When a person dies, their relatives have six months to file the declaration of inheritance and pay the inheritance tax (excluding exemption).
In case of delay, a surcharge is applied. But how does the payment of these famous inheritance taxes take place?
Several payment methods can be used to pay inheritance tax: Bank card; Check; Payment ; Cash (up to 300 euros); Treasury securities (conditions must be met). Inheritance duties, if their amount is equal to at least 10,000 euros, can also be paid as a “dation”, i.e. a donation to the State. These can be works of art, collectibles or even books and natural spaces. You must obtain an approval decision from the tax authorities, which will set the discharge value of the proposed donation. You have 30 days to accept or refuse the tax authorities' decision.
It is possible to request delays in the payment of inheritance tax. Be careful, you need: an offer of guarantees; and pay interest. The request to obtain payment terms must be attached to the declaration of succession. There are two types of systems: deferred payment and split payment. Deferred payment concerns inheritances including bare ownership assets. The split payment allows the rights to be paid over one to three years. If you inherit a property in bare ownership, you also have the possibility of requesting the deferral of the payment of inheritance tax. Note that you will pay interest while the surviving spouse remains usufructuary. The official website of the French administration specifies that in the context of a business transfer, and under certain conditions, one can defer the payment of inheritance tax for five years and then split the payment for a decade.
Les héritiers, en dehors de ceux qui en sont exonérés, sont solidaires du paiement des droits de succession mais aussi des pénalités de retard. Les légataires sont quant à eux dispensés de solidarité. L’actif net taxable se calcule de la façon suivante : actif brut moins passif. L’actif brut désigne la valeur totale des biens inclus dans la succession. Le passif désigne les dettes déductibles. Parmi ces dernières, on trouve, entre autres, les emprunts (capital et intérêts), les impôts restant à payer par le défunt au jour de son décès ainsi que les frais funéraires (limite de 1 500 euros). En revanche, les dettes reconnues par testament notamment ne sont pas déductibles. Concernant le calcul de la part de chaque héritier, il se fait en fonction de l’ordre des héritiers (dévolution légale), du testament de la personne décédée et des donations déjà reçues s’il y en a. Le site officiel de l’administration française propose un simulateur de calcul des droits de succession.