Dismemberment scale 2026: Article 669 CGI, calculation and planning decisions

The French statutory dismemberment scale is one of the most precise tools in French wealth planning. Yet it is regularly misread — the percentage table is familiar, but its consequences for gift and inheritance taxes (droits de mutation à titre gratuit, DMTG), the IFI wealth tax, asset sales, and temporary dismemberment structures are less well understood. At Hayot Expertise, we regularly advise business owners and families who discover mid-transaction that the statutory scale and the economic reality can diverge significantly.

Last updated: 25 May 2026 — The figures below reflect Article 669 CGI as currently in force, unchanged since its last legislative revision.

Direct answer. The French dismemberment scale (Art. 669 CGI) allocates the tax value of an asset between the usufruct (right of use and income) and the bare ownership (right of disposal) based on the usufructuary's age, using ten-year brackets running from 10% to 90%. It is mandatory for DMTG, registration duties and IFI purposes. For fixed-term (temporary) dismemberments, a separate actuarial calculation applies under Article 13-5 CGI.

Article 669 of the General Tax Code (Code général des impôts, CGI) sets a mandatory flat-rate value for the life interest (usufruit viager) — that is, a usufruct whose duration depends on the usufructuary's life. This scale is binding on both the taxpayer and the DGFiP (Direction générale des finances publiques): neither party may substitute a market value for these percentages when calculating DMTG or registration duties.

The mandatory nature of the scale is designed to neutralise any attempt by the parties to negotiate the respective values of each right, to ensure predictability of duties payable, and to limit arrangements whose primary aim is fiscal.

What the administration looks at: when a dismembered asset is sold shortly after a gift, the DGFiP checks that the allocation of the sale price between usufructuary and bare owner strictly follows the scale percentages applicable on the date of the sale. Any unjustified deviation can be recharacterised.

The table below sets out all brackets provided by Article 669 CGI. The age used is the usufructuary's age on the date of the deed (gift, sale, or declaration of succession).

Reading note: the 81–90 and over-90 brackets are expressly provided in the text of Article 669 CGI but are frequently omitted from simplified tables. They have real practical importance for late-stage gifts or for successions where the surviving spouse retains the life interest at an advanced age.

Source: Article 669 of the Code général des impôts — Légifrance

A parent who is 65 years old on the date of the deed gives the bare ownership of an apartment valued at €400,000 to their only child, retaining the life interest.

Applying the scale:

• Applicable bracket: 61 to 70 years old
• Usufruct value: €400,000 × 40% = €160,000
• Bare ownership value: €400,000 × 60% = €240,000

Gift tax calculation:

• Taxable base: €240,000 (bare ownership only)
• Direct-line allowance (€100,000 in 2026 — to be verified, as this allowance may be revised by legislation)
• Net taxable base: €140,000
• Estimated gift tax under the progressive DMTG scale: in the range of €18,194 to €26,000 depending on the applicable bracket

What this example shows: without dismemberment, the duties would have been calculated on €400,000 (less the allowance), giving a net taxable base of approximately €300,000. The dismemberment reduces the taxable base by 25% here, which represents a significant difference in the duties actually payable.

The Article 669 CGI scale applies only to a life interest (usufruit viager), where the duration is linked to the usufructuary's life. When the dismemberment is temporary (fixed term, independent of the usufructuary's life), an actuarial economic calculation applies instead, under Article 13-5 CGI.

Article 13-5 CGI specifically governs the tax treatment of income arising from a temporary dismemberment, in particular where the usufructuary receives dividends or rental income over a fixed term. This regime is distinct from the Article 669 CGI scale and can generate tax consequences that the statutory scale alone does not allow one to anticipate.

Source: BOFiP — ENR - Mutations à titre gratuit - Valeur fiscale de l'usufruit et de la nue-propriété (to be verified against the current BOFiP version)

Within the framework of the impôt sur la fortune immobilière (IFI, the French real-estate wealth tax), dismemberment produces a specific effect: the usufructuary is in principle liable to IFI on the full ownership value of the asset, not merely on the value of the life interest. The bare owner is therefore in principle not liable to IFI on the dismembered assets they hold, subject to statutory exceptions.

Key IFI points:

• The usufructuary declares the total value of the dismembered asset for IFI purposes (Article 968 CGI — to be verified)
• Certain exceptions (notably the legal quasi-usufruct in favour of the surviving spouse) modify this rule
• Where shares in an SCI (société civile immobilière, a French real-estate holding company) are dismembered, the value to be declared must incorporate the deductible liabilities under the specific IFI rules

See also our analysis: Dismemberment of ownership — how it works and strategic use and Bare ownership and usufruct: how to optimise real estate.

When a dismembered asset is sold, the sale price must be allocated between the usufructuary and the bare owner. The DGFiP expects this allocation to follow the Article 669 CGI percentages calculated as at the date of the sale.

In practice:

• If the usufructuary is 68 years old on the date of the sale, the usufruct represents 40% and the bare ownership 60%
• Each party calculates their own capital gain (plus-value) on their respective share of the price
• The usufructuary and the bare owner each have their own tax base and their own capital gains regime

A pattern we see in practice: in files involving the sale of SCI shares held under a dismemberment structure, we regularly observe errors in the allocation of the price between the parties. An agreed allocation that diverges from the statutory scale, without documented economic justification, exposes both parties to a tax adjustment on the undeclared portion of the proceeds.

Temporary dismemberment consists in transferring the usufruct for a fixed period (for example, five years) to a company or a third party, which collects the income during that period. This structure is used — notably in connection with company shares or real estate — to redirect income temporarily.

Underestimated risk: Article 13-5 CGI provides that where a temporary dismemberment is created for consideration by an individual in favour of a legal entity subject to French corporation tax (IS), the income paid to the usufructuary is taxed to income tax (IR) in the relevant income category. The DGFiP is particularly attentive to arrangements where the temporary dismemberment is primarily designed to shift the tax treatment of income.

Prior analysis is essential before putting any such structure in place. See our article: Quasi-usufruit : avantages et inconvénients.

The Article 669 CGI scale is a flat-rate scale. It takes no account of the actual yield of the asset, current interest rates, or the statistical life expectancy of the specific usufructuary. This rigidity can create significant divergences.

An example of divergence: for a usufructuary aged 65, the statutory scale values the life interest at 40%. On an actuarial calculation based on life expectancy at 65 (approximately 22 years according to INSEE tables) and a discount rate of 3%, the economic value of the usufruct may be higher or lower than that fiscal value depending on the yield of the asset. For a low-yielding property, the economic value of the life interest may be well below 40%.

This divergence has no bearing on DMTG (where the statutory scale is mandatory), but it must be analysed in the context of sales, business valuations, and wealth structuring decisions.

The scale creates genuine threshold effects between brackets. Moving from age 70 to age 71 shifts the bare ownership value from 60% to 70% — a 10-percentage-point increase in the taxable base. On an asset worth €500,000, that represents €50,000 of additional taxable base before any allowances are applied.

Our recommendation: do not wait for a birthday to finalise a gift. In the files we handle, the precise timing of the notarial deed — calibrated against the usufructuary's age — is an integral part of the strategy. A difference of a few weeks can change the applicable bracket and the associated duty saving.

• Confirm the usufructuary's exact age on the date of the deed and the applicable bracket
• Identify the type of interest: life (Art. 669 CGI) or temporary (Art. 13-5 CGI)
• Establish the nature of the asset: real estate, SCI shares, operating company shares, financial portfolio
• Verify the available direct-line allowances and the time elapsed since the most recent gift
• Assess IFI impact: will the usufructuary be liable to IFI on the full value?
• In the event of a future sale: reach agreement between both parties and plan the price allocation in accordance with the scale
• Notarial deed is mandatory for real estate gifts
• Prior legal and tax advice is essential

For a broader discussion of overall wealth strategy: How to optimise your wealth.

The rules set out here describe the general statutory framework applicable to the Article 669 CGI scale and the related provisions. They do not constitute personalised advice. Each wealth situation — age, matrimonial regime, composition of assets, household taxation, family objectives — calls for a specific analysis conducted by a qualified professional.

Tax rates, thresholds, and regimes may be modified by the annual Finance Act or by administrative instruction. Always verify the legislation in force on the date of your transaction.