Helping a child with a home deposit or sending money to a grandchild for university costs may soon feel very different. New French rules will transform most family gifts into traceable digital records, giving tax authorities stronger tools to link transfers with property purchases, investments, and undeclared donations.
From quiet generosity to tracked digital records
For years in France, family support often stayed under the radar. A bank transfer, cheque, envelope of cash, jewellery, or even shares all fall under what tax law calls a “don manuel”, or manual gift.
While many of these gifts already had to be declared, the process was often slow and paper-based, involving mail or notaries. That relative discretion is ending.
From 1 January 2026, a decree known as n° 2025-1082 will require most manual and cash gifts within families to be declared online via impots.gouv.fr. Any tax due will also be paid digitally.
Each qualifying gift will become a structured data entry, stored alongside income, property, and investment records.
When a simple transfer becomes a tax event
A straightforward payment from parent to adult child will no longer be just a bank line item. Once declared online, it becomes a clearly identified taxable event, recording who gave, who received, the amount, and the date.
What qualifies as a “manual gift” in France?
Under French tax rules, a manual gift includes assets given without a formal notarial deed. The scope is broad and includes:
- Bank transfers or standing orders between relatives
- Cheques and regular cash support
- Movable items such as jewellery, artwork, or collections
- Financial assets like shares, bonds, or fund units
These transfers are often lawful and may benefit from generous allowances between parents, children, and grandchildren. The 2026 change does not make them newly taxable, but makes them more visible and easier to monitor.
How tax systems will link transfers and assets
The French tax administration already relies on automated detection tools. Mandatory online gift declarations will feed these systems with more precise and timely data.
Information on manual gifts will sit next to other financial and asset records, allowing software and inspectors to spot inconsistencies between declared income and actual spending or investing patterns.
A single undeclared family transfer can now become the thread that leads authorities through a wider network of bank movements and property transactions.
Patterns that may draw attention
With structured gift data, tax algorithms can identify links such as:
- A large parental transfer followed by a home purchase
- A declared family gift quickly invested in insurance-based products
- Repeated transfers from grandparents with no matching declarations and visible wealth growth
Even without an online declaration, bank transfers leave traces. During property reviews or audits, inspectors can request statements. A significant family transfer without a corresponding declaration becomes a starting point for scrutiny.
Can a single transfer trigger an audit?
In practice, authorities focus on patterns rather than small, isolated payments. A modest transfer to help with rent is unlikely to cause concern. Risk increases when:
- The amount is large compared to declared income or assets
- The money is clearly used for property or investment purchases
- Multiple transfers accumulate without any gift reporting
Online filing also creates timelines. If a €50,000 gift is declared in January and a property is bought in March, the record appears coherent. If the property purchase exists but the gift does not, that gap raises questions.
Example: supporting a child’s home purchase
Imagine parents transfer €80,000 to their daughter in 2027 to help her buy a flat. Under the new rules:
- The transfer appears on both bank accounts
- An online gift declaration should be filed on impots.gouv.fr
- The amount may fall partly or fully within tax-free allowances
- The property purchase is separately recorded by the notary
Algorithms can then match the gift to the purchase. A declared gift keeps the file consistent. An undeclared one gives inspectors grounds to question the funding and apply back taxes or penalties.
Who is exempt from mandatory online filing?
The system is broad but not universal. Certain situations remain outside compulsory online declaration, including:
- Gifts to descendants or grand-nephews representing a deceased parent
- Gifts to minors or protected adults when the giver is not the legal representative
These cases often require specialised legal handling and may still involve paper forms or notarial processes.
Digital exemptions for limited internet access
The decree also accounts for digital exclusion. Some individuals may use non-online methods:
- Seniors without internet access may request paper filing
- People medically unable to use digital services may receive assisted filing
- Adults under legal protection follow guardian-based procedures
For most connected households, however, online declaration will be mandatory, creating a more centralised view of family transfers.
The consequences of not declaring a gift
Once the system is active, failing to declare carries greater risk. Bank records and the online gift registry will coexist, making mismatches easier to detect.
Not declaring does not erase a transfer. It simply delays detection, often under less favourable conditions.
In many cases, declared gifts attract little or no tax thanks to allowances that reset every 15 years. The real cost arises from penalties and late interest when authorities reclassify an unreported transfer.
Depending on intent and scale, French law allows surcharges for bad faith or concealment, along with wider audits into income, business activities, and property holdings.
Key distinctions families should know
Manual gifts versus usual presents
French law distinguishes taxable gifts from “usual presents” (présents d’usage). These cover modest gifts for occasions like birthdays or weddings, provided they remain reasonable relative to the giver’s means.
Once sums reach several thousand euros or represent a significant share of wealth, classifying them as presents becomes risky. The new system focuses on amounts, timing, and patterns, not personal intent.
Cash gifts and special allowances
So-called “Sarkozy gifts” are specific cash gifts to children or grandchildren that benefit from additional allowances under certain conditions. These will also fall under mandatory online declaration.
Strategic planning remains important: spacing gifts, using allowances efficiently, and keeping written records of transfers.
Practical steps to limit audit exposure
Families planning major transfers in France can already adapt by:
- Documenting the intention behind gifts
- Filing declarations promptly once required
- Consulting a notary or tax adviser for large transfers
- Avoiding unclear mixes of gifts and informal loans
Consider two siblings receiving identical support. One receives a properly declared €40,000 gift. The other receives the same amount off the record and uses it to buy property. Years later, only the undeclared transfer leads to back taxes and penalties.
This contrast defines the new reality. Family generosity is not being restricted. What is changing is visibility. From 2026, significant transfers between relatives in France should be treated as data points in a national tax system that is increasingly precise.
