“Alexis, I feel like I work six months of the year purely to pay my taxes. Is there a legal way to regain control without taking risks with the tax authorities?”
This very question is the starting point of most of the engagements I take on. In France, the tax burden on income is among the highest in the world, yet the General Tax Code is paradoxically packed with levers designed to support the economy, property or culture in exchange for a reduction in your tax bill.
At Balmont Conseil, we practise rigorous and secure tax optimisation. As a wealth management advisory expert, equipped with a wealth-focused AI, my mission is to turn the tax you endure into tax you choose. Using artificial intelligence, we analyse your marginal tax rate (TMI) and simulate the best wealth strategies to convert your taxes into capital.
What does income tax optimisation involve?
Tax optimisation means using the full range of legal mechanisms (reductions, deductions, tax credits) to minimise a household's tax burden. Unlike tax fraud (concealing income) or tax evasion (illegally transferring assets), optimisation relies on the intent of the legislator.
The levers of optimisation: An overview of the solutions
There are three broad families of levers for reducing your taxes in a structural way.
Preparing for the future: The deduction lever
The Retirement Savings Plan (PER) has become the flagship tool for heavily taxed taxpayers (TMI at 30%, 41% or 45%).
- How it works: Every euro paid in is deductible from your taxable income.
- The leverage effect: If you are in the 41% band, a €10,000 contribution reduces your tax by €4,100. You invest €10,000 at a real cost of €5,900. It is a genuine retirement income stream that you build with the State's help.
Property taxation: Creating a deficit or reducing tax
Property offers the most powerful levers for a long-term wealth strategy.
- The Property Deficit (déficit foncier): By carrying out renovation works on a rental property under the actual tax regime (régime réel), you create a deficit that offsets your existing property income, and can even be set against your overall income up to €10,700 per year.
- The Malraux Law and Historic Monuments: For high earners, these schemes allow you to restore French heritage while benefiting from substantial reductions, outside the cap on tax loopholes (niches fiscales).
- The LMNP status (Non-Professional Furnished Landlord): Although it is not a direct tax reduction, accounting depreciation allows you to collect rent with a near-total tax exemption for 20 years.
Investing in the real economy
- Investing in SMEs (IR-PME): Supporting French businesses lets you benefit from a substantial tax reduction (often 18% or 25% of the amount invested).
- Industrial Girardin: This is a pure "one-shot" tax-relief (défiscalisation) scheme. You invest, with no capital return, in industrial equipment in the French Overseas Territories to obtain a tax reduction the following year that exceeds your stake (a gain of 10 to 15%).
Comparing the strategies: Which solution for which profile?
Not all methods are equal. Balmont Conseil's AI makes it possible to tailor the approach to your situation:
Putting a tailored strategy in place: The Balmont methodology
Successful optimisation is not simply a matter of buying a "tax product". It follows structured steps of tax accounting and engineering:
The legal limits and the risks to avoid
Income tax optimisation must be carried out ethically and rigorously so as not to cross the red line.
The cap on tax loopholes
Most tax reductions and credits are capped at an overall ceiling of €10,000 per year (raised to €18,000 for Girardin and Cinema). Exceeding this threshold makes your investments tax-inefficient.
Abuse of tax law (abus de droit)
The tax authorities penalise arrangements whose sole purpose is to avoid tax without any economic substance. For example, a fictitious gift or a property dismemberment (démembrement) with no genuine intent to give may be reclassified.
AI-augmented wealth engineering: your tax shield
At Balmont Conseil, we use AI for investment monitoring. Our algorithms continuously scan changes in property taxation and socially responsible investment opportunities.
We do not merely help you complete your tax return. We design a comprehensive wealth strategy that includes the taxation of gifts and the protection of assets through capitalisation contracts or complex corporate structures.
FAQ: 20 key questions on tax optimisation
The fundamentals of optimisation
Property schemes
Financial investments and the PER
Advanced strategies and Security
Take control of your taxation
Income tax optimisation is not a privilege reserved for insiders; it is an essential component of sound wealth management. In 2026, the complexity of the law calls for a scientific and personalised approach.
Do not leave your marginal tax rate to chance any longer. By combining the human expertise of our wealth management advisers with the precision of our AI, you secure your future while financing the economy of tomorrow.
Your wealth is an architecture; we are its guardians.
Alexis Sagnier
With more than 17 years of expertise in financial engineering, Alexis Sagnier supports business leaders and expatriates in securing their cross-border interests.
Sources & References:
- General Tax Code (CGI): Article 155 B.
- Official Public Finance Bulletin (BOFiP): Inbound expatriate regime (BOI-RSA-GEO-40).
- 2025 Finance Act: Analysis of recent developments.
- Case law on inbound expatriation: Rulings of the Conseil d'État on reference remuneration.
- ANACOFI Member Handbook: Standards for wealth engineering advice.