In short…
Industrial Girardin (Girardin industriel) finances productive investments in France’s overseas territories in exchange for an income-tax reduction greater than the contribution paid: you commit, on an ‘à fonds perdu’ (sunk-cost) basis, a sum lower than the tax wiped out, and pocket the difference — typically a 10 to 15% net fiscal return the very next year. It is a ‘one-shot’ scheme with no resale value, where the absolute key is the solidity of the operator and the cover for tax-clawback risk.
- Reduction greater than the contribution: a net fiscal gain, banked the following year
- Enhanced overseas cap, beyond the standard global cap on tax breaks
- Sunk-cost and one-shot: no residual value — the quality of the operator is everything
Simulate your Girardin operation
The simulator works out the contribution needed and the net fiscal gain according to the return of the operation. Your data is neither stored nor transmitted.
Industrial Girardin simulator
Wipe out your income tax through an overseas ‘one-shot’ tax scheme that pays a fiscal return.
Results are provided for purely illustrative and educational purposes, based on the parameters you enter and simplified assumptions (2026 taxation, constant return, excluding inflation). They constitute neither personalised investment advice, nor tax advice, nor an offer to subscribe. Some investments carry a risk of capital loss. Before any decision, speak with an advisor.
Why Girardin is a fiscal return, not an investment
Industrial Girardin resembles no other scheme. You are not buying an asset meant to gain value: you contribute funds to a company that finances productive equipment or social housing in the overseas territories, and the State grants you, the following year, an income-tax reduction greater than your contribution. The ‘gain’ is the gap between the reduction and the sum paid — it is fiscal, and it is immediate.
The patrimonial appeal is purely arithmetic and powerful: for a taxpayer with a significant tax bill to settle, turning a €9,000 contribution into €10,000 of tax wiped out is a net return of roughly 11% over a few months. No conventional investment offers that. It is a tool for managing your fiscal cash flow, not a wealth-building investment.
But this mechanism comes with a radical trade-off: the contribution is legally lost. There is no resale, no recoverable capital, no residual value. The only return is the tax reduction. Girardin is therefore only for those who have tax to neutralise and who accept this one-way arrangement — having understood it perfectly.
The 3 truths about Girardin that few sellers own up to
A single-digit return guaranteed by fiscal arithmetic
The mechanism is unbeatable on paper: a reduction greater than the contribution, banked the following year. On €10,000 of tax neutralised with a €9,000 contribution, the net gain is €1,000, or about 11% in a few months. And the specific overseas cap lets you go beyond the global €10,000 cap on tax breaks, making it one of the last levers available to very high earners who have already saturated theirs.
The risk is not the market — it is the structure
If the productive investment fails to meet its conditions — genuine operation in the overseas territory, minimum holding period for the equipment, approval for large amounts — the tax authorities can challenge the reduction. You would then lose both the contribution (by nature) and the tax benefit meant to offset it. The danger never comes from a stock-market crash: it comes from a failing operator or a badly assembled operation.
The completion guarantee separates the serious from the dangerous
A quality Girardin comes with a completion guarantee and cover for the tax-clawback risk by the operator. That is precisely what distinguishes a professional operation from a trap. Never subscribe without checking the operator’s track record, its history of reassessments, and the reality of the guarantees. This is the heart of due diligence — and the first thing an independent advisor checks.
Worked example — Antoine, 46, manager of a consulting firm in Paris
Antoine has €12,000 of income tax to settle and has already saturated his €10,000 cap on tax breaks with other schemes. He neutralises this tax through a Girardin operation offering a 12% fiscal return. Here is what the simulator calculates:
| Indicator | Amount | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Tax to neutralise | ≈ €12,000 | the reduction targeted |
| Contribution paid (sunk cost) | ≈ €10,700 | permanently committed |
| Net fiscal gain | ≈ €1,300 | ≈ 12% return |
| Resale value | €0 | one-shot scheme |
Illustrative example — figures simplified for clarity and not contractual.
By committing ≈ €10,700 on a sunk-cost basis, Antoine wipes out €12,000 of tax and books a net gain of ≈ €1,300 the very next year — a return of around 12% over a few months, outside the global cap on tax breaks he had already exhausted. It is one of the very few levers still available in his situation.
But that gain only exists if the operation holds up legally. Antoine signs only after checking the operator’s track record, the reality of the overseas operation and the completion guarantee covering any reassessment. Without those guarantees, the ‘fiscal return’ can turn into an outright loss.
Girardin is chosen on the operator, not the rate
This simulator quantifies the theoretical fiscal gain. In reality, everything hinges on the solidity of the operator and the cover for clawback risk: an advertised return rate is worth nothing if the operation is fragile. It is the only scheme in this family where the quality of the operator entirely outweighs the figures.
Balmont Conseil is an independent wealth-management firm, a member of ANACOFI, with no capital ties to any Girardin operator. That independence is decisive here: we select operations solely on their seriousness and the guarantees offered, never on a distribution fee. Let’s arrange a meeting to secure, where appropriate, an operation matched to your tax bill.
Frequently asked questions
How can you make money investing ‘à fonds perdu’ (sunk cost)?
Because the income-tax reduction obtained is greater than the contribution paid. You commit a sum that is permanently lost (no resale), but the State grants you a higher tax reduction the following year. The gain is the gap between the two — typically 10 to 15%. It is a purely fiscal, immediate return, not an investment that would gain value.
What is the real risk of industrial Girardin?
The risk is not the market but the structure. If the overseas productive investment fails to meet its conditions (genuine operation, holding period for the equipment, approval for large amounts), the tax authorities can challenge the reduction. You would then lose the contribution and the benefit. Hence the crucial importance of the operator’s solidity and a completion guarantee.
Does Girardin count towards the cap on tax breaks?
Girardin benefits from an enhanced cap specific to overseas schemes, higher than the standard global cap of €10,000 per year. This is what makes it a valuable lever for heavily taxed individuals who have already saturated their cap with other tax benefits.
Who is Girardin really suited to?
A taxpayer with a significant income-tax bill to settle, who understands and accepts the sunk-cost nature of the contribution, and who is seeking an immediate fiscal return rather than a capital investment. It is never a wealth-building tool: it is an instrument for neutralising tax, to be handled with judgement and proper guidance.
Why is Balmont Conseil’s independence so important here?
Because Girardin is the scheme where the quality of the operator makes all the difference between a net gain and an outright loss. A distributor tied to an operator will be tempted to place its operations. Balmont Conseil, an independent ANACOFI member, has no interest in favouring any operator: we select solely on seriousness and guarantees, in your exclusive interest.
Results are provided for purely illustrative and educational purposes, based on the parameters you enter and simplified assumptions (2026 taxation, constant return, excluding inflation). They constitute neither personalised investment advice, nor tax advice, nor an offer to subscribe. Some investments carry a risk of capital loss. Before any decision, speak with an advisor.