Declaring a Manual Gift Online: Mandatory Since 2026

The online service for declaring manual gifts has been available on impots.gouv.fr since June 2021. Since 1 January 2026, using it has been mandatory: the gift tax return and, where applicable, payment of the duties are made online, whatever the date of the gift, subject to limited exceptions.

The service covers the usual situations: gifts of money, shares and movable property (jewellery, vehicles, works of art, valuables).

Manual Gift: Definition

A manual gift (don manuel) is a gift made without a notarial deed, simply by handing an asset over: a sum of money (cash, cheque, bank transfer), an object (jewellery, a car, a painting) or securities such as shares. It is irrevocable. It cannot cover real estate, which can only be given by a deed signed before a notary.

It is different from a customary present (présent d’usage), a gift made for an occasion (birthday, wedding, birth, passing an exam, Christmas) whose value is reasonable in relation to the giver’s wealth. A customary present does not need to be declared.

Is It Mandatory to Declare a Manual Gift?

Yes. The recipient must inform the tax authorities, even when no duties are payable. The date on which the return is registered starts the 15-year period after which the allowances are restored. When the return must be filed depends on the situation:

• exempt family gift of money (Article 790 G of the French Tax Code, CGI): within one month of the gift, failing which the exemption is lost;
• gift revealed in response to a request from the tax authorities or during a tax audit: no later than one month after it comes to light;
• gift of more than €15,000 declared voluntarily: the return and payment of duties can be deferred until the donor’s death (form no. 2734, then a return within one month of the death); duties are then calculated on the value of the asset on the date of the return, and the 15-year period does not start;
• other gifts: the recipient decides when to file; otherwise, the gift must be reported on a later gift from the same donor or in the estate return (déclaration de succession).

An Online Service to Simplify Tax Procedures

Declaring a manual gift used to be a tedious formality: filling in paper form no. 2735, going to the tax office, then waiting for it to be processed.
Now everything is done from the taxpayer’s personal account on impots.gouv.fr.

How Does It Work in Practice?

1. Log in to your own personal account on impots.gouv.fr (not your spouse’s)
2. Click “Déclarer” (Declare)
3. Choose “Déclarer un don ou une cession de droits sociaux” (declare a gift or a transfer of company shares)
4. Enter the type of gift (money, securities, movable property), the donor’s identity, the value of the gift and any gifts received from the same donor in the last 15 years
5. Confirm and, if duties are payable, pay them online by bank card or one-off direct debit

The service automatically calculates any duties payable and applies the statutory allowances based on the family relationship.
Once confirmed, the return is immediately registered in the recipient’s secure tax account, with no travel and no paperwork.

Who Must File the Return and Complete Form 2735?

The recipient of the gift (the donee), from their own account. For a minor or a protected adult, the return is filed by their legal representative; the donor can file it only if they are that representative. Paper form no. 2735 (cerfa 11278) is completed by the same person, and only in the cases where online filing is not mandatory.

Where Should a Manual Gift Return Be Sent?

In principle, nowhere: since 1 January 2026, the return is filed online. Paper form no. 2735 is still accepted in a limited number of cases, in particular where:

• the recipient’s main home has no internet access, or the recipient is unable to file online;
• the gift is made to a minor or a protected adult by someone who is not their legal representative;
• the gift falls under the temporary exemption for gifts of money used for a new home or energy-efficiency renovation works, or under the Dutreil regime;
• the return must refer to an earlier gift that was declared on paper and on which duties were paid.

The form is then sent in duplicate to the departmental registration office (service départemental de l’enregistrement) covering the recipient’s home (for a home in Toulouse, the Haute-Garonne office). Filing on paper a return that should have been filed online triggers a surcharge of 0.2% of the duties, with a minimum of €60.

What Types of Gifts Can Be Declared Online?

The service now covers most common manual gifts, including:

• sums of money (bank transfers, cheques, cash);

• company securities or shares;

• movable property, such as works of art or valuable objects.

Why Moving the Process Online Matters

The authorities’ stated aim is clear: to simplify procedures and encourage transparency.
The reform is designed to:

• Streamline returns by removing paper procedures;

• Create instant legal proof of the gift;

• Make allowances easier to track, along with the information needed for a future estate;

• Reduce filing errors, thanks to guided input and automatic calculation.

A return filed online since 1 January 2024 can be amended online until 31 December of the second year after it was filed. Only the most recent return between the same donor and the same recipient can be amended; the identity of the parties and the type of asset cannot be changed, and an increase in the amount requires a new return.

What Is the Tax Regime for Manual Gifts?

The tax rules are unchanged: allowances depend on the family relationship and are renewed every 15 years.
The current thresholds are:

Above the allowance, duties are calculated on a progressive scale: from 5% to 45% between parents and children (direct line) and between spouses or PACS partners, from 35% to 45% between brothers and sisters, then 55% between relatives up to the fourth degree and 60% beyond that or between unrelated persons.

Family Gifts of Money

On top of the family allowance, a gift of money (cheque, transfer, cash) can be exempt up to €31,865 per donor and per recipient every 15 years (Article 790 G of the CGI), provided that:

• the donor is under 80 on the date of the gift;
• the recipient is an adult (or an emancipated minor) and is the donor’s child, grandchild, great-grandchild or, if the donor has no descendants, nephew or niece;
• the gift is declared within one month.

Illustrative example (fictitious): a 72-year-old grandparent can give an adult grandchild €63,730 free of duties over 15 years (€31,865 under the family gift exemption plus the €31,865 allowance). A parent under 80 can, on the same conditions, give €131,865 to an adult child.

Until 31 December 2026, a temporary exemption also applies to gifts of money made since 15 February 2025 to a child, grandchild, great-grandchild or, failing that, nephew or niece, and used within six months to buy a new or off-plan home or to carry out energy-efficiency renovation works on the main residence: €100,000 per donor and €300,000 per recipient (Article 790 A bis of the CGI), provided the home keeps that use for 5 years. This gift is declared on the paper form.

To combine these allowances with a wider transfer plan (gift-and-partition deed, splitting bare ownership and usufruct, life insurance), see our page on wealth taxation: gifts, inheritance and estate planning.

The Importance of a Proper Declaration

Filing online is no reason to drop your guard, especially if a return is forgotten or late:

• a gift revealed to the tax authorities (in response to a request or during an audit) must be declared within one month; duties are calculated on the higher of its value on the date of the gift and on the date of the return, at the rates in force on that date;

• a gift of money declared after the one-month deadline loses the €31,865 exemption; the family allowance still applies;

• a gift that is never declared resurfaces on a later gift from the same donor or on the donor’s death, when it must be reported;

• on a reassessment, duties carry late-payment interest and, depending on the case, penalties, which can reach 80% for fraudulent conduct or abuse of law (Article 1729 of the CGI);

• certain gifts (shares, securities, family assets) call for a tailored tax and estate planning strategy.

A tax lawyer can help you secure the process and anticipate the inheritance consequences, especially when assets are passed on gradually.

Further reading: how to structure your assets for tax purposes and the tax treatment of selling a luxury watch, a movable asset that can also be passed on as a manual gift.