Inheriting a house or flat in France can create a difficult timing problem for a British beneficiary. French inheritance tax, known as droits de succession, may be payable before the estate has produced any cash. A property can be occupied, co-owned, difficult to value, tied up in a dispute or simply impossible to sell within the deadline. Brexit does not remove the French filing and payment rules, and living in the United Kingdom does not automatically extend them.
This guide focuses on the practical legal question: what can a UK heir do when French inheritance tax falls due but the inherited property cannot yet be sold? It explains the déclaration de succession (the formal French succession declaration), the role of the notaire (French notary), the difference between fractionated payment and deferred payment, the evidence needed for a request, the consequences of delay and the possible interaction with UK Inheritance Tax. The property purchase process is outside this article. The issue here is estate administration, tax liquidity and protecting the heir before a sale becomes possible.
I. How long do you have to pay French inheritance tax when a UK heir receives a property?
A. What is the six- or twelve-month French succession deadline?
The starting point is the date of death, not the date on which the British heir receives sale proceeds. Under Article 641 of the French General Tax Code, the declaration deadline is six months from the death when the deceased died in metropolitan France. It is one year in other cases covered by the article. The text states: De six mois, à compter du jour du décès
. A beneficiary who lives in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland does not obtain an additional period merely because the estate is cross-border. The French tax administration’s current guidance also directs non-resident estates to the appropriate forms and service, so the family should not treat the deadline as a matter to be settled only after the property sale.
The administration’s practical guidance confirms that the declaration route depends on the place of death and the status of the estate. The official page on when and where to declare identifies the French succession forms, including forms 2705, 2705-S and 2706, and explains the six-month and twelve-month periods. For a non-resident file, the official payment-service guidance identifies the Recette des non-résidents at Noisy-le-Grand. That information should be checked at the outset, particularly where the British executor is corresponding from the UK and the French property is the only significant asset.
The deadline concerns the declaration, but it is also a payment deadline in the ordinary case. Article 1701 of the General Tax Code provides that death-transfer duties are paid before registration and states: Nul ne peut en atténuer ni différer le paiement
, subject to the statutory exceptions. In practical terms, a declaration sent to the notary with a note saying that the house will be sold later is not, by itself, a lawful payment arrangement. The estate needs either enough cash to pay, an accepted facility for fractionated or deferred payment, or a properly documented challenge to the amount claimed.
The word “payment” also needs care. The French administration may expect the declaration and payment to be dealt with together, yet the figures can remain provisional where valuation, debts, ownership or the identity of beneficiaries is still being documented. That does not mean that an heir can leave the entire file open until the eventual completion of a sale. The notary should identify the assets, liabilities, ownership structure and tax calculation early enough to make a decision before the six- or twelve-month date.
The fact that a UK heir has not received the keys or the sale price does not normally prevent the succession from being opened. Article 724 of the French Civil Code states that heirs designated by law are seized by operation of law of the deceased’s property, rights and actions. The provision uses the words Les héritiers désignés par la loi sont saisis de plein droit
. That legal transmission is separate from the later practical steps: preparing the declaration, obtaining a certificate, dealing with the land registry, securing the property and selling or distributing it.
A non-resident heir may also need a tax certificate before a French bank releases estate funds. The official guidance on a certificate of non-exigibility or payment explains that the bank may require the succession declaration and proof that any tax due has been paid. This is a practical reason to keep the payment question moving even where the main property cannot yet be sold: a smaller cash balance may be needed to unlock the estate’s other assets.
For a British family, the date analysis should be written down rather than left to assumptions. Record the date of death, the place of death, the deceased’s last tax residence, the location of each French asset, the date on which the notary received the documents and the date on which the declaration is expected to be filed. A death in France and a death in the United Kingdom can lead to different statutory periods. A late exchange of documents between the UK executor, the French notary and the beneficiaries can consume the available time without changing the legal deadline.
There is a second reason to file carefully. Article 1709 of the General Tax Code provides that succession duties are paid by the heirs, legatees or beneficiaries and that co-heirs are, subject to the statutory rules, jointly liable. A British heir who assumes that another beneficiary will deal with the French tax can discover later that the administration is pursuing the liability against several people. The family agreement about who will transfer money to the notary does not necessarily change the administration’s rights.
That joint liability is particularly important where the French property is inherited by several people. One beneficiary may live in Britain, another in France and a third may occupy the property. Their personal arrangements can be different, but the declaration must present a coherent account of the estate. If one co-heir refuses to provide valuation evidence, bank statements or identity documents, the others should not wait silently. The obstruction and the steps taken to overcome it should be recorded, and the notary should be asked what can be filed before the complete package is available.
A UK heir should therefore ask for a written deadline calculation from the notary. The request should specify which date has been used, which statutory rule is being applied and what must be paid or secured before filing. It should also ask whether the administration will accept a payment facility, what guarantee it requires and whether interest will accrue. This creates an auditable record and prevents a later dispute from being reduced to an informal telephone conversation.
B. Why does an inherited French property create a cash-flow problem?
French inheritance tax is calculated by reference to the taxable succession, not by waiting for each asset to be converted into cash. A house may have a substantial market value while producing no immediate funds. A UK heir may also face an estate agent’s timetable, a title problem, a planning question, an occupied property, a disagreement between co-owners or a lender’s consent. Those are real liquidity obstacles, but they do not automatically suspend the French tax deadline.
The distinction between value and liquidity should appear in the file. The declaration needs a defensible valuation at the relevant date. The sale strategy needs a different set of evidence: photographs, marketing instructions, comparable properties, offers received, a survey, correspondence about title or occupation and a realistic completion timetable. A property that cannot be sold quickly is not necessarily worth less for inheritance-tax purposes. Conversely, a high paper valuation is not proof that the heir can borrow the amount needed to pay the tax.
Consider a simple example. A British brother and sister inherit a French house in equal shares. The house is valued at €420,000, the calculated French duties are €62,000 and the estate contains only €8,000 in bank funds. The brother lives in Bristol and cannot obtain a mortgage secured over a French undivided share. The sister is still living in the house and will not consent to an immediate sale. The estate has a tax problem even though it has a valuable asset. The correct response is to identify a lawful payment route, not to describe the situation as a complete exemption.
“Undivided ownership”, or indivision, is the common French structure in that example. Each heir owns a share, but the property is not automatically divided into separate physical rooms or saleable units. The notary must address the rights of the co-heirs and any agreement about occupation, expenses and sale. A British heir should not assume that an English executor can sign a French property sale alone, or that a majority vote will always be enough.
Article 815-5-1 of the French Civil Code can be relevant where holders of at least two-thirds of the rights seek authorisation to sell undivided property, but it is not a universal shortcut. The statutory procedure has formal steps and exclusions, including situations involving a split ownership structure. It may require court involvement and does not guarantee that a sale will complete before tax falls due. It should be treated as a possible route for resolving a blocked indivision, not as a reason to stop discussing payment with the tax administration.
The position becomes more technical where the surviving spouse has an usufruct and the children receive bare ownership. Usufruit is the right to use the property or receive its fruits; nue-propriété is bare ownership, meaning ownership subject to that usufruct. The tax regime for a bare owner can permit deferred payment in circumstances that are not available to an heir who receives full ownership immediately. A British beneficiary should have the notary describe the ownership split in plain English before selecting a payment option.
The Supreme Court decision of 13 March 2024, Commercial Chamber, no. 22-16.190, is a useful warning. In that decision, the Court considered an option connected with deferred payment for property received in bare ownership and held that it implique un choix irrévocable du contribuable
. The point is not that every payment request is irrevocable. The point is that a choice between a calculation based on bare ownership with interest and a calculation based on full ownership without interest can have lasting consequences. The request should be compared financially before it is signed.
A property sale can also be delayed by the estate itself. A British will may need to be interpreted alongside French succession rules, a marriage contract may have to be located, an heir may need to prove a change of name, or a foreign grant of probate may need a certified translation. Those matters can be central to the notary’s ability to establish the beneficiaries, but they do not all create an automatic extension. Ask for a list that separates documents required to establish entitlement from documents required to support the valuation and from documents required to support a payment facility.
Keep evidence of the attempted sale separate from evidence of a tax challenge. If the property has not attracted buyers, the estate needs market evidence. If the administration has overstated its value, the estate needs valuation evidence and a reasoned objection. If a co-heir is preventing a sale, the estate needs correspondence and, if necessary, advice on indivision. Mixing all three issues into a single emotional letter makes it harder to show what remedy is being requested.
Finally, the tax file should state who has access to cash and who does not. A UK heir who can pay temporarily from savings may preserve the deadline but then need to claim contribution from the other co-heirs. Another heir may need a loan secured against a different asset. The costs, interest and repayment arrangements should be documented. A private family promise is not a substitute for a request accepted by the French administration, and a loan secured in the United Kingdom does not change the French calculation.
II. How can a UK heir delay or challenge the French inheritance tax bill?
A. Can you request instalments or deferred payment before the sale?
French law does contain routes for payment over time, but they are regulated facilities rather than an entitlement to wait for a sale. Article 1717 of the General Tax Code states that, by derogation from Article 1701, payment of registration duties and land-publicity tax can be fractionated or deferred under rules fixed by decree. The official wording states: peut être fractionné ou différé selon des modalités fixées par décret
. The practical question is which regulated category matches the estate.
The implementing rules matter. Article 396 of Annex III to the General Tax Code identifies the fractionated-payment credit for death transfers. The same regulatory section sets the ordinary schedule: the first payment is made when the declaration is filed, the final payment is normally due no later than one year after the declaration deadline, and the ordinary arrangement is limited to three payments. Where at least half of the taxable estate consists of illiquid assets such as real property, the longer period and higher number of payments may be available under the conditions set by the regulations. Article 397 of Annex III addresses specific deferred-payment situations, including certain bare-ownership and family-business structures. These are legal categories to test against the facts, not a general right to defer because a buyer has not yet been found.
The interest and first-payment mechanics also need to be priced. The regulatory provisions on Articles 401 and 402 of Annex III address the interest attached to fractionated or deferred credit and the point at which the first payment is made. Service Public’s current explanation of succession-duty payment summarises the practical limits: normally up to one year and three instalments, or up to three years and seven instalments where the estate contains at least 50 per cent illiquid assets. It also states that the request should be made with the declaration, that the heirs’ agreement and guarantees matter, and that the administration has response periods. The notary should quote the schedule actually proposed for this estate rather than relying on a general description.
Paiement fractionné, or fractionated payment, spreads the amount across agreed instalments. Paiement différé, or deferred payment, postpones payment until a defined event or date. They are not interchangeable. A request based only on the fact that the beneficiaries would prefer to sell later can be refused if the estate does not fit the relevant category. The notary should identify the exact legal basis and the applicable decree or administrative guidance in the request.
The French tax administration’s guidance explains the mechanisms and the need for guarantees. The BOFiP guidance on deferred and fractionated payment records that some successors may request either facility if they provide the necessary guarantees and maintain solidarity between them. The BOFiP guidance on fractionated payment also emphasises that the schedule begins from the effective filing of the declaration. That is why a complete, timely declaration and a simultaneous payment request are safer than an informal request made months after the deadline.
For an ordinary inherited house received in full ownership, fractionated payment may be the more natural question, subject to the conditions in force and the administration’s acceptance. The arrangement can involve interest and a guarantee. The number of instalments and the maximum period depend on the statutory category and the composition of the estate. A UK heir should ask for the schedule in writing: initial amount, instalment dates, interest rate, guarantee, consequences of a missed instalment and the date on which the facility ends.
Deferred payment is more fact-sensitive. It is associated with situations such as bare ownership, where the usufruct is expected to end, and certain special assets or operations identified by the regulations. In the bare-ownership case, the point is that the economic enjoyment and the full ownership may arise at different moments. A person who inherits an immediately saleable full-ownership house should not cite the bare-ownership rules without checking the legal structure.
The 2024 Supreme Court decision mentioned above illustrates the danger of selecting the wrong option. The Court stated that the two alternatives for deferred payment were an option for the payment of tax and that the taxpayer’s choice was irrevocable. The decision does not remove the need for a guarantee or prove that a request will be granted. It does show why the calculation should be modelled in two columns before filing: the amount of duty, the value used, annual interest, expected date of sale and the total cost under each option.
The request should usually be prepared with the notary and addressed through the channel specified by the tax administration. It should contain, in an organised bundle:
- the death certificate, identity and address of every beneficiary, and documents establishing the succession;
- the draft or final declaration, with the French property identified by its cadastral and title information;
- the valuation method, supporting comparables and any report explaining why a quick sale would realise less than the declared value;
- a cash-flow statement showing the estate’s bank funds, liabilities, available insurance and the expected sale timetable;
- the proposed guarantee, its value, ownership and enforceability in France;
- the proposed instalment dates, the person responsible for each transfer and the arrangements between co-heirs;
- evidence of occupation, a dispute, a title issue or another concrete reason why the property cannot be sold immediately; and
- if the beneficiary is British or non-resident, the contact details for the UK executor, the French notary and the person authorised to receive tax correspondence.
A British heir should not offer a vague promise to “pay when the property sells”. A stronger request identifies a realistic date, a fallback source of funds and a guarantee that the administration can evaluate. If the estate cannot provide an acceptable guarantee, that is a problem to confront early. It may require a bank facility, a mortgage over another asset, a contribution from a co-heir or a carefully documented bridge loan. The transaction costs of obtaining finance should be compared with the interest and penalties that would arise from waiting.
Interest deserves a separate calculation. Article 1727 of the General Tax Code provides that a tax debt not paid within the legal period gives rise to late-payment interest and sets the statutory rate at 0.20 per cent per month. The article also addresses when interest starts and the cases in which it does not apply. That interest is not the same as a private loan rate or an agreed payment-facility rate. The notary should state which rate applies to the chosen mechanism and from which date it runs, using the version of the text in force for the estate.
Do not confuse late payment with a late declaration. Article 1728 of the General Tax Code deals with failure to file a declaration or act on time. Its current text provides for a 10 per cent increase in the cases covered by the provision, a higher increase where the taxpayer does not comply after a formal notice, and an 80 per cent increase in the most serious concealment situation. For succession declarations, the text also links the start of the ordinary increase to the statutory periods in Articles 641 and 641 bis. The precise trigger depends on the declaration and notice history; it should not be reduced to a generic statement that every estate automatically receives the same surcharge on the same day. File what can lawfully be filed, quantify what is disputed and make the payment or facility request at the same time.
The declared value itself can be corrected later in certain circumstances, but a later correction is not a substitute for a properly supported first declaration. The estate should identify assets and debts honestly, explain provisional figures and preserve the evidence used. An artificially low valuation designed to make the tax payable can create a more serious dispute than a transparent valuation accompanied by a request for time to pay.
Where the property is held in bare ownership, the choice deserves additional care. The 2024 decision concerned a specific statutory option, not a general right to defer all inheritance tax. A UK heir should ask the notary to confirm whether the property is legally in full ownership, bare ownership, usufruct or another split structure; who is liable for the tax; whether the surviving usufructuary must consent; whether interest is payable; and what happens when the usufruct ends. The answer should be linked to the exact provisions in force on the date of the request.
B. What evidence, guarantees and appeal steps protect the heir?
A payment facility and a tax challenge address different problems. If the heir accepts the legal basis and amount but lacks cash, the request should focus on fractionated or deferred payment and the guarantee. If the heir disputes the valuation, the beneficiary status, a debt, the calculation or the amount, the file should preserve the right to challenge. If both problems exist, say so expressly: request time for the undisputed amount, identify the disputed amount and ask what suspension procedure applies.
Article L. 277 of the French Book of Tax Procedures is relevant when a taxpayer contests the merits or amount of assessed taxes. It requires an express request and sets conditions around the statement of the amount or bases being challenged and the provision of guarantees above the applicable threshold. The text states that L’exigibilité de la créance et la prescription de l’action en recouvrement sont suspendues
when its requirements are met. That is a formal suspension mechanism, not a general pause available to anyone who says that a property has not sold.
The decision of the Commercial Chamber on 25 May 2022, no. 19-21.414, is an important procedural warning. The judgment records the taxpayer’s argument that a payment-stay request qui suspendait l’exigibilité des droits de succession
. The case concerned the effect of a tax dispute, a payment-stay request and the calculation of late-payment interest; it does not mean that an unstructured email to the notary automatically suspends every succession debt. A British heir should have the request dated, identify the contested amount and obtain proof of receipt.
The same decision is useful for a second reason: it shows why the period for late-payment interest may itself become contentious when the administration has issued successive correction notices. If the estate receives a notice, a demand for payment or a formal notice, preserve the envelope, electronic timestamp and full attachments. Make a chronology. The question is often not only “how much is due?” but also “which notice legally fixed the amount, which part was challenged and from what date can interest run?”
There is a difference between the administration refusing to register an otherwise timely declaration and the administration rejecting a payment facility. The first situation was considered by the Commercial Chamber on 1 June 2023, no. 21-24.890. The Court held that la taxation d’office n’est pas applicable lorsque la déclaration a été faite dans le délai légal mais n’a pas été enregistrée en raison d’un refus de l’administration
. This is a narrow procedural point. It does not excuse an heir from paying or asking for a facility, but it can matter where the declaration was filed on time and the administration refused registration because the tax had not been paid in advance.
That distinction should shape the correspondence. If the notary cannot obtain registration because the estate lacks the full cash amount, ask the notary to confirm whether the declaration itself has been filed, whether it is complete, what amount has been paid, what payment facility has been requested and what the administration has formally refused. The wording “the file is with the notary” is not enough to prove a timely filing.
The Cour de cassation also addressed the cash-flow logic in a 5 April 2023 QPC referral, Commercial Chamber, no. 23-40.001. The decision referred a constitutional question and recorded that, in principle, lorsque la perception d’un revenu ou d’une ressource est soumise à une imposition
, it should be paid by the person who has that resource. The Court also described an heir who had to file and pay on an amount not yet received. This was a referral, not a final ruling that all succession tax must be delayed until money is received. Its practical value is diagnostic: show precisely where the taxable asset and the available cash diverge.
Evidence should be arranged by issue. For valuation, retain the appraisal, comparable sales and the reasons for any discount. For a sale delay, retain the agency mandate, buyer enquiries, survey, title correspondence, occupation agreement and any court or co-owner correspondence. For a family dispute, retain signed communications and the notary’s requests. For a payment request, retain the form, the guarantee proposal, the calculation and proof of submission. For a challenge, retain the notice, the disputed paragraphs and the deadline for appeal.
Guarantees require their own legal review. A French mortgage over the inherited property may be possible, but the value of an undivided share can be difficult to realise. A guarantee offered by a UK bank may not be acceptable in the form proposed. A promise from a relative is not necessarily a guarantee that the French administration can enforce. Ask the notary or tax lawyer to obtain the administration’s requirements before paying an application fee or signing a facility.
The UK tax side must be checked separately. French inheritance tax and UK Inheritance Tax are different taxes, with different rules about the deceased’s domicile, the beneficiary, asset situs and the reliefs available. HM Revenue & Customs explains in its Inheritance Tax double-taxation relief guidance that France is covered by a pre-1975 treaty with rules different from newer agreements. The existence of a treaty does not mean that the French bill can be withheld while a UK credit is negotiated.
The underlying instrument is the France–United Kingdom convention on succession and estate duty, signed on 21 June 1963 and brought into force in 1964. Its situs and credit provisions can affect how the two countries allocate taxing rights, but they do not replace the French filing deadline. The British executor should preserve the French declaration, assessment and payment receipt so that any UK relief or credit claim can be supported with primary evidence.
HMRC’s current manual explains the France-specific position. Its page on France and foreign property says that, where the deceased had a French fiscal domicile, the UK position may require a waiver of UK taxing rights over assets treated as situated in France under the treaty’s situs rules. It also identifies practical evidence: a copy of the French declaration and a French clearance certificate, known as a certificat d’acquittement, to confirm that French succession duty has been paid. The exact result depends on the deceased’s facts and the treaty rules, so the British executor should not treat a French notary’s calculation as a complete UK IHT return.
There is a further Brexit-era trap. HMRC explains that the old French treaty operates on common-law domicile and that the pre-1975 treaties do not apply the newer deemed-domicile concept in the same way. The HMRC manual on pre-1975 conventions should be read with the current UK rules for long-term residents. A person who moved from Britain to France, or whose deceased parent remained connected with Britain, may have a more complex UK analysis than the location of the French house suggests.
For that reason, the French payment request and the UK IHT file should exchange information but not be merged. The French file needs the French declaration, valuation, payment route and guarantee. The UK file needs the estate inventory, domicile analysis, UK forms, foreign-tax evidence and any claim for credit or treaty relief. Obtain certified translations where required and preserve the original French documents. HMRC may need evidence that French tax was actually assessed and paid, not simply that a French bill was estimated.
A British executor should also check whether the French tax is an estate liability, a beneficiary liability or a cost allocated by the will or family agreement. Paying French duties from the estate account may be operationally sensible, but the authority to use that account and the rights of beneficiaries should be documented. If one heir pays the whole amount, obtain a written contribution agreement and keep the bank proof. If a loan is used, record whether interest is a succession expense, a private cost or part of the co-heirs’ settlement.
If the administration rejects the instalment or deferred-payment request, ask for a written decision and the precise reason. Is the problem the wrong legal category, insufficient guarantee, an incomplete declaration, an unacceptable valuation, missing solidarity between co-heirs or a late application? Each reason leads to a different next step. A revised guarantee may solve one refusal. A tax challenge may address another. An appeal against the amount is not a substitute for supplying a missing document.
Watch the deadlines after a refusal. A request for a payment facility does not necessarily stop recovery measures or penalties. A claim about valuation, a request for a suspension under Article L. 277 and a negotiation about instalments may have different addresses, formalities and time limits. The heir should ask a French professional to state the last day for each action in a written table. A UK solicitor or accountant can coordinate the estate, but the French procedural step must be made in the form accepted by the French administration.
Use a short decision tree:
- If the amount is accepted and cash is available, pay and keep the receipt, then deal with the sale and any contribution between heirs.
- If the amount is accepted but cash is not available, submit the declaration with a reasoned fractionated or deferred-payment request, proposed guarantee and cash-flow evidence before the deadline.
- If the amount is disputed, identify the undisputed amount, state the legal and factual basis of the dispute and make any express suspension request required by Article L. 277.
- If the declaration was filed on time but registration was refused, preserve proof of filing and obtain a written explanation; the procedural rule in the 2023 decision may become relevant.
- If the property is in indivision and another heir blocks a sale, address the co-ownership remedy separately; do not assume that the tax deadline waits for court proceedings.
- If UK Inheritance Tax may also apply, open the HMRC treaty or foreign-tax-credit file immediately and obtain evidence of the French assessment and payment.
One final point concerns the phrase “the property cannot be sold”. It can describe very different realities: no buyer at the asking price, a legal title defect, an occupied home, a disagreement over the sale, a mortgage, a protected tenant, a split ownership arrangement or a market that is simply slow. The request to the French administration should identify the actual reason and attach evidence. A precise explanation makes it easier to ask for a proportionate facility and harder for the file to be dismissed as a general assertion of financial difficulty.
The documents should also be updated if the sale eventually completes. Send the completion statement, the net sale proceeds and the payment of the French duties to the notary and, where relevant, HMRC. If the sale price is materially different from the declared value, obtain advice before treating the difference as a simple market movement. It may affect capital gains, the allocation between co-heirs, the UK foreign-tax-credit evidence or a valuation dispute.
A UK heir is better protected by a timely, candid and technically separated file: declaration, valuation, payment facility, challenge, sale and UK tax evidence. The absence of immediate cash is serious, but it is a problem for which the law provides tools. Those tools work best when the request is made before the deadline, the guarantee is credible, the quote or valuation is supported, and every formal response is preserved.
Conclusion
A UK heir who inherits a French property does not normally have to sell it before dealing with French inheritance tax, but the inability to sell does not automatically extend the six- or twelve-month succession deadline. The safe course is to establish the date, file the declaration, calculate the amount and ask promptly for the specific fractionated or deferred-payment facility that fits the ownership structure. Full ownership, bare ownership, usufruct and indivision produce different questions.
Keep the payment request separate from any challenge to valuation or liability. Provide a credible guarantee, explain the property’s liquidity problem with evidence, and preserve proof of every submission. If French and UK inheritance taxes overlap, use the France-specific treaty and HMRC evidence requirements rather than assuming that a future credit permits non-payment in France. A notary and a French tax lawyer should review the final package before the deadline where the estate is cross-border, disputed or unable to fund the duties.
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