Allowances applicable to gifted jewelry

Gifting a piece of jewelry is not systematically costly: gift tax allowances allow, in many families, to transfer without paying taxes. Still, you need to know which ones apply — and, precisely, which one does not.

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 (PACS): €80,724 (full exemption only applies to inheritances, not inter vivos gifts).
• Brother or sister: €15,932.
• Nephew or niece: €7,967.
• Disabled person: additional €159,325, cumulative.

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

The fifteen-year counter

These allowances renew every fifteen years. The period runs from the date of the gift declaration, which provides 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 within the last fifteen years are cumulated for calculating the allowance and the scale. A piece of jewelry gifted 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 is cumulative with the standard allowance, making it very attractive — but it is strictly reserved for cash gifts.

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

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 thought 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 any gift: the €100,000 allowance fully covers the gift. No tax due — but the declaration is still necessary, and the allowance is used up to €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 is €8,135, taxed in the first brackets 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 eliminated the tax — a perfect illustration of the difference in treatment between cash and jewelry.

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