Patrimonial Holding: the 20% Tax on Passive Assets

Quick answer. Under the 2026 Finance Act, a contribution would target patrimonial holdings that hold assets not allocated to an operating activity above a gross-asset threshold. The announced rate is 20% on the share of assets deemed passive. The decisive issue is not the rate: it is proving, with supporting documents, that your holding carries on a genuine activity.

You own a holding that brings together your shareholdings, your cash and sometimes a few personal-use assets. Until now, the focus was corporate income tax and the parent-subsidiary regime. The 2026 Finance Act changes things: a contribution now targets structures deemed passive, meaning those that hold significant wealth without any real economic activity. The question owners we advise ask is simple: is my holding in scope, and what must I document to stay out of it?

This article is not an encyclopedic definition of a holding. It deals with one specific, new point: the active versus passive test, the legal scope of the assets concerned, and how to secure the operating nature of your structure before the next year-end.

The announced principle is as follows: where a holding company exceeds a gross-asset threshold and its assets are not allocated to an economic activity, a share of those passive assets is subject to a contribution at a rate of 20%. The legislator's aim is not to tax the holding that steers and finances operating subsidiaries, but the one that mainly serves as a wealth-holding envelope.

Two parameters shape the regime, subject to the final wording and the forthcoming administrative guidance:

• A gross-asset threshold above which the contribution applies, announced at 5 million euros (parameter to be confirmed after enactment).
• A 20% rate applied to the share of assets deemed not allocated to the activity (rate to be confirmed in the final text).

Our reading. The logic of the text mirrors what the tax authorities already apply to operating (animatrice) holdings: what protects you is real, documented activity, not the legal form. A holding that simply collects dividends and invests its cash is exposed; a holding that steers, finances, invoices services and drives strategic decisions is far less so. The test is one of substance, not of label.

This is where precision matters. The assets deemed not allocated to the activity are listed by law. The statutory list (article 235 ter C of the French General Tax Code, as in force on 18 June 2026) covers seven categories:

1. assets allocated to hunting;
2. assets allocated to fishing;
3. vehicles not allocated to a professional activity, passenger vehicles within the meaning of article L. 421-2 of the Code on Taxes on Goods and Services, yachts, sailing or motor pleasure boats and aircraft;
4. jewellery and precious metals, except where allocated to a museum or a historic monument, or displayed to the public;
5. racehorses or competition horses;
6. wines and spirits;
7. dwellings whose use the individual reserves for himself.

Two points deserve emphasis to avoid common misreadings. First, the law does not provide for vehicles to be taken into account at their net book value after depreciation, and it does not create a stand-alone category of collector vehicles: these are sometimes-repeated refinements that do not appear in the text. Second, the wording covers aircraft without limiting the category to those not allocated to a paid transport activity. It is therefore safer to rely on the exact legal text than on approximate summaries.

The underestimated risk. Owners usually think about real estate and cash, and forget the personal-use assets parked in the holding for convenience: the yacht, the aircraft, the horses, the wine cellar. These are precisely the assets the text names explicitly. If they are not allocated to the activity, they feed the tax base directly.

The line between an active and a passive holding is the keystone of the regime. A holding is said to be active, or animatrice, when it effectively takes part in conducting the policy of its subsidiaries and controlling them, and where applicable provides them with administrative, legal, accounting, financial or property services.

The key point is that animation is not presumed. It must be proven. To go deeper into the conditions and risks of the operating-holding status, see our analysis of the conditions of the operating holding, which details the documents the tax authorities expect.

In the holding files we review, the most frequent sticking points are not conceptual but documentary. Here is the sequence we recommend before year-end.

1. Map the gross assets. List shareholdings, cash, real estate and personal-use assets, then identify those falling within the seven targeted categories.
2. Qualify the allocation of each asset. For every item, determine whether it is allocated to a real economic activity and, if so, with what evidence (lease, operating contract, agreement).
3. Formalise the animation. Update or conclude service or management agreements, and make sure they are actually invoiced and paid.
4. Document decisions. Keep minutes that show the holding's involvement in the strategy of its subsidiaries.
5. Secure intragroup flows. Document the current accounts, contributions and financing granted to subsidiaries.
6. Assess the exposure. Estimate the potentially passive share of assets and quantify the theoretical impact of the contribution.

Checklist of documents to gather:

• Management or service agreements, up to date and invoiced
• Minutes of meetings and strategic decisions
• Evidence of allocation of personal-use assets (leases, contracts)
• Schedule of current accounts and contributions to subsidiaries
• Financial reporting sent to subsidiaries
• Inventory of assets falling within the seven legal categories

A recurring pattern: a holding set up to receive dividends under the parent-subsidiary regime, accumulating invested cash and owning the owner's holiday flat together with a boat. No service is invoiced, no minutes document any animation. This structure stacks up signals of passivity: cash invested for itself, a dwelling kept for private use, a pleasure boat not allocated to any activity. Without action before year-end, it is typically the one the regime aims to reach. The answer is not to hide the assets, but either to take them out of the holding or to give them a real, documented economic use.

The new contribution reopens a classic question. Should you place a personal asset inside the holding or own it differently?

• Inside the holding: relevant when the asset is allocated to an activity (let operating real estate, for example) and the structure is active. Economic consistency protects you.
• Direct ownership or a dedicated structure: often preferable for a pure personal-use asset (second home, boat), which has no place feeding the tax base of an active holding. The comparison of holding and SCI clarifies this choice depending on the nature of the assets and the wealth objective.

There is no single answer: the trade-off depends on the composition of your wealth, the existence of operating subsidiaries and your transfer horizon.

Even though the final guidance is still awaited, the likely framework is known, because it extends the analysis of the operating holding. The authorities look for substance: services genuinely rendered and invoiced, documented decisions, cash allocated to the group, personal-use assets whose economic allocation is justified. Conversely, the total absence of intragroup invoicing, cash invested with no link to the activity and assets kept for private use are all indicators of passivity.

• The contribution would target passive patrimonial holdings above a gross-asset threshold, at an announced rate of 20% on the share of assets not allocated to the activity (parameters to be confirmed after enactment).
• The tax base rests on the seven categories of article 235 ter C of the General Tax Code: hunting, fishing, vehicles and pleasure craft, jewellery and precious metals, racehorses or competition horses, wines and spirits, dwellings kept for private use.
• The law does not take vehicles into account at their net book value after depreciation, does not create a collector-vehicles category, and does not limit the aircraft category to those without paid transport.
• Active, operating status is not presumed: it is documented through invoiced agreements, minutes and intragroup flows.
• The operational challenge is documentary: prepare the evidence before year-end, not after an audit.