Donation: everything you need to know to make a donation

Updated on Friday 3 October 2025

Inquire

Understand the donation

Updated on

How is a donation taxed?

A donation is an act by which a person, the donor, voluntarily and irrevocably transfers ownership of something, free of charge, to another person, the donee (Civil Code, Art. 894).

Read more

Make a donation

International donations

A question ? Need help ?

I would like to make a donation to the child I adopted as part of a simple adoption. Can he benefit from the reduction of 100,000 euros?

No. The reduction of 100,000 euros is applicable in relations between ascendants and their children (art. 779 CGI). Article 786 of the General Tax Code specifies that, except in special cases, the relationship resulting from a simple adoption is not taken into account for the collection of transfer du-ties free…
See more
My father is going to lend me 10,000 euros. I signed him an acknowledgment of debt. Should it be declared to the taxes? What is the difference with the registration of the deed?

Yes , loan contracts for an amount greater than 5,000 euros must be declared (article 49B appendix 3 and article 23L appendix 4 of the CGI) to the tax authorities on form no. 2062. You must file this declaration at the same time as your next annual income tax return…
See more
I gave an apartment to my daughter, who has three children. If she dies before me, the notary tells me it's possible to get it back. Is this true?

Yes. Everything depends on how you draft your deed of gift. If nothing has been stipulated, as the gift is irrevocable, the law does not allow you to recover your property. On the other hand, if a "conventional return clause" has been provided for in the event of the predecease…
See more
I asked my notary for the cost of a donation deed concerning a real estate property. The amount he quoted does not match the fee schedule I found in the French Commercial Code. Is this normal?

Yes. The French Commercial Code (Articles A444-53 et seq.) sets out the notary’s fees, known as emoluments, which represent the notary’s remuneration. However, the total cost of a donation deed includes several other components: Registration duties (droits d’enregistrement) payable to the tax authorities; Value Added Tax (VAT) applicable to certain…
See more