Donation: everything you need to know to make a donation

Updated on Friday 3 October 2025

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Understand the donation

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Succession: rules to know for a donation

Donation makes it possible to reward loved ones (family members or not) but also a labor, an association or a congregation one may support. Donation is a serious act because, except for exceptions, it is definitive.
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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).

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Inheritance: donation and peculiar clauses

A donation may include special clauses, to meet the desires of the donor. A notary’s intervention is necessary to draft a valid clause and in accordance with the will of the donor.
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Make a donation

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Donation: risks related to manual donations

It is possible to give a sum of money to one of your children informally. However, be careful. This "manual donation" must comply with certain legal and taxation rules and could trigger a family clash, if it is carried out, without any prior reflection.
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Successive gift

A successive gift is, first and foremost, a gift, that is, an act “by which a person freely transfers all or part of their property or rights to another person,” in a present and irrevocable manner (meaning the donor cannot reclaim the property or right once given).
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Make a bequest to a foundation or an association

You have the right to leave all or part of your inheritance, to a structure of general interest which, due to you, will be able to pursue its humanitarian, social, educational, research missions, in the medium and long term.
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International donations

A question ? Need help ?

No. For tax purposes, a simple adoption does not create a donation or inheritance tax allowance for the adopter (Art. 786 CGI), with few exceptions, which apply only to the adoptee. Therefore, your stepfather will pay 60% tax on the full amount (Art. 777, IV CGI).
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The return clause inserted in the deed of gift allows the donor to recover ownership of the donated property, either in the event that the beneficiary of the donation dies before him, or in the event of the predecease of the beneficiary and his descendants (art. 951 Civil Code). It…
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Yes. It is always possible to make a donation, regardless of your age. However, the beneficiaries of the donation will not be able to benefit from the special allo-wance of 31,865 euros applicable to donations of sums of money (from article 790 G of the General Tax Code) granted in…
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Yes. A future protection mandate does not prevent the protected person from disposing of their property with the assistance of their agent. However, Article 490 paragraph 2 of the Civil Code requires the agent to obtain the authorization of the guardianship judge to "perform a disposition act for free." The…
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