What is the average amount inherited in France?

A Socialist senator is causing debate in France after proposing increased taxes on inheritance as a way to raise funds amid the country’s debt crisis.

Senator Alexandre Ouizille suggested increasing taxes on the highest inheritors in France could raise billions of euros in revenue. 

Mr Ouizille called for an additional flat 1% ‘social levy’ on ‘very large inheritances’ to be included in the 2026 budget. 

Writing on X Mr Ouizille said that in 1980 30% of people’s wealth in France came from inheritance, but this has now increased to 65%, with wealth being funnelled into the hands of fewer people. 

Overall, half of people inherit less than €70,000 across their lifetime, but the top 1% inherit around €4 million, he said. 

Is this correct? 

The senator’s comments are backed up by economic data.

The Conseil d'analyse économique (a body attached to the prime minister’s office, which clarifies economic policies) published a report in 2021 “on the extreme concentration of inherited wealth,” in France, which put the proportion of wealth from inheritance at 60%.

The report also said that half of people inherit €70,000 or less across their lifetime. 

In addition, it stated that “a large fraction” of this 50% will not receive any inheritance. 

The disparity is made clear as the percentiles increase: 10% of people inherit €500,000 or more, 1% around €4.2 million or more, and the top 0.1% around €13 million on average.

Those in the top 0.1% inherit some 180 times more than the median person, the council stated. 

Released in the same year another set of data from national statistics body Insee supports these figures stating that 35% of people in France inherit less than €8,000 across their lifetime, with only 14.7% of people inheriting over €100,000 or more. 

Why is €100,000 amount important?

This €100,000 threshold is used as a barometer because it is the threshold from which children start paying inheritance tax on assets. 

Depending on the amount inherited, a progressive tax scale of between 5% and 45% is used, however all amounts prior to this are tax-free.

Step-children, siblings, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, and non-direct family or non-family inheritors receive a much lower tax-free allowance of inherited sums, with tax starting from €1,594 for those least attached to the deceased.

In addition there are means by which the amount of tax payable can be reduced, particularly by children.

Charity Oxfam claims that despite the top rate of 45%, the largest inheritors only pay some 10% in taxes.

Aims to amend the current system have been discussed in recent years, both focusing solely on overhauling inheritance taxes and as a part of wider ‘anti-optimisation’ efforts to limit how assets are spread to reduce taxation. 

Mr Ouizille’s proposals are unlikely to be included in this year’s budget, unless the Socialists are invited into the government of new prime minister Sébastien Lecornu. 

Even if included there is no guarantee the proposal will be accepted into law.