainable management guarantee is applied to the woods and forests in question, to submit within three years of the transfer and apply until the expiry of the aforementioned thirty-year period such a guarantee. In this situation, the beneficiary also undertakes to apply the normal exploitation regime set out in the decree of 28 June 1930 to the woods and forests for the period required to present one of the sustainable management guarantees.
In the event of transfer of woods and forests to the State or to the local authorities and bodies mentioned in I and II of l'article 1042, the undertaking is deemed to have been definitively satisfied up to a fraction of the value of the exempted property determined by the ratio between the surface area of the property subject to the transfer and the total surface area of the property on which the undertaking was entered into. The same rule applies to transfers of enjoyment or ownership in favour of establishments or companies, with a view to the creation of facilities, developments or constructions of public interest, which could give rise to the establishment of a public utility easement under the said transfer, as well as to woods and forests subject to a prohibition on replanting woodland after clear-cutting pursuant to the second to ninth paragraphs of article L. 126-1 of the Rural and Maritime Fishing Code;
3° Property leased under the conditions provided for in articles L. 416-1 to L. 416-6, L. 416-8 and L. 416-9 and articles L. 418-1 to L. 418-5 of the Rural and Maritime Fishing Code, up to three quarters of their value, subject to the provisions of article 793 bis ;
4° At the time of their first transfer free of charge, properties acquired new or in a future state of completion for which the declaration of the completion of the works provided for by the town planning regulations is filed before 1 July 1994 at the town hall of the municipality in whose territory the property concerned was built and whose acquisition by the donor or the deceased is evidenced by a notarised deed signed between 1 June 1993 and 31 December 1994.
The exemption is subject to the condition that the properties have been used exclusively and continuously as the main residence for a minimum of five years from the date of acquisition or completion if later. In the event of a gift, the time limit applies to the donee if the five-year period from the date of acquisition or completion, if later, has not expired.
The five-year condition is not enforceable in the event of the purchaser's death during this period.
The foregoing provisions do not apply to properties where the purchaser has benefited from the tax reductions provided for in articles 199 undecies and 199 undecies A.
A Conseil d'Etat decree will determine the terms and conditions for the application of the provisions of this 4°, in particular the reporting obligations incumbent on taxpayers and the supporting documents to be provided when registering the transmission referred to in the first paragraph ;
5° when they are transferred for the first time free of charge, newly acquired properties for which the declaration of completion of the work required by the town planning regulations was filed before 31 December 1994 at the town hall of the commune in whose territory the property concerned was built and whose acquisition by the donor or the deceased is evidenced by a notarised deed signed between 1 August 1995 and 31 December 1995.
The exemption is subject to the condition that the buildings have been exclusively allocated on a continuous basis to the principal dwelling for a minimum period of two years from the date of acquisition and that the donee, heir or legatee or their successors in title undertake not to allocate the buildings to any use other than the dwelling for a minimum period of three years from the date of the free transfer.
The two-year condition is not enforceable in the event of the purchaser's death during this period.
The foregoing provisions do not apply to properties whose purchaser has benefited from the tax reductions provided for in Articles 199 undecies and 199 undecies A.
A decree of the Conseil d'Etat shall determine the terms and conditions for the application of the provisions of this 5°;
6° upon their first free transfer, the properties or fractions of properties mentioned in articles 710 and 711, up to three-quarters of their value, where the acquisition by the donor or the deceased is evidenced by a notarised deed signed between 1 August 1995 and 31 December 1996 and has not given rise to the payment of value added tax.
The exemption is subject to the condition that the properties have been let by the owner under the conditions set out in 3° and 4° of the article 199 decies B, for a minimum period of nine years, to a person who uses them exclusively and continuously as their main home.
The rental must have taken effect within six months of the acquisition of the property.
When, on the day of the gratuitous transfer, the nine-year period has not expired, the benefit of the partial exemption is subject to the commitment of the donees, heirs or legatees for themselves and their successors in title to maintain the property transferred for letting, under the same conditions, until the expiry of this period.
A decree by the Conseil d'Etat will determine the terms and conditions for the application of the provisions of this 6°, in particular the reporting obligations incumbent on the taxpayers and supporting documents to be provided when registering the transfer referred to in the first paragraph.
7° Inheritances and donations inter vivos, up to three quarters of their amount, concerning non-built properties that are not in the nature of woods and forests and that are included in natural areas delimited pursuant to articles L. 331-2, L. 332-2 to L. 332-2-2, L. 341-2 and L. 414-1 of the Environment Code and their implementing texts, or delimited pursuant to articles L. 121-23 et L. 121-50 of the town planning code, on condition:
a) That the deed recording the donation or the declaration of inheritance is supported by a certificate issued free of charge by the departmental director of the territories or the departmental director of the territories and the sea certifying that the properties concerned are subject to a management commitment in line with the conservation objectives of these areas;
b) That it contains an undertaking by the heir, legatee or donee, made on behalf of himself and his successors in title, to apply for eighteen years to the natural areas that are the subject of the transfer management guarantees that comply with the conservation objectives of these areas and the content of which is defined by decree.
This exemption cannot be combined with any other exemption applicable to gratuitous transfer duties.
In the event of the transfer of non-built properties, which are included in natural areas delimited pursuant to articles L. 331-2, L. 332-2 to L. 332-2-2, L. 341-2 and L. 414-1 of the Environment Code and their implementing texts, or delimited pursuant to articles L. 121-23 and L. 121-50 of the Town Planning Code, to the State or to the local authorities and bodies mentioned in I and II of article 1042 of this Code, the commitment is deemed to have been definitively fulfilled up to a fraction of the exempted value of the property, this being determined by the ratio between the surface area of the property transferred and the total surface area of the property on which the commitment was made. The same rule applies to transfers of enjoyment or ownership in favour of establishments or companies, with a view to the creation of facilities, developments or constructions in the public interest, which could give rise to the establishment of a public utility easement in respect of the said transfer.
8° Immovable property and property rights, up to 50% of their value, on the first transfer subsequent to the reconstitution of the relevant title deeds, provided that these title deeds have been established by a deed duly transcribed or published between 1 October 2014 and 31 December 2027.
This exemption is exclusive of the application to the same property, in respect of the same transfer or a previous transfer, of any other exemption from gratuitous transfer duties.
3. The sums, up to three quarters of their amount, deposited in the forestry and insurance investment account mentioned in articles L. 352-1 to L. 352-5 du code forestier, provided:
a) That the deed recording the donation or declaration of succession is supported by a certificate issued by the departmental director of territories or the departmental director of territories and the sea attesting that the woods and forests of the account holder are likely to present one of the guarantees of sustainable management provided for in article L. 124-1 of the Forestry Code;
b) It contains an undertaking by the heir, legatee or donee, on behalf of himself and his successors in title, to use the sums involved in the transfer in accordance with Article L. 352-3 of the same code for thirty years.
