Inheritance Tax on a French Holiday Home If You're Not a French Resident

• France taxes French property on death regardless of where the owner lived — a UK-resident owner's French holiday home is still subject to French succession tax
• For most families, this is straightforward: French rules apply to the French property only, running alongside ordinary UK probate for the rest of the estate — but if the property is then sold, that's a second, separate tax event
• If an heir has been French-resident for 6 of the last 10 years, France can tax that heir's entire worldwide inheritance, not just the French property
• UK conflict-of-laws rules already point back to French law for real estate located in France, separately from the will-election route covered in our wills guide
• The 1963 UK-France estate tax treaty exists specifically to prevent the same property being fully taxed by both countries — but the relief has to be actively claimed, not assumed

This article covers an increasingly common case: you live in the UK, you own a holiday home in France, and you've never given much thought to what happens to it when you die.

French property is taxed by France, wherever you live

If you are a UK resident who has never lived in France, your French holiday home still falls under French succession tax. Under Article 750 ter of the CGI, France taxes real estate located in France on death regardless of the owner's tax residence.

This means the rates and allowances covered in our general guide to how inheritance tax works in France — the €100,000 child allowance, the spousal exemption, the sibling and non-relative bands — all apply to a French holiday home exactly as they would to a French resident's main home. Non-resident heirs get the same allowances as resident ones, provided the succession is properly declared in France.

What's different for a non-resident owner isn't the rates — it's the administration, the potential for double taxation, and one specific rule that can reach beyond the property itself.

The ordinary case: heirs who are simply UK residents

Most of the time, this is simpler than it sounds. If you're a UK resident with a French holiday home, and your heirs are also just UK residents with no French ties, France still governs who inherits the property and what tax is due on it — but only on the property itself, not on the rest of your estate.

Under EU Regulation 650/2012, French law determines who the heirs are and what share each receives for any real estate physically located in France, regardless of where the deceased or the heirs live, and regardless of the UK's non-participation in the regulation. In practice, that means French forced heirship rules can apply to the French house even though the rest of a UK estate is administered entirely under UK probate rules — the two run in parallel, with the French property handled through a French notaire and a separate French succession declaration, and the rest of the estate handled the ordinary UK way.

If the property is then sold — a common outcome where heirs live in the UK and don't want to keep a French holiday home — that sale is a separate, second tax event on top of the succession tax already paid. A few things about that sale are worth knowing in advance:

• The holding period used to calculate any capital gains tax runs from the date of death, not from when the deceased originally bought the property.
• Standard allowances against the gain start after 6 years of ownership (counted from that date), so a quick sale shortly after inheriting is unlikely to benefit from much relief.
• The succession tax already paid on the property, along with notaire fees and documented improvement works, can be deducted when calculating the taxable gain — reducing the amount subject to capital gains tax.

This two-step tax exposure — succession tax on inheriting, then capital gains tax on selling — is often the real total cost of a French holiday home passing through an estate, and it's worth having both figures modelled together rather than treating them as unrelated. Take a €300,000 holiday home inherited by a single child and sold shortly afterwards, with the property having gained little value since the parent bought it:

The succession tax bill is the main cost in this scenario — the capital gains exposure only becomes significant if the property is held for a while after inheriting and its value rises in the meantime, or if it's sold for meaningfully more than the value declared on the succession.

The rule that can pull in more than just the house: 6 of the last 10 years

This is the detail most likely to catch a family by surprise, and it has nothing to do with where the deceased lived — it depends on where the heir lived.

Under Article 750 ter, if an heir, donee, or beneficiary has been tax-resident in France for at least 6 of the 10 years before the transfer, France can tax that heir on their entire worldwide inheritance — not just the French property — regardless of where the person who died was resident.

In practice, this scenario comes up in families where the parents remained UK residents with a French holiday home, but one of their children moved to France and has lived there for several years. If that child inherits, France isn't limited to taxing the French house — it can tax that child's share of the whole estate, UK assets included, under French succession rules. The other siblings, if they've stayed UK-resident, aren't affected by this rule; it applies per heir, not to the estate as a whole.

This is worth actively checking within a family where residency is mixed across generations, rather than assuming the French tax exposure is capped at the value of the holiday home.

Why a UK will still matters, even without Brussels IV

Our wills guide covers how a UK national resident in France can elect for UK law to govern their estate under EU Regulation 650/2012. For a UK-resident owner of French property, the situation is different but related.

UK private international law has its own long-standing rule for real estate: immovable property is governed by the law of the country where it's physically located. In practice, this means UK conflict-of-laws rules already point back to French law for a French holiday home — separately from, and regardless of, whether Brussels IV would otherwise apply. This is why French forced heirship (the réserve héréditaire covered in our general guide) can end up governing who inherits a French holiday home even for a UK national who has never lived in France and has a perfectly valid UK will covering their UK assets.

This is exactly the kind of situation worth raising with a notaire when the property is bought, or as soon as possible afterwards, rather than assuming a UK will covers everything.

The 1963 treaty: relief from double taxation, not automatic exemption

France and the UK have had a dedicated estate tax treaty since 1963, designed specifically to stop the same assets being fully taxed twice — once by France under its succession tax, and again by the UK under Inheritance Tax. The treaty divides taxing rights between the two countries and provides credit mechanisms so that, broadly, tax paid to one country can offset what's owed to the other on the same asset.

Two things worth knowing:

• This relief isn't automatic. It has to be claimed and calculated correctly on both sides, which typically means coordinating a French notaire handling the succession with whoever is managing the UK estate.
• The treaty predates modern French residency-based rules and the UK's own recent changes to how it defines long-term residence for tax purposes. Where an estate involves both a French property and an heir with French residency ties, the interaction between the treaty, the 6-of-10-years rule above, and current UK rules is genuinely complex enough to warrant specialist cross-border advice rather than a DIY calculation.

The practical filing deadline non-resident heirs often miss

A French succession declaration is required even when the deceased never lived in France, provided taxable French assets exist. The deadline is 6 months from the date of death if the death occurred in mainland France, but 12 months if the death occurred abroad — the more common scenario for a UK-resident owner of a French holiday home.

For a non-resident deceased, the declaration goes to a specific tax office — the Service des Impôts des Particuliers Non-Résidents, based in Noisy-le-Grand — rather than a local office tied to the property's location. A notaire handling the succession can file this on behalf of all the heirs together as a single dossier, which is generally the more practical route for a family managing this from the UK.

Missing this deadline can trigger penalties, on top of the practical difficulty of administering a French asset from abroad without professional help.

Common mistakes

1. Assuming French succession tax doesn't apply because the owner never lived in France. Article 750 ter taxes the property based on its location, not the owner's residence.

2. Not planning for the second tax event if the property is sold. Selling an inherited French property to divide the proceeds among UK-based heirs triggers its own capital gains calculation, with the holding period running from the date of death — separate from, and on top of, the succession tax already paid.

3. Not checking whether an heir's own French residency history matters. If an heir has lived in France for 6 of the last 10 years, their entire inheritance — not just the French property — can become taxable in France.

4. Assuming a UK will automatically covers the French property the way it covers UK assets. UK conflict-of-laws rules point back to French law for real estate located in France, which can bring French forced heirship into play regardless of Brussels IV.

5. Assuming the 1963 treaty automatically prevents double taxation. The relief exists but has to be actively claimed and calculated, generally by coordinating professionals on both sides.

6. Missing the 6- or 12-month filing deadline. Non-resident heirs still face a hard deadline — 12 months if the death occurred abroad — and the declaration goes to a specific non-resident tax office, not a local one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I owe French inheritance tax on a holiday home if I've never lived in France?

The tax is owed by your heirs after your death, not by you during your lifetime, but yes — French succession tax applies to French property regardless of where the owner was resident. This is based on where the property is located, under Article 750 ter of the CGI.

Can France tax more than just my French holiday home?

Only if an heir has been French tax-resident for at least 6 of the 10 years before inheriting. In that case, France can tax that heir's entire worldwide inheritance, not just the French property. Heirs without that French residency history are only taxed on the French assets they inherit.

If my heirs are just UK residents with no French ties, is this simple?

Generally, yes. French law and forced heirship rules still determine who inherits the French property and what tax is due on it, but this runs alongside — not instead of — ordinary UK probate for the rest of the estate. The main extra step to plan for is that if the property is later sold, that sale is a separate capital gains tax event, calculated from the date of death.

Does my UK will cover my French holiday home?

Not entirely reliably. UK private international law generally defers to French law for real estate located in France, which means French rules — including forced heirship — can apply to the property regardless of a valid UK will, unless the situation has been specifically addressed with a notaire.

Will I be taxed twice, once by France and once by the UK?

The 1963 UK-France estate tax treaty exists to prevent full double taxation on the same assets, but the relief isn't automatic — it needs to be correctly claimed and calculated, generally by coordinating professionals handling the French and UK sides of the estate.

How long do non-resident heirs have to file a French succession declaration?

Six months from the date of death if the death occurred in mainland France, or 12 months if it occurred abroad. The declaration for a non-resident deceased is filed with the Service des Impôts des Particuliers Non-Résidents in Noisy-le-Grand, and can be handled by a notaire on behalf of all heirs together.

I have a French holiday home, live in the UK, have no children, and want to leave the house to a friend. How can I reduce the inheritance tax?

Being a UK resident with no French ties doesn't change the underlying problem: a friend inheriting under standard French rules gets just a €1,594 allowance before 60% tax applies, and that's true whether the property is your main home or a holiday home. The residency and location rules covered in this article determine that France taxes the property — they don't change who gets a good rate. The tools that actually help are the same ones covered in our guide to inheritance tax with no children: naming your friend as an assurance-vie beneficiary (up to €152,500 tax-free if premiums are paid before you turn 70), or gifting a share of the property via donation avec réserve d'usufruit while you're alive. Both need setting up well before death, so this is worth raising with a notaire as early planning rather than something to fix later.

What if I want to sell my French holiday home and leave the proceeds to a UK charity when I die?

Be careful here — a UK charity is very unlikely to qualify for France's charity exemption. That 0% rate (covered in our no-children guide) is generally only available to charities established in the EU/EEA, or to a foreign charity that has obtained specific French tax approval (agrément). Since Brexit, no reciprocity arrangement exists between France and the UK for this purpose, and the 1963 UK-France estate tax treaty doesn't cover charitable gifts either — so a bequest left directly to a UK-registered charity is generally taxed at the standard 60% non-relative rate, the same as a bequest to a friend. Some larger UK charities address this by operating a French-registered branch that itself holds French agrément; if the charity you have in mind doesn't have one, a bequest routed to it directly is unlikely to be tax-free. This is genuinely worth confirming with a notaire before finalising a will, since it can make a very large difference to what the charity actually receives — selling the property first doesn't change this outcome, since it just converts the same taxable value into cash before it passes to the charity.

For more on this topic, browse our Inheritance & Succession Tax category.

Sources: Article 750 ter, Code général des impôts (territoriality of succession tax, French-situs property, 6-of-10-years heir rule) · Article 150 VC, Code général des impôts (capital gains holding-period allowance) · BOFiP — France-UK estate tax convention, double taxation relief · impots.gouv.fr — when and where to declare a succession (non-residents)