J'ai fait appel à Maître Uzan dans le cadre d'une procédure fiscale longue et techniquement complexe. Analyse rigoureuse du dossier, réponses précises dans des délais parfois très courts, et surtout une vraie capacité à maintenir un dialogue constructif avec l'administration plutôt qu'à durcir inutilement les positions.
Il a pris le temps de m'expliquer chaque étape et les options possibles, sans jargon et sans promesses excessives. Le dossier s'est conclu par une issue négociée.
Un accompagnement sérieux, du premier échange jusqu'au suivi complet de l'exécution. Je recommande sans réserve.
France – United Kingdom Inheritance
By Marc Uzan, French tax lawyer in Paris
France – United Kingdom Estates: French Inheritance Tax and the 1963 Treaty
Tax lawyer in Paris – French taxation of Franco-British estates
Key points
- Franco-British Treaty of 21 June 1963: it covers only estates, not gifts, and applies neither to the Channel Islands nor to the Isle of Man.
- Deceased domiciled in France: France taxes the entire estate, wherever the assets are located, and grants a tax credit for the UK tax paid on assets located in the United Kingdom.
- Deceased domiciled in the United Kingdom: France may tax only assets located in France within the meaning of the treaty, even if the heir resides in France.
- French inheritance tax: allowance of €100,000 per child, exemption for the spouse and PACS partner, tax scale of up to 45% in the direct line, and 55% or 60% beyond brothers and sisters.
- Return No. 2705 in principle within 6 months of the death if it occurred in mainland France (12 months in other cases), with form No. 2740-SD for the credit of the UK tax. Claim for credit or refund: in principle 5 years from the date of death.
Summary
For a Franco-British estate, the key question on the French side is: can France tax, and on which assets? The answer depends first and foremost on the domicile of the deceased within the meaning of the 1963 treaty, and then on the location of each asset under the rules specific to that treaty, which differ significantly from those of more recent treaties.
When can France tax an estate with a UK connection?
Under domestic law, Article 750 ter of the French General Tax Code (CGI) subjects the following to French inheritance tax: (1°) all assets, whether located in France or outside France, where the deceased was domiciled in France for tax purposes; (2°) assets located in France where the deceased was domiciled outside France; (3°) assets located outside France received by an heir who has been domiciled in France for at least 6 of the last 10 years.
The treaty limits these rules. Domicile is first assessed under the legislation of each State; in the event of dual domicile, the permanent home, the centre of vital interests, the habitual abode and then nationality are applied in turn, and failing that, an agreement between the tax authorities (Article 2).
| Situation | French inheritance tax |
|---|---|
| Deceased domiciled in France | All assets, including those located in the United Kingdom; credit for the UK tax paid on assets located in the United Kingdom (Article 6) |
| Deceased domiciled in the United Kingdom | Only assets located in France; other assets are not taken into account, even for determining the tax rate (Article 5) |
| Heir resident in France, deceased domiciled in the United Kingdom | The 6-out-of-10-years rule (Article 750 ter, 3°) is in principle set aside by the treaty: no French tax on assets located outside France |
To determine where an asset is “located” (Article 4), the treaty provides in particular that: real estate and real property rights are located where the property is situated; tangible movable property where it is found at the time of death; shares and interests in companies in the State where the company was incorporated; a business and interests in partnerships where the business is operated; receivables (including bank balances, according to the interpretation generally adopted), insurance proceeds and intellectual property in the State of domicile of the deceased. Where France taxes the estate of a person domiciled in the United Kingdom, it must grant the same allowances and exemptions as if the deceased had been domiciled in France (Article 5, § 3).
How is French inheritance tax calculated?
The tax is calculated on the net share received by each heir, after the allowance:
- Spouse and PACS partner: exempt (Article 796-0 bis of the CGI).
- Children and parents: €100,000 each, then a tax scale from 5% to 45%.
- Brothers and sisters: €15,932, then 35% up to €24,430 and 45% above that (subject to the exemption under the conditions of Article 796-0 ter).
- Nephews and nieces: €7,967, then 55%. Relatives up to the 4th degree: 55%; beyond that and unrelated persons: 60%, after an allowance of €1,594 where no other allowance applies.
- Disabled heir: additional allowance of €159,325.
The direct-line tax scale applies in brackets: 5% up to €8,072, then 10%, 15%, 20% (up to €552,324), 30%, 40% and 45% above €1,805,677. Gifts made by the deceased to the same heir within the previous 15 years are added back: they use up the allowance and push the heir into higher brackets (Article 784 of the CGI).
How are the most common UK assets treated?
- House or apartment in the United Kingdom: an asset located in the United Kingdom. It is in principle taxable in France only if the deceased was domiciled in France, with credit for the corresponding UK tax.
- Shares in UK companies: located in the United Kingdom (place of incorporation of the company), with the same consequences.
- Bank accounts: as receivables, they in principle follow the domicile of the deceased. For a deceased person domiciled in the United Kingdom, this rule may lead to the exclusion of balances held in France from the French tax base: a point to be checked case by case.
- UK pensions and death benefits: their characterisation under French law (part of the estate or a regime similar to the life insurance regime of Articles 757 B and 990 I) depends on the features of the plan and deserves careful examination, ideally with a lawyer.
- Trusts: specific regime (Article 792-0 bis of the CGI); see the dedicated page on UK trusts.
How is UK tax offset in France?
Where the deceased was domiciled in France, Article 6 of the treaty provides that France credits against the French tax attributable to an asset located in the United Kingdom an amount equal to the UK tax paid on that same asset, up to the amount of the corresponding French tax. To calculate the credit usable in France, the UK tax must in principle be apportioned asset by asset, and then between heirs.
In practice:
- form No. 2740-SD is in principle attached to the return, together with evidence of final payment of the UK tax;
- if the UK tax is paid after the French tax, a refund claim may in principle be filed within 5 years of the death (Article 7).
Outside the treaty, in particular for gifts or assets located in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, Article 784 A of the CGI allows, in the cases covered by 1° and 3° of Article 750 ter, foreign tax paid on assets located outside France to be offset.
Which returns must be filed in France, and when?
- Form No. 2705 and its schedule 2705-S (inventory of assets and liabilities, calculation of the tax); 2705-A for life insurance policies; 2740-SD for foreign tax.
- Deadline: 6 months from the date of death if it occurred in mainland France, 12 months in all other cases, including a death in the United Kingdom.
- Competent office: for a deceased person domiciled outside France, the tax office for non-resident individuals (service des impôts des particuliers non-résidents, Noisy-le-Grand); otherwise, the office for the deceased’s domicile.
- Payment: upon filing the return, with the option of payment in instalments (in principle 3 instalments over one year, up to 7 instalments over 3 years if at least 50% of the assets are illiquid) or deferred payment (in particular for a transfer of bare ownership), on request, subject to guarantees and interest.
- Late filing: late-payment interest of 0.20% per month, and a 10% surcharge (Article 1728 of the CGI) from the first day of the 7th month following the expiry of the statutory deadline (i.e. from the 13th month after the death where the deadline is 6 months, and from the 19th month where it is 12 months), or more after formal notice.
Two practical cases
A parent domiciled in London, a French-resident child. The deceased leaves an apartment in London, a portfolio of UK shares and a studio in Nice. In France, only the studio in Nice is in principle taxable; the child benefits from the €100,000 allowance, and the UK assets are not taken into account for determining the tax rate.
A deceased person domiciled in Paris who owned a house in Kent. France taxes the entire estate, including the house. The UK tax paid on the house is offset against the portion of the French tax attributable to that house, using form 2740-SD, up to the amount of that tax.
For a complete case, worked through step by step from the point of view of an heir living in France, see the guide inheriting from a relative who lived in the United Kingdom while living in France; if you are a trust beneficiary, see also the guide for the beneficiary of a British trust living in France.
What I see in my cases
In Franco-British estates, as in the other international estates I handle, timing is often the first difficulty: the procedure abroad is long, and the inheritance tax return is in principle due in France within twelve months when the death occurred abroad. Depending on the case, a provisional return, supplemented later, may make it possible to meet this deadline.
The 1963 treaty and the way British tax is taken into account are then at the heart of the file. The tax authorities are very demanding about the credit, since it reduces French tax, and these rules are often unfamiliar to them. In my experience, a file presented carefully from the outset almost always secures the credit without having to start a procedure.
The assets that raise the most questions are, as elsewhere, shares and real estate. When a provisional return is filed, it is generally well received and, if the file is well presented, rarely followed by questions. In an estate that was both British and American, I coordinated with the British and American lawyers and optimised its handling in France: under the tax treaties, it was entirely exempt in France, with returns accepted by the French tax authorities, a result specific to the facts of that case.
Why use a tax lawyer?
- Determination of the deceased’s domicile within the meaning of the treaty and of the location of each asset.
- Preparation of return 2705 and calculation, asset by asset, of the available tax credit.
- Where appropriate, claim for a refund of any tax overpaid, within the 5-year time limit.
- Planning of gifts, which fall outside the treaty.
FAQ
I am inheriting an apartment in London and I live in France: will I pay tax in France?
It all depends on the domicile of the deceased. If they were domiciled in the United Kingdom within the meaning of the treaty, France in principle does not tax the apartment, even if you reside in France. If they were domiciled in France, the apartment in principle forms part of the French estate and the UK tax paid on that asset is credited against the corresponding French tax.
Does the Franco-British treaty apply to gifts?
No, it covers only estates. For a gift, France applies Article 750 ter of the CGI; Article 784 A may, subject to conditions, allow foreign tax paid on assets located outside France to be offset.
What is the time limit for claiming the credit for UK tax?
The offset is in principle claimed with the inheritance tax return (form 2740-SD). If the UK tax is paid later, a refund claim must in principle be filed within 5 years from the date of death (Article 7 of the treaty).
Are my bank accounts in France taxable if the deceased lived in the United Kingdom?
The treaty locates receivables in the State of domicile of the deceased. Bank balances may therefore, depending on the analysis adopted, escape French inheritance tax where the deceased was domiciled in the United Kingdom. This point deserves to be checked with a lawyer before filing.
Glossary
Treaty domicile: the domicile determined by the treaty in the event of a conflict (permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality).
Tax credit: the amount of UK tax deducted from the French tax, up to the amount of that tax.
Further reading
- France – United Kingdom Tax Treaty of 21 June 1963 on estate taxes (text on impots.gouv.fr).
- BOI-INT-CVB-GBR-20: French tax authorities’ guidelines on this treaty.
- Articles 750 ter, 777, 779, 784, 784 A, 796-0 bis and 800 of the CGI; BOI-ENR-DMTG-10-50-60 (offsetting of taxes paid outside France).
- Forms 2705, 2705-S, 2705-A and 2740-SD (impots.gouv.fr).
- See also: US or UK / France estates, UK trusts, France – United States estates, international estates.
About the author
Maître Marc Uzan has been a tax lawyer at the Paris Bar since 2008 and practises tax law exclusively. A graduate of the Master’s programme in taxation of Université Paris XII and of ESSEC, and holder of the DSCG, he advises individuals and families on their international tax matters: cross-border estates and gifts, foreign accounts, moving to and from France, and tax audits.
Page updated on October 1, 2026. The information above is general in nature and is no substitute for an analysis of your personal situation.
Book an appointment with Maître Uzan – consultation at the office (Paris 9th arrondissement), by video call or by telephone.
