Active holding company (holding animatrice)

Which text applies?

• Art. 787 B of the French Tax Code (CGI), second paragraph : Treats as carrying on an activity eligible for the Dutreil pact a company whose main activity is active participation in conducting the policy of its group, made up of companies it controls directly or indirectly that carry on an eligible activity, including where it provides them, on a purely internal basis, with administrative, legal, accounting, financial and property services.
• Conseil d’État, 13 June 2018, no. 395495 : In relation to the allowance under articles 150-0 D bis and ter of the CGI, defines the active holding company and assesses whether active management is its main activity by reference, in particular, to the market value of the holdings in the managed subsidiaries relative to total assets, not their book value.

What is an active holding company?

The qualification requires effective management of the group, not merely the holding of shares. The factors usually examined are the following:

• the holding company’s definition of group strategy, documented by minutes, committees and management agreements that are actually performed;
• control of the subsidiaries, through ownership of the share capital, voting rights or management functions held by the holding company’s directors;
• the services provided to the subsidiaries (administrative, legal, accounting, financial, property) and their invoicing;
• the weight of the holdings in the managed subsidiaries within total assets, assessed at market value and not at book value.

Why does the qualification matter for a transfer?

An active holding company may be the subject of a Dutreil pact on its own shares: the 75% exemption then applies to the value of the holding company, within the statutory limits. Without active management, the holding company is passive; a pact remains possible through the interposed company, but the exemption is limited to the fraction of the holding company’s value representing its holding in the operating company.

The qualification also comes into play in other regimes that target operating activities, in particular the fixed allowance for a company director retiring (art. 150-0 D ter CGI) and the business assets exemption from the real estate wealth tax (IFI).

Which points should be checked to secure the qualification?

The burden of proving active management lies with the taxpayer, and it is assessed over the whole period required by the regime concerned, that is, for a Dutreil pact, throughout the retention commitments. Since the Finance Act for 2026, the fraction of value representing non-business assets (homes, passenger vehicles, works of art, etc.) held by the holding company is excluded from the 75% exemption, unless they are used exclusively for the business.

Area of practice

• Dutreil pact →

In which cases does this concept arise?

• Passing on a family group using the Dutreil pact→
• Structuring a director’s shareholdings and investments through a holding→

Which related concepts should you know?

• Dutreil pact
• Dutreil pact (sole proprietorship)
• Collective retention commitment
• Individual retention commitment
• 75% exemption
• 50% reduction in duties
• Management function
• Operating company