France Crypto Gift Tax

Gifting crypto in France has a feature that makes it a genuine planning lever, not just a transfer: the gift purges the latent capital gain. The donor does not pay the 31.4% PFU on the unrealised gain; the donee takes a stepped-up basis at the gift-date value. Combined with the €100,000 / 15-year direct-line abatement, this is one of the cleaner French crypto strategies — with specific traps around dons manuels and valuation. This guide is the mechanics and the lever.

TL;DR

• Donee pays droits de donation on the gift-date fair-market value, after abatements.
• Direct-line abatement €100,000 per donor-donee, renewable every 15 years; scale 5%–45% above.
• The gift purges the donor's latent gain — no PFU for the donor on the unrealised gain.
• Donee's new cost basis = gift-date value; future PFU/150 VH bis only on gains from there.
• Don manuel is taxed on revelation (declaration, significant amount, or audit), not on the transfer itself.

Who pays, and on what

A crypto gift is a donation. The donee (recipient) is liable for droits de donation, computed on the fair-market value of the crypto on the transfer date, after the legal abatements. The progressive direct-line scale (5% up to 45%) applies above the abatement; the donor is not taxed on the latent gain (see the purge below). The relationship between donor and donee sets the abatement and the scale — direct line is the most favourable.

The latent-gain purge — the lever

This is the core planning point. Gifting crypto is neutral for the donor's latent gain:

• The donor does not pay PFU/income tax on the unrealised gain at the time of the gift.
• The donee's acquisition value resets to the value on the gift date.
• The donee is later taxed under the normal PFU / 150 VH bis regime only on the gain from that new, higher basis.

So the pre-gift latent gain is effectively wiped. Contrast the two routes for transmitting value:

For a holder sitting on a large unrealised gain, gifting the crypto directly avoids the 31.4% PFU the donor would pay on a sale (the same logic as the inheritance-tax latent-gain extinction, but inter vivos). The donee assumes market risk and a stepped-up basis — model both with a notaire.

The €100,000 / 15-year abatement

In the direct line, each parent can gift each child up to €100,000 free of gift duties, and the abatement renews every 15 years. Practical consequences:

• Value can be staged across 15-year cycles to transmit duty-free within the abatement each cycle.
• The abatement is per donor-donee pair — both parents to each child multiplies it.
• Other relationships (siblings, unrelated) have smaller abatements and harsher scales.

Confirm current abatement amounts and the 15-year mechanics with a notaire — the figures are set by law and the relationship matrix is detailed.

The don manuel trap

A crypto transfer without a notarial deed is a don manuel (informal hand-to-hand gift). Its tax timing is unusual: it becomes subject to gift duties on revelation to the administration, not on the transfer itself. Revelation occurs notably when:

• The gift is declared (e.g. to use the abatement formally);
• The amount is significant (a ~€15,000 threshold is commonly cited for certain declaration rules);
• It is revealed by a tax audit.

The trap: an undeclared don manuel discovered in a DGFiP audit is taxed at revelation, potentially with the value taken at the revelation date and penalties — worse than a properly declared gift. With DAC8 surfacing transfers from 2026, the "informal and invisible" assumption is weaker. Declare deliberately rather than rely on non-revelation.

Practical guidance

1. Use the purge: gifting crypto avoids the donor's 31.4% PFU on the latent gain.
2. Plan within the €100,000 / 15-year direct-line abatement (per donor-donee; both parents multiply it).
3. Declare the don manuel deliberately — do not rely on non-revelation; audits and DAC8 surface transfers.
4. Value at the gift date accurately — it sets both the duty base and the donee's new cost basis.
5. Coordinate with a notaire — abatement strategy, valuation evidence, and the donee's future PFU position.

How vendor tools fit

Waltio and Koinly help establish gift-date valuations and the donee's reset cost basis for future disposals. They do not handle the donation declaration or the abatement strategy — that is a notaire matter. Use the tools for valuation evidence and the donee's forward basis.

How Wag3s helps

Wag3s Folio establishes accurate gift-date valuations and tracks the donee's reset cost basis for future PFU/150 VH bis disposals — the figures a notaire needs for the donation and the donee needs going forward. See the Folio product page.

Further reading

• France Crypto Tax Guide 2026
• France Crypto Inheritance Tax
• France Crypto and the IFI
• DGFiP Crypto Tax Audit
• Crypto Capital Gains Calculation France (150 VH bis)
• DAC8 Impact on Individuals

Sources

• French droits de donation regime: gift-date valuation; direct-line €100,000 abatement renewable every 15 years; progressive 5%–45% scale
• Don manuel rules — taxation on revelation (declaration, significant amount, or audit)
• Article 150 VH bis CGI (donee's post-gift disposal regime; gift-date basis reset) — Légifrance