In order for the estate of the deceased to be passed on according to the rules, the beneficiaries must pay inheritance tax. Here is what they correspond to and how to calculate them.
The loss of a loved one opens the difficult stage of the succession at the end of which the property of the deceased will be transmitted to his heirs and assigns. In order for the legal rules to be respected, inheritance tax is required by the State.
Any heir or legatee, in other words any person who is about to receive one or more assets from the deceased, must participate in the payment of inheritance tax. Two paths are possible: legal devolution and voluntary devolution. The first case applies when the deceased has not expressed his will by will or gift. It is then the law which organizes the distribution of his patrimony between all the members of his family having the quality of heirs. If the spouse is still alive, he is entitled to a share of this inheritance, the amount of which varies according to the number of existing heirs. In the absence of a surviving spouse, a hierarchy is established between the members of the family called to succeed: the privileged descendants, the privileged ascendants, etc.
Within the framework of a voluntary devolution, it is the deceased who expressed his will before dying, by testamentary way or by donations. Please note that this does not mean that no legal rules apply.
Any transfer of property that takes place following a death is subject to inheritance tax, except in the context of total or partial exemptions provided for by law. These duties to be paid are calculated on the estate assets which consist of all or part of the deceased’s property, from which the deceased’s debts (also called “estate liabilities”) have been subtracted, such as income tax due to the title of the year of his death.
As a general rule, each beneficiary pays the inheritance tax which applies to his share of the net estate assets, after deducting the amount of the allowances in force on the date of publication. (which can be found in the table below) and according to the applicable tariff according to his relationship with the deceased. However, the surviving spouse or PACS partner is totally exempt and, under certain conditions, for the benefit of the surviving brothers and sisters who lived with the deceased.
Notes: (1) Some of these allowances are common to inheritance tax and gift tax. (2) Alive or represented. In the event of representation, the personal allowance must be distributed according to the rules of legal devolution; (3) Subject to total exemption from inheritance tax for the benefit of the surviving brother and/or sister, who lived with the deceased. (4) Applicable, exclusively for the calculation of inheritance tax, with the exception of any other deduction. (5): The modification by LAW n°2012-958 of August 16, 2012 – art. 5 (V) of Article 779 of the General Tax Code has resulted in the reduction of the tax allowance for donations / inheritances to 100,000 euros
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