Nearly 130,000 divorces are pronounced each year in France. Beyond the emotional test that such a procedure represents, this separation can also be very costly.
While an amicable divorce fluctuates between 1,000 and 1,500 euros per spouse, prices climb quickly when we turn to a contentious route. But if attorneys' fees are expensive, that's nothing compared to the taxes that apply on the liquidation of assets.
A tax common to all divorces
If there are different types of divorce, all of them require couples to document their breakup, to determine the arrangements for custody if they have children and to settle their pecuniary interests, in other words to share their property. In the context of an amicable procedure, that is to say divorce by mutual consent, the spouses agree on these terms in a divorce agreement registered with a notary.
In the event of a contentious process, on the other hand, it is the judge who decides on the separation and its consequences for the family, as well as on the settlement of the pecuniary and patrimonial interests of the spouses. In all cases, the couple will have to pay certain taxes when liquidating their assets. This is called the "sharing right".
Real estate in the viewfinder
“This tax applies to all the hypotheses of sharing an asset. Whether it occurs following a succession, a divorce, a PACS or a cohabitation, the right of partition is due, "explains Christophe Blanchard, professor of law at the Faculty of Angers and expert for Lexis Nexis. As soon as ex-spouses have to share the price of the common family house or one of the two buys the share of the other, they have to pay this sharing right, which amounts to 2.5% the value of the property concerned since 2011. For a property sold for example 300,000 euros, this represents 7,500 euros in taxes, which are added to the costs of lawyers and proceedings.
For lack of means, some couples are therefore forced to delay this stage, as the lawyer explains: "To limit the overall cost of divorce, many households choose to stay in joint possession for a prolonged period by continuing to occupy the same dwelling, while waiting to be able to turn around. But, as we imagine, the management of undivided property by two ex-spouses can give rise to numerous conflicts… ”
Speed up divorces
It will be understood, this tax is an obstacle to the final settlement of the divorce. However, precisely, the latest reforms have aimed to streamline this approach, in particular with the simplification of divorce by mutual consent, which can be pronounced without the intervention of a judge since 2017. In the same spirit of accelerating the procedure, the finance law for 2020 has made a gesture in favor of households.
From January 1, 2021, the partition right applied in the event of divorce or termination of PACS will be lowered to 1.80%, then to 1.10% from 2022. In our example, ex-spouses assigning their house at 300,000 euros will therefore have to pay 3,300 euros instead of 7,500 under the sharing right. This is good news, which only concerns divorces and ruptures of PACS. In the event of separation from cohabitation or a succession, the rate of 2.5% will continue to apply.
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Furniture apart
In the case of a divorce but also of a rupture of PACS, the right of partition applies more precisely on the legal act which notes the distribution of the goods. This is called the liquidation state. However, in theory, this document must identify all of the shared property, both real estate and movable. However, insofar as it is only compulsory in the presence of real estate possessions, lawyers most often recommend that their clients distribute their furniture among themselves so as not to mention it in this act, and thus avoid taxation. additional. It is only if you have significant wealth that you cannot escape this tax.
- Housing
- Legislation
- Divorced
- Taxation