Dutreil Pact: Which companies are eligible?

According to the French tax authorities (BOFiP), the Dutreil pact applies to shares or stock in a company whose main activity is industrial, commercial, artisanal, agricultural, or professional. Simply managing one's own assets does not qualify. The fact sheets on service-public.gouv.fr give the example of a French real estate investment company (SCI), whose purpose is to manage assets: it is excluded. A holding company is generally excluded, unless it actively manages its group. The eligible activity must be predominant, not exclusive.

This page deals with the nature of companies and activities. It does not address holding commitments or their duration, which are covered on another page. It does not detail the active holding company (dedicated page), nor non-residents, nor the text of Article 787 B of the French General Tax Code itself: the conditions reported here are those of the BOFiP (Official Bulletin of Public Finances), version of 10/08/2026.

What the pact exempts, and for whom

Subject to the other terms of the agreement, shares or stock in eligible companies are exempt from gift tax "up to 75% of their value." Only shares or stock are covered. For gifts, only individuals and endowment funds qualify as beneficiaries.

Society: what matters

Assets that you own and make available to a company without legal personality do not benefit from the exemption.

Activities: eligible and excluded

This is the heart of the matter. The BOFiP distinguishes between two lists.

The BOFiP specifies that these conditions apply to transmissions that took place from October 17, 2023 onwards.

The fact sheets on service-public.gouv.fr concerning the gift of shares in SARLs or EURLs and shares in SASs or SASUs (verified on 09/09/2026) state the same thing in simple terms: companies whose purpose is the management of movable or immovable assets, for example, an SCI, are excluded. They add that the scheme benefits active holding companies.

Predominant activity, not exclusive

Your company does not have to exclusively carry out eligible activities. According to the BOFiP (French Official Tax Bulletin), it is sufficient that these activities constitute its predominant form, such that they form its main activity. The predominant nature of these activities is assessed based on a set of indicators, determined according to the nature of the activity and the conditions under which it is carried out.

The BOFiP provides a practical rule which includes two guidelines, to be completed together:

1. the turnover generated by the eligible activity represents at least 50 % of the total turnover; ;
2. the market value of the gross fixed and current assets allocated to this activity represents at least 50 % of the total gross assets.

For a company that carries out several activities, all of them are taken into account when assessing whether this activity is predominant.

The condition is not met once and for all. The company must verify it throughout the duration of the commitment. The cessation of activities and the undertaking of new activities during this period are possible.

Holding companies

The BOFiP (Official Bulletin of Public Finances) establishes the principle that the financial activity of holding companies generally excludes them from the scope of the partial exemption. It allows an exception for active holding companies, provided that the group carries out an eligible activity.

An active holding company's primary activity is actively participating in the management of its group's policy. Its status is assessed at the time the shareholders' agreement is concluded, or upon transfer in the case of a deemed commitment. The BOFiP (French Official Tax Bulletin) specifically considers the activity to be primarily active when the market value of the assets allocated to this group management represents more than half of the holding company's total assets. This criterion is found in paragraph 55 of the BOFiP, and the two benchmarks described above in paragraph 20 are relevant: please refer to each paragraph. The definition, the services the holding company can provide to its subsidiaries, and the treatment of leased properties are covered on the page dedicated to active holding companies.

Two points complete the picture:

• Intermediary companies. Securities held through intermediary companies are counted up to a limit of two levels of interposition. The intermediary company must have subscribed to the holding commitment; otherwise, its securities do not count towards the thresholds.
• Contribution of securities to a holding company currently being committed. The exemption is not revoked if at least three-quarters of the share capital and voting rights of the company receiving the contribution are held by the individuals bound by the commitment, and if it is directly managed by one of them. These two conditions remain in effect until the end of the commitment period. During the individual commitment period, the company receiving the contribution must be managed by one of the beneficiaries of the exemption. The BOFiP (French Official Tax Bulletin) provides for a tolerance towards the donor: this is detailed in paragraph 87 of BOI-ENR-DMTG-10-20-40-20.

Eligible company, but excluded assets: the case of luxury goods

An eligible company may hold assets that are no longer exempt. For transfers by death or gift on or after February 21, 2026 (Law No. 2026-103 of February 19, 2026, Article 8), the BOFiP (Official Bulletin of Public Finances) excludes the assets listed in the third paragraph of the law. These include, in particular, hunting and fishing equipment, jewelry, precious metals and works of art, collectibles or antiques, racehorses or show horses, wines and spirits, as well as "the company's dwellings and residences, whether furnished or unfurnished.".

The exemption does not apply to the portion of the share value corresponding to these assets when they are not exclusively used by the company for its business activities. According to the BOFiP (French Official Tax Bulletin), the exemption applies when these assets are exclusively used for the company's business activities, firstly for a period of at least three years before the transfer (or, failing that, from the date of their acquisition), and secondly until the end of the individual commitment to retain the shares (or, failing that, until the sale of the assets). A one-off use is therefore insufficient.

The excluded fraction is calculated by A x (B / C):

• A is the market value of the transferred securities; ;
• B is the gross market value of the excluded assets that have not been exclusively used for the activity under these conditions; ;
• This is the gross market value of the company's assets.

The complete calculation is detailed on the page concerning the exemption of 75 %. Passenger vehicles, yachts and aircraft, with their exceptions, are covered in paragraph 440 of the BOFiP.

And what about sole proprietorships?

It falls under a similar regime, Article 787 C of the French General Tax Code (CGI), which is not the subject of this page. The BOFiP (Official Bulletin of Public Finances) requires a principal industrial, commercial, craft, agricultural, or professional activity, excluding the management of one's own assets. It also specifies that the partial exemption does not apply to a business leased to an operating company.

Numerical example (fictitious profile)

Situation. Marc, 63, owns 100 shares of a family-owned SAS (simplified joint-stock company) worth €2,000,000. The company manufactures and sells mechanical parts. It also owns premises that it rents unfurnished to a third party. Total revenue: €3,000,000, of which €2,100,000 is from manufacturing. Total gross assets: €4,000,000 at market value, of which €2,200,000 is allocated to manufacturing. He plans to give his shares to his daughter. For comparison, another company, primarily focused on renting unfurnished premises, has the same total revenue (€3,000,000) and the same total gross assets (€4,000,000), with eligible revenue of €1,350,000 and eligible gross assets of €1,800,000.

Issue. Renting unfurnished premises is an excluded activity. Is the company nevertheless covered by the agreement?

Strategy. Marc tests the two BOFiP benchmarks with the figures in his file before signing anything.

Result.

For Marc, both thresholds are met. Provided that the other conditions of the agreement are fulfilled, 75% of the value of the securities is exempt: €1,500,000. The remaining €500,000 is not eligible for exemption. For the comparator company, the thresholds are not met: the predominant nature of the asset is then assessed according to the set of indicators described in paragraph 20 of the BOFiP (French Official Tax Bulletin).

These are fictitious profiles and figures. The calculation stops before the allowance and tax scale, and it does not take into account any excluded assets (luxury goods). It does not predict any results for your family.

What changes depending on your situation

• The exact nature of the company's activities, and the share of each in the turnover and assets.
• The existence of a holding company, with one or two levels of interposed companies.
• The assets held by the company and their allocation, for transfers from 21/02/2026.
• The date of transmission, for exclusions from activity (17/10/2023).
• The form of the business: company or sole proprietorship.

The rule depends on your situation. No results are guaranteed.