Holding: The complete guide to tax optimization 2026

Holding is the tax optimization tool par excellence for entrepreneurs and investors. This comprehensive guide explains how to create and use a holding company in 2026.

A holding (or parent company) is a company whose purpose is to hold stakes in other companies (subsidiaries).

Types of holding companies

Passive holding

• ▸Holding of participations only
• ▸Collection of dividends
• ▸Portfolio management activity

Holding facilitator

• ▸Detention + group animation
• ▸Provision of services to subsidiaries
• ▸Group policy

1. Mother-Daughter Diet

The biggest tax advantage of the holding company

When the holding company has held at least 5% of the capital of a subsidiary for more than 2 years:

• ▸95% of dividends returned are exempt from IS
• ▸Only a 5% share is taxed at 25%
• ▸Actual tax: 1.25% (25% × 5%)

Example:

• ▸Subsidiary: profit €100,000
• ▸Dividends paid to the holding company: €100,000
• ▸Holding tax: €100,000 × 5% × 25% = €1,250
• ▸Economy vs individual: ~€30,000 (flat tax 31.4% on dividends vs scale taxation)

2. Tax Integration

If the holding company owns 95%+ of the capital of its subsidiaries:

• ▸Compensation of results: the profit of one subsidiary can cancel the deficit of another
• ▸IS optimization: a single consolidated declaration
• ▸Carry-forward of deficits of the group

Example:

Holding company (tax integration)
  ├── Subsidiary A: +€80,000
  ├── Subsidiary B: -€30,000
  └── Subsidiary C: +€50,000

Consolidated result: +€100,000 (instead of €130k)
IS Economy: €7,500

3. Acquisition financing

The holding company allows you to buy companies with leverage:

1. ▸Holding company created with minimal capital (1€)
2. ▸Bank loan to acquire the target
3. ▸Return of dividends from the target to the holding company
4. ▸Repayment of the loan with dividends

Simplified LBO setup

4. Optimization of remuneration

Holding strategy + operational subsidiary:

Entrepreneur manager:

• ▸Remuneration: €40,000 (social charges)
• ▸Subsidiary → holding company dividends: €60,000 (95% exemption)
• ▸Holding → manager dividends: €57,000 (flat tax 31.4%)
• ▸Available net: ~€80,000 (vs. €55k directly)

Creation steps

1. ▸Choice of form: SASU (Single-member simplified joint-stock company) or SAS (recommended)
2. ▸Drafting of the statutes: Holding company purpose
3. ▸Share capital: Minimum 1€ (in practice: 1,000 - 10,000€)
4. ▸Registration: RCS, Kbis
5. ▸Acquisition of securities: Purchase of shares of subsidiaries

Holding: SASU or SAS?

SASU (single partner)

• ▸Simplicity of management
• ▸Unilateral decisions
• ▸Ideal solo

SAS (several partners)

• ▸Multiple partners (spouse, children)
• ▸Associates agreement
• ▸Progressive transmission

Real estate holding

Typical structure:

Holding SASU (IS)
  ├── SCI 1: Paris Building (LMNP)
  ├── SCI 2: Apartment Lyon (Bare rental)
  └── SCI 3: Serviced residence (LMNP)

Benefits:

• ▸SCI dividend optimization
• ▸Financing acquisitions by the holding company
• ▸Facilitated transmission (donation parts holding)
• ▸Asset protection

Holding for consultant

Consultant with several activities:

Holding
  ├── SASU Consulting
  ├── SASU Training
  └── SARL Software Edition

Benefits:

• ▸Cash pooling
• ▸Compensation results
• ▸Risk separation

Family holding

Heritage transfer:

1. ▸Parents create a holding company
2. ▸Holding acquires the family business
3. ▸Gradual donation of holding shares to children
4. ▸Advantage: Holding valuation < company valuation (acquisition debt)

Taxation of profits

Holding with IS (compulsory if mother-daughter plan)

• ▸IS rate: 15% up to €100,000, then 25%
• ▸Dividend share: 5% taxable

Holding with IR (possible if passive holding < 5 years)

• ▸Tax transparency
• ▸Rarely interesting

VAT

Holding facilitator: Subject to VAT

• ▸Invoicing of services to subsidiaries
• ▸VAT recovery on charges

Passive holding: No VAT

• ▸No liability
• ▸No VAT recovery

Accounting obligations

• ▸Bookkeeping
• ▸Annual accounts (balance sheet, income statement)
• ▸Tax package 2065 (IS)
• ▸Annual general meeting
• ▸Submission of accounts to the registry

Holding particularities

Balance sheet assets:

• ▸Equity securities (acquisition value)
• ▸Partner current account (contributions)
• ▸Receivables from subsidiaries

Passive:

• ▸Acquisition loans
• ▸Supplier debts
• ▸Equity

❌ Abuse of rights: Assembly without economic substance ❌ Holding created only to avoid tax ❌ No cash flow agreement between holding company and subsidiaries ❌ Forgetting the mother-daughter regime (conditions not respected)

✅ Good practice: Holding company with real services

At Hayot Expertise, we believe that pricing transparency is the basis of a long-lasting relationship for our management clients:

Legal Creation:

• ▸Creation of the holding company (Council, Statutes, Kbis): from €800 excluding tax
• ▸Intermediate operation of contribution of securities: €1,500 to €3,000 excluding tax depending on tax complexity

Annual management:

• ▸Essential Holding Accounting Pack (Routine management, tax package 2065): from €228 excluding tax / month
• ▸Cross operations (tax integration, re-invoicing): on quote (generally included in our Elite offer from €558/month)

Browse our additional services and packages on our Prices page.

ROI: The tax savings generally covers structural costs from 50k€ of dividends returned.

The holding company is a powerful but complex tool. It requires expert support to:

• ▸Structure the assembly
• ▸Respect legal obligations
• ▸Optimize taxation
• ▸Avoid the pitfalls of abuse of rights

Our firm specializes in the creation and management of holding companies (real estate, operational, family).

📞 Request a quote: Request a free quote to find out if the holding company is suitable for your situation