Allowances applicable to gifted jewelry

Giving a piece of jewelry is not always costly: gift tax allowances allow, in many families, to transfer without tax to pay. But you still need to know which ones apply — and which one, precisely, does not apply.

Allowances by family relationship

• Child: €100,000 per parent and per child. A couple can therefore transfer €200,000 to each child without tax.
• Grandchild: €31,865 per grandparent.
• Great-grandchild: €5,310.
• Spouse or civil partner: €80,724 (total exemption only applies to inheritances, not to gifts between living persons).
• Brother or sister: €15,932.
• Nephew or niece: €7,967.
• Disabled person: €159,325 additional, cumulative.

Beyond the allowance, the same progressive scale as for inheritances applies: from 5% to 45% in the direct line, 35 then 45% between siblings, 55% for nephews and nieces, 60% between unrelated persons.

The fifteen-year counter

These allowances are replenished every fifteen years. The period runs from the declaration of the gift, which gives an additional reason to declare even when no tax is due: without a declaration, the counter never starts.

All gifts made by the same donor to the same beneficiary over the last fifteen years are combined for the calculation of the allowance and the scale. A piece of jewelry given today can therefore “consume” what remained after a previous gift.

The pitfall: the €31,865 family gift does not apply to jewelry

In addition to the above allowances, there is a specific exemption of €31,865 provided for by Article 790 G of the General Tax Code, often called “family gift” or “Sarkozy gift”. It can be combined with the standard allowance, which makes it very attractive — but it is strictly reserved for cash gifts.

The conditions are precise: the donor must be under 80 years of age on the day of the gift, the beneficiary must be an adult or emancipated minor, and must be a child, grandchild, great-grandchild or, failing that, a nephew or niece.

A piece of jewelry, a watch, a diamond are assets in kind: they are excluded from this scheme. This is one of the most common confusions we encounter, and it can be costly for anyone who believed they could transfer €31,865 worth of jewelry tax-free.

Two worked examples

A mother gives a parure to her daughter

The parure is valued at €45,000. The daughter has never received a gift: the €100,000 allowance fully covers the gift. No tax due — but the declaration is still necessary, and the allowance is reduced by €45,000 for the next fifteen years.

A grandfather gives a watch to his grandson

The watch is worth €40,000. The grandchild allowance is €31,865: the taxable portion amounts to €8,135, taxed in the first bands of the scale, i.e. approximately €410 in tax. If the grandfather had given €40,000 in cash, the family gift could have been added and wiped out the tax — a perfect illustration of the difference in treatment between money and jewelry.

Updated on July 25, 2026 — allowances and declaration procedures change regularly; check the rule in force on the day of your gift.