Crypto Inheritance Tax in France for Expats: The 2026 Guide
In brief: Cryptocurrency is treated as a movable asset in France and forms part of the taxable estate. Heirs declare its value at the date of death and pay droits de succession according to their relationship to the deceased and the applicable allowances. Beyond the tax question, two French-specific rules shape what you can actually transmit: the réserve héréditaire — among the strictest in Europe — and the role of the notaire, who is legally required to handle the succession. This guide explains how crypto is taxed in French estates, where forced heirship bites, and what to do before it becomes someone else's problem.
Is Cryptocurrency Subject to French Inheritance Tax?
Yes. The French tax administration (Direction Générale des Finances Publiques, DGFiP) treats cryptocurrency as a movable asset for inheritance tax purposes. Crypto holdings — whether held on a centralized exchange, in a hardware wallet, or in a self-custodied software wallet — are part of the taxable estate.
For expats living in France, the rule that determines whether French inheritance tax applies is the tax residence of the deceased and of the heir at the date of death:
- If the deceased was tax-resident in France at death, their worldwide crypto holdings are subject to French droits de succession, regardless of where the wallets or exchanges are based.
- If the deceased was not tax-resident in France, but the heir has been a French tax resident for at least six of the previous ten years, French inheritance tax applies to the entire estate received by that heir, worldwide.
- If the deceased held crypto on a French-based service (a regulated PSAN — Prestataire de Services sur Actifs Numériques — registered with the AMF), the French authorities have direct visibility on that holding through DAC8 reporting from 2026 onwards.
The takeaway: French residency tends to pull crypto into French tax even when the asset itself sits on a non-French infrastructure.
How Cryptocurrency is Valued for French Inheritance Tax
The valuation date is the date of death, not the date the heir actually accesses the wallet. This matters more for crypto than for almost any other asset class, because of price volatility.
The DGFiP accepts valuation based on the average price quoted on the principal trading platforms at the date of death, with documentation. In practice:
- Custodial holdings (Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, regulated PSAN): the platform's account statement at date of death is the reference document.
- Non-custodial holdings: the value is the on-chain balance multiplied by the price on a recognized index (CoinMarketCap, CoinGecko) at the date of death.
If the crypto price drops between the date of death and the date the heir actually receives the assets, the inheritance tax is still calculated on the higher value. For volatile holdings, this means heirs may pay tax on a value they never actually receive. Plan accordingly: keep enough non-crypto liquidity in the estate to absorb this risk.
Inheritance Tax Rates and Allowances in 2026
French droits de succession are progressive and depend on the relationship between the deceased and each heir. The personal allowance is deducted first, then the progressive tranches apply.
Personal allowances (2026)
| Heir relationship to deceased | Allowance |
|---|---|
| Surviving spouse / PACS partner | Fully exempt — no allowance needed |
| Child (per child) | €100,000 |
| Grandchild | €31,865 |
| Parent | €100,000 |
| Sibling | €15,932 |
| Niece / nephew | €7,967 |
| Unrelated heir | €1,594 |
Progressive tranches — direct line (children, parents)
| Net taxable share | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to €8,072 | 5% |
| €8,073 – €12,109 | 10% |
| €12,110 – €15,932 | 15% |
| €15,933 – €552,324 | 20% |
| €552,325 – €902,838 | 30% |
| €902,839 – €1,805,677 | 40% |
| Above €1,805,677 | 45% |
Progressive tranches — siblings
| Net taxable share | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to €24,430 | 35% |
| Above €24,430 | 45% |
Other heirs
- Up to 4th degree relatives: 55% flat.
- Beyond 4th degree or unrelated: 60% flat.
Practical example. A French-resident parent dies leaving 2 BTC valued at €60,000 each (€120,000 total) to a single child. The child's allowance is €100,000. Taxable share: €20,000. Tax due (in the 20% tranche): roughly €3,194 — assuming no other estate assets are competing for the same allowance. If the same €120,000 of crypto went to an unmarried partner instead, the tax would be 60% of (€120,000 – €1,594) = approximately €71,044.
Two takeaways for expats:
- The spouse / PACS exemption is the most powerful instrument in the French tax code. If you live in France with a partner you have not formalized, formalize.
- Crypto going to non-direct-line heirs is taxed punitively. If you intend a friend, an unmarried partner of long standing, or a charity to receive crypto, plan accordingly — sometimes a donation entre époux during your lifetime, or a contrat d'assurance-vie with crypto-equivalent funding, achieves the transfer more efficiently than a bequest.
Réserve Héréditaire — France's Strictest Rule
France has one of the most rigid forced-heirship regimes in Europe, and it applies to crypto exactly as it applies to a Paris apartment or a brokerage account.
The réserve héréditaire is the portion of the estate that descendants are entitled to receive, regardless of what the will says. The quotité disponible is what you can freely transmit.
| Number of children | Réserve héréditaire | Quotité disponible |
|---|---|---|
| 1 child | 1/2 of the estate | 1/2 |
| 2 children | 2/3 of the estate | 1/3 |
| 3 or more children | 3/4 of the estate | 1/4 |
If you have no descendants but a surviving spouse, the spouse is entitled to a réserve of 1/4 of the estate (Article 914-1 of the French Civil Code).
For expat crypto holders, three implications:
- You cannot leave 100% of your crypto to your partner if you have children. The portion above the quotité disponible will be subject to a action en réduction — heirs can claim back their reserved share, in cash equivalent if the crypto has been transferred, with interest.
- The reserved share is calculated at the date of death, on the total estate including all gifts made during the last 15 years (the rapport à la succession).
- The 2021 amendment to Article 913 of the Civil Code introduced a droit de prélèvement compensatoire for French nationals and EU nationals resident in France: even if you elect a foreign succession law under EU Regulation 650/2012, your French-resident children can still claim a compensatory share against assets located in France. Crypto held on a French-regulated PSAN is squarely within this scope.
If you intended to use Brussels IV to escape forced heirship, the 2021 amendment closes that door for assets sitting in France.
The Notaire is Mandatory — Even for Crypto
A French succession involving any real estate, or with assets above €5,000, or requiring a certificat de propriété for transfer of accounts, must go through a notaire. This is not optional.
The notaire's role in a crypto succession is more delicate than for traditional assets:
- The notaire establishes the acte de notoriété (declaration of heirs).
- The notaire prepares the déclaration de succession filed with the tax authority within six months of death if the deceased died in France, or twelve months if the death occurred outside France.
- The notaire does not — and should not — receive your seed phrases or wallet passwords. They need to know that crypto exists and its approximate magnitude. Access is handled separately.
In practice, expat families often discover at this stage that the notaire has limited operational experience with crypto. It is reasonable, and increasingly common, to brief the notaire with a one-page summary of: which exchanges hold accounts, which wallets exist (without keys), and how the access information is stored — for example, in a dedicated digital legacy vault.
Marriage Regime and PACS — Often Overlooked
Cryptocurrencies acquired during the marriage are subject to the matrimonial property regime. This is one of the most overlooked dimensions of French crypto inheritance planning.
- Communauté réduite aux acquêts (default regime): crypto bought during the marriage is community property. On death, half belongs to the surviving spouse outright, before the succession even begins. Only the deceased's half forms the taxable estate.
- Séparation de biens: crypto belongs to whichever spouse acquired it. The entire holding enters the succession of the deceased spouse if acquired by them.
- Communauté universelle: all crypto, regardless of when acquired, is jointly owned. On the first death, the entire community typically transfers to the surviving spouse, with no inheritance tax (spousal exemption).
For a PACS (Pacte Civil de Solidarité) couple, the default is séparation de biens, unless the partners explicitly opt into indivision. PACS partners benefit from the same inheritance tax exemption as married couples — but only if a testament explicitly names the surviving partner as heir. Without a will, the PACS partner is not a legal heir under French intestacy rules.
The practical implication for expat couples in France: if you are PACSed and own crypto without a will, your partner has zero legal claim to it. Make a will.
When You Are Not French But Live in France
If you are an expat tax-resident in France, you have two layers to consider: French succession law and your nationality's law.
EU Regulation 650/2012 ("Brussels IV") lets you elect, in your will, that the law of your nationality governs your entire succession instead of French law. For a German national resident in France, this would mean German succession law applies — which has its own forced-heirship rules (Pflichtteil) and inheritance tax (Erbschaftsteuer).
But — and this is the critical 2021 amendment — French-resident children retain their droit de prélèvement compensatoire, equivalent to what they would have received under French réserve héréditaire, taken from any assets located in France. Foreign succession law election is not a complete shield.
For tax purposes, the rules are different from civil rules. France can tax inheritance based on:
- The tax residence of the deceased (worldwide assets taxed if French resident)
- The tax residence of the heir (worldwide assets taxed if heir is French resident for 6+ of the last 10 years)
- The location of the asset (French-located assets taxed regardless of residence)
A French-regulated PSAN account is, for these purposes, a French-located asset.
If you are an expat in France with significant crypto, work with a notaire who explicitly handles cross-border successions, and consider whether a bilateral tax treaty (France has treaties with many countries that cover inheritance) affects your position.
The Practical Problem: Heir Access
Tax is solvable on paper. Access to the actual crypto is harder.
The most common failure pattern in expat estates is not undeclared tax — it is unaccessed crypto. Heirs know the wallet exists, the notaire records its existence, the tax is paid on the declared value, but no one can actually open it. The seed phrase was on a piece of paper that was thrown out during the move from Lyon to Nice. The hardware wallet PIN was in the deceased's head. The exchange account had 2FA tied to a phone that is no longer active.
In these cases, the tax has been paid on value that the family will never receive. The result is worse than not having owned the crypto at all.
This problem has two parts, and both must be solved:
- The legal half: declare the crypto, pay the tax, respect the réserve héréditaire. The notaire handles this.
- The technical half: make sure the access information (seed, password, recovery codes) reaches the right heir at the right moment, in a form they can actually use. The notaire does not handle this, and you should not ask them to.
A digital legacy vault, separate from the will, is the standard answer to the technical half. The will tells the family what they inherit. The vault gives them the keys to actually receive it. The two instruments live in different places, on purpose.
A Seven-Point Plan for Expats Holding Crypto in France
- Inventory every wallet and every exchange account. Brand, type, country of operator, approximate value range. No seeds or passwords in this document.
- Identify which holdings are on French-regulated PSANs. These are visible to French tax authorities and to the droit de prélèvement compensatoire. Treat them as French-located assets.
- Decide custodial vs non-custodial per asset. A non-crypto-literate heir is better served by a custodial holding with a clean deceased-customer process. Larger long-term positions can remain non-custodial with a secure access plan.
- Update your will with a notaire. Reference the existence and approximate magnitude of crypto. If you are an EU national resident in France, consider whether to elect your nationality's law under Brussels IV — knowing the 2021 limitation. Make sure your PACS partner is named in writing if applicable.
- Brief your notaire on the existence of crypto, without giving them the seed. They need to know enough to handle the déclaration de succession correctly when the time comes.
- Set up a secure, trustee-verified vault for the access information. Sucesio is one option built for European expat realities; any tool with end-to-end encryption, trustee verification, EU data residency, and multilingual heir notification works.
- Tell one trusted person, out loud, that the vault exists and how the trustee role works. This single sentence prevents more failed inheritances than any encryption protocol.
Where Sucesio Fits
Sucesio is a digital legacy vault built specifically for expats and cross-border families in Europe. It is a complement to the will drafted by your notaire, never a replacement for it.
What Sucesio handles:
- An end-to-end encrypted vault for crypto access information — seed phrases, exchange credentials, hardware wallet PINs.
- Trustee verification calibrated to French death-certification realities (interaction with municipal acts and the notaire).
- Multilingual heir notification: a Spanish-speaking child can receive the inheritance email in Spanish even if you authored it in French.
- An explicit, in-product reminder that the legal instrument is your notaire-drafted will, and that Sucesio sits alongside it.
What Sucesio does not do: hold your crypto, draft your will, or give legal or tax advice.
Try Sucesio for free if you want a vault built for European expat realities — or use any tool that respects end-to-end encryption, trustee verification, EU data residency, and multilingual heir notification.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the spouse / PACS partner really pay zero French inheritance tax on crypto? Yes, on inheritance. Married spouses and registered PACS partners are fully exempt from droits de succession on crypto, as on any other asset. For PACS partners, this exemption requires a will explicitly naming the partner — without it, the partner has no inheritance rights under French intestacy law.
Can I use Brussels IV to escape French réserve héréditaire on my crypto? Partially, and less than you might hope. You can elect the law of your nationality under EU Regulation 650/2012, but the 2021 amendment to Article 913 of the French Civil Code preserves a droit de prélèvement compensatoire for French-resident children. For crypto held on French-regulated PSANs, the protection is essentially intact for the reserved share.
What if my heirs cannot access the crypto? The tax is still due on the declared value. This is the worst possible outcome: paying inheritance tax on value the family will never receive. Solving this requires a separate access plan (a digital legacy vault), distinct from the will.
How long do my heirs have to file the déclaration de succession? Six months if the deceased died in France, twelve months if the death occurred outside France. Late filing triggers penalties.
Is crypto held on Binance taxed in France? If you are a French tax resident, yes. From 2026 onwards, DAC8 provides French tax authorities with direct reporting from EU-licensed CASPs including Binance's European entity. Non-declaration is increasingly visible and increasingly penalised.
Does the notaire need my seed phrase? No. The notaire needs to know that crypto exists, in approximate magnitude, so that the déclaration de succession is correct and the réserve héréditaire calculation is realistic. Access information belongs in an encrypted vault with trustee release, not in a notaire's archive.
Sources and Methodology
This article was compiled in May 2026 by the Sucesio Team. Primary sources reviewed: Code civil français (Articles 731-892 on succession, 912-930 on réserve héréditaire), Code général des impôts (Articles 777-790 on droits de succession), Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (BOFiP doctrine on crypto-asset taxation), EU Regulation 650/2012, AMF/ACPR guidance on PSANs, and the 2021 Loi confortant le respect des principes de la République amending Article 913.
Tax thresholds, allowances and rates are correct as of January 2026. Verify the current figure on the official DGFiP website before acting. This article is not legal or tax advice. For your specific situation, consult a French notaire and a cross-border estate lawyer.
Published by The Sucesio Team — May 2026. Last reviewed: May 2026.