The law grants a little-known tax specificity to the Isle of Beauty.
Corsica, its idyllic landscape, its good local products… and its tax advantage. The Isle of Beauty is known for its tourist attraction, less for that which concerns the payment of tax. In the middle of the Mediterranean, this part of France benefits from a specificity with the tax authorities that millions of other French people envy since it concerns a divisive subject: inheritance.
Each year, nearly 400,000 inheritances are declared across the country. According to the work of Economic Analysis Council, half of the inheritances received are less than €70,000. They are therefore generally free because spouses are exempt from fees regardless of the amount and children have no fees below €100,000 of inheritance.
However, the transfer of a house or apartment can quickly cost and exceed €100,000 per heir. After this amount, inheritance fees are applied, according to a scale provided by the State. But in Corsica, an additional advantage, which is not applied in any other French territory, can reduce the amount of the bill.
It is in fact enshrined in the law that only half of the value of houses, apartments and other property owned by the deceased person is taken into account at the time of inheritance, and not the whole amount. Thus, if the deceased owns a house valued at €200,000, only €100,000 will be taken into account for the inheritance.
And you don’t need to be born in Ajaccio, live in Bastia or die in Calvi to take advantage of this advantage! Anyone who inherits a house or apartment on the island is entitled to it. This tax gift concerns residences “located in Corsica”, it is written in the law, regardless of the situation of the heir.
Thus, beyond the 140,500 owners of their main residence, 61,000 homes are second homes. Among them, 36,500 belong to people living on the continent, according to data from INSEE. So many owners will be able to benefit from this advantage to their heirs if an inheritance were to take place in the years to come.
However, this specificity will not be eternal since the law already provides that this advantage will end as of 1er January 2028. This will end a 200-year-old privilege. It was André-François Miot who opened the way in 1801. At the time, he was sent by Napoleon as general administrator of the island and had authorized free inheritances regardless of the value of the goods, as well as the absence of sanction, if the real estate inheritances were not declared for taxes.
“The Miot decree” has persisted, while evolving in recent years. Since January 1, 2013, 50% of the value of assets is now taken into account in the calculation of inheritance. If it was already planned to put an end to this specificity from 2016, then from 2018, this had been postponed each time.