Dutreil pact: passing a business on to one’s children
The Dutreil pact is a regime that exempts 75% of the value of the shares passed on from gift or inheritance tax, subject to retention commitments. It is set out in article 787 B of the French Tax Code and also requires a management function to be held.
The Finance Act for 2026 extended the individual retention commitment to six years and excluded certain non-business assets from the allowance. The firm checks that the company qualifies, drafts the commitments and organises the transfer, most often by way of a shared gift.
How is a Dutreil pact put in place?
- Eligibility of the company: operating activity, active holding company, excluded non-business assets.
- Collective retention commitment, signed or deemed to exist, followed by individual commitments.
- Designating the person who holds the management function and the length of that function.
- Combining the pact with a shared gift, dismemberment of ownership and the 50% reduction in duties.
- Certificates on the date of the transfer and at the end of the commitments, and monitoring of the commitments until they end.
What are the key concepts?
- Dutreil pactArt. 787 B CGI
- Collective retention commitmentArt. 787 B CGI
- Individual retention commitmentArt. 787 B CGI
- 75% exemptionArt. 787 B CGI
- 50% reduction in dutiesArt. 790 CGI
- Management functionArt. 787 B CGI
- Active holding company (holding animatrice)
- Dutreil pact (sole proprietorship)Art. 787 C CGI
What are the figures and thresholds for 2026?
| Item | Value | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Allowance on the value transferred | 75% | Art. 787 B CGI |
| Collective retention commitment | At least 2 years | Art. 787 B CGI |
| Individual retention commitment | 6 years (transfers after the 2026 Finance Act) | Art. 787 B CGI |
| Reduction in duties, outright gift before age 70 | 50% | Art. 790 CGI |
In which cases has the question arisen?
Passing on a family group using the Dutreil pact
Founders of a family group planning its transmission: comparing a Dutreil pact on the operating company, an animating holding and a pact through interposition.
Opening up your company’s capital while preparing succession
Advising a founder-director on a private equity fund entering the group’s capital: liquidity, reinvestment and family succession within a single coherent strategy.
Structuring the acquisition and growth of a pharmacy through an SPFPL
Acquiring a stake in a pharmacy through an SEL and an SPFPL: choice of structures, financing, cash flows, the parent-subsidiary regime and governance of regulated professions.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Dutreil pact?
The Dutreil pact is the regime of article 787 B of the French Tax Code that exempts 75% of the value of the shares transferred from transfer duties, subject to retention commitments and to a management function being held.
How long must the shares be kept?
A collective commitment of at least two years, then an individual commitment of six years for transfers made since the Finance Act for 2026, so eight years at least.
Can the Dutreil pact be combined with a reduction in duties?
Yes. Under article 790 of the French Tax Code, an outright gift of shares under a Dutreil pact by a donor under 70 also benefits from a 50% reduction in duties.
Answers current as at 9 October 2026
Publications and award
2026 OCCUR Prize, Interprofessional CollaborationLa Rencontre OCCUR Paris
Press contribution · 24 June 2026Entrepreneurs: structuring your wealth alongside your business (in French)
Expert view · 6 October 2026Pharmacy owner’s remuneration: three structures, three approaches (in French)- Interview · 28 September 2026Setting up and handing over a pharmacy: why and how to plan ahead (in French)
ArticlesThe firm’s articles on the National Bar Council’s platform
Joint publication · 26 July 2026BSPCE: no contributions, but a line in the DSN payroll returnwith Arnaud Albalat (Galadrim) and Laura Sinthe (Puncto)
AbracamoveJoint publicationInternational retirement: what the country of residence changeswith Delphine Bes (Abracamove)
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