No estate tax treaty since 1 January 2015 · French tax code, Swiss PILA and cantonal taxes

France-Switzerland estates: inheritance tax, governing law and double taxation

Since 2015, no treaty allocates between France and Switzerland the right to tax an estate. France applies its domestic law without limit, each canton applies its own statute, and the governing law of the estate is determined on each side under different rules.

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How is an estate taxed between France and Switzerland?

The France-Switzerland estate tax treaty of 31 December 1953, terminated by France, no longer applies to deaths occurring on or after 1 January 2015. France therefore taxes under Article 750 ter of the French tax code (CGI): the entire estate if the deceased was domiciled in France; only French-situs assets if the deceased was domiciled in Switzerland; but everything received by an heir domiciled in France for at least six of the last ten years.

In Switzerland, inheritance tax is cantonal. Geneva exempts the spouse and descendants, unless the deceased was taxed on a lump-sum (expenditure) basis; Vaud exempts the spouse and applies a deduction and a moderate scale to descendants. Only the unilateral credit of Article 784 A of the CGI relieves double taxation.

CGI, Articles 750 ter and 784 A; BOI-INT-CVB-CHE-20; Geneva inheritance duties act (LDS, D 3 25), Article 6A; Vaud inheritance and gift tax act (LMSD, BLV 648.11), Articles 20 and 31.

— In brief
Estate tax treaty
None for deaths on or after 1 January 2015
French side
Article 750 ter of the CGI unfiltered, credit under Article 784 A
Swiss side
Cantonal tax; governing law set by the Swiss PILA
Watch point
An heir domiciled in France is taxed on everything received
— What France taxes

Article 750 ter of the CGI, with no treaty filter

  • End of the 1953 treaty. Terminated by diplomatic note of 17 June 2014 (Decree No 2014-1270 of 30 October 2014), it ceased to apply to deaths occurring on or after 1 January 2015; since then, the French tax administration states that domestic rules apply without restriction (BOI-INT-CVB-CHE-20). It never covered gifts.
  • Deceased domiciled in France. All assets, in France or abroad, are taxable, wherever the heirs live (CGI, Article 750 ter, 1°). Domicile is defined by Article 4 B: home or principal place of stay, main professional activity, or centre of economic interests.
  • Deceased domiciled in Switzerland. Only French-situs assets are taxable (2°): real estate, receivables on French debtors, shares in companies with their seat in France whatever their assets, French real estate held through a company more than half of which the deceased controls together with close family, and shares in unlisted foreign companies mainly holding French real estate, in proportion to that real estate.
  • Heir domiciled in France. The heir is taxed on everything received, even from a deceased domiciled in Switzerland, if he or she was tax-domiciled in France for at least six of the ten years preceding the year of the transfer (3°); the years need not be consecutive (BOI-ENR-DMTG-10-10-30, para. 390).
  • The only relief: Article 784 A. In the cases of 1° and 3°, tax paid outside France, including cantonal and communal tax, is credited against the French tax attributable to assets situated outside France, any excess foreign tax never being refunded (CGI, Article 784 A; BOI-ENR-DMTG-10-50-60). Swiss tax paid on an asset situated in France is not creditable.
  • Rates. Allowance of €100,000 per child (Article 779), scale from 5% to 45% in the direct line and 60% between unrelated persons (Article 777); the surviving spouse and PACS partner are exempt (Article 796-0 bis). The agreement of 30 October 1979 on gifts and bequests to charitable bodies remains in force (BOI-INT-CVB-CHE-30).
— What Geneva and Vaud tax

A cantonal tax, with exemptions that differ

Geneva. The estate of a person domiciled in Geneva is taxed on all assets except real estate situated outside the canton (LDS, D 3 25, Articles 3 and 4): a flat in Paris is outside the Geneva base. The surviving spouse, the registered partner and relatives in the direct line are exempt (Articles 1A and 6A(1)), unless, under any of the last three final tax assessments, the deceased was taxed on an expenditure basis (Article 6A(2)): they then pay from 2% to 6% (Article 17). Between unrelated persons, rates range from 20% to 26%, plus additional cantonal centimes (Articles 21 and 22). Gifts follow the same rule (LDE, D 3 30, Article 27A).

Vaud. The tax applies to real estate in Vaud wherever the estate is opened, and to movable assets of an estate opened in the canton (LMSD, BLV 648.11, Article 11). The spouse and registered partner are exempt (Article 20). For descendants, each branch deducts CHF 1,000,000 where its share is below CHF 1,001,000, the deduction being reduced by one hundredth per CHF 1,000 above that (Article 31); the cantonal direct-line scale then caps at 3.5%, against 25% between unrelated persons (Article 34 and schedule). Gifts to a child up to CHF 300,000 per calendar year are not taxed (Article 16). Some municipalities levy an additional communal inheritance tax.

— Court, governing law and forced heirship

The PILA on the Swiss side, the EU Regulation on the French side

  • Last domicile in Switzerland. The Swiss authorities of the last domicile have jurisdiction, subject to exclusive jurisdiction claimed by the State where real estate is situated, and Swiss law applies (PILA, Articles 86 and 90, as in force since 1 January 2025). The deceased may choose, by will or inheritance contract, the law of one of his or her States of nationality; before a Swiss authority, a Swiss national, even a dual national, cannot derogate from the Swiss rules on the disposable portion (Article 91).
  • Last domicile in France. The PILA refers to French private international law (Article 90). A Swiss national living in France may submit the estate, or assets in Switzerland, to Swiss jurisdiction or Swiss law (Article 87).
  • French side. Regulation No 650/2012 does not bind Switzerland but applies before French courts and notaries: law of the last habitual residence (Article 21), unless the law of nationality was chosen (Article 22). Where the habitual residence was in Switzerland, French courts retain jurisdiction over the whole estate of a French national leaving assets in France (Article 10).
  • Swiss forced heirship since 1 January 2023. Only descendants, the spouse and the registered partner have a reserved portion, equal to half of their intestate share (Swiss Civil Code, Articles 470 and 471). A married person with children may freely dispose of half of the estate; under French law, with two children, of one third (French Civil Code, Article 913). The French compensatory levy of Article 913 requires a foreign law with no protective reserved-portion mechanism for children: it should not apply against Swiss law.
— A worked example

Two children, two residences, two tax bills

Hypothetical example. A widowed parent, domiciled in Geneva for twelve years and taxed under the ordinary regime, leaves a flat in Paris worth €1,000,000 and a portfolio of non-French securities held in Geneva worth €2,000,000, to two children in equal shares, with no prior gift and no debts. The elder lives in Geneva, the younger in Lyon for eight years.

In Geneva: nothing, descendants are exempt and the flat is outside the base. In France, for the elder: half the flat only, €500,000 less €100,000, i.e. about €78,194 of tax. For the younger: everything received, €1,500,000 less €100,000, i.e. about €412,678, with no Swiss tax to credit.

A gap of about €334,000 results solely from the heir's domicile. A gift made before the younger child moved to France has to be worked out before death, not after.

— Before the courts

Three decisions relevant to Franco-Swiss families

— What to understand

Without a treaty, where the heirs live matters as much as where the deceased lived

Since 2015, France applies the three connecting factors of Article 750 ter of the CGI without any treaty limitation (BOI-INT-CVB-CHE-20, para. 40). The same Geneva estate may thus be tax-free for the child who stayed in Geneva and heavily taxed in France for the child who settled in Lyon.

Civil law follows a different logic: Switzerland applies its Federal Act on Private International Law (PILA, or LDIP), France applies Regulation (EU) No 650/2012. Both generally look to the law of the last domicile and allow a choice of the law of nationality by will. Made in time, that choice avoids most conflicts.

— Who is concerned

Four common situations

Swiss resident owning property in France

Flat, house or shares in a French property company (SCI): France taxes them on death, wherever the heirs live.

Children living in France

If domiciled in France for six of the last ten years, they are taxed there on everything they receive, Swiss accounts included.

French national living in Geneva or Vaud

They may choose French law; they remain exposed to French tax through French assets and heirs living in France.

Lump-sum taxpayer

In Geneva, taxation on an expenditure basis deprives close relatives of the inheritance tax exemption.

— Frequently asked questions

What clients ask us about Franco-Swiss estates

Does the 1953 France-Switzerland treaty still apply?

No, for deaths on or after 1 January 2015. The treaty of 9 September 1966, on income and wealth, does not allocate taxing rights over estates: see our page on the France-Switzerland tax treaty.

I live in France and inherit from a parent domiciled in Geneva: how do I avoid paying twice?

Cantonal tax paid on assets outside France is credited against the French tax on those assets (Article 784 A). In the direct line, Geneva generally levies nothing: French tax is then due in full.

As a French national domiciled in Geneva, can I choose French law?

Yes, by will (PILA, Article 91; Regulation No 650/2012, Article 22). Before a Swiss authority, a French-Swiss dual national remains bound by the Swiss disposable portion; before a French authority, the choice is assessed under the Regulation. The choice has no effect on taxation.

Does the Geneva lump-sum regime affect the estate?

Yes: the spouse and descendants lose the Geneva exemption (LDS, Article 6A(2); LDE, Article 27A). On the regime itself, see our page on lump-sum tax regimes in Europe.

Does moving to Switzerland trigger French exit tax?

The exit tax of Article 167 bis of the CGI targets certain unrealised gains on departure, not estates: see our page on French exit tax.

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© BENSAID Avocats. The information on this site does not constitute legal advice. Sources: French tax code (CGI); French Civil Code; BOFiP (BOI-INT-CVB-CHE-20 and -30); Swiss PILA (SR 291); Swiss Civil Code (SR 210); Geneva LDS and LDE; Vaud LMSD. Hypothetical example.