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Assurance Vie Products

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Assurance Vie

French life insurance products are structured as tax efficient savings vehicles for medium to long term investment. Regular and single premium investors living in France can benefit from capital gains and income tax concessions should they invest in an Assurance Vie policy.

Advantages of Assurance Vie Products

There is no limit on the amount that can be invested in an authorized Assurance Vie.
Investors benefit from favorable tax treatment
Withdrawals in the form of capital or regular income can be made with only the growth element of the withdrawal being liable to tax
There is a wide range of funds to choose from including the traditional asset classes of equity and bond funds, along with guaranteed protected capital funds.

Taxation on maturity / withdrawals / surrenders

The tax treatment of Assurance Vie products is as follows:

There is an annual tax free allowance for withdrawals from policies after an 8 year investment term. This currently amounts to €4,600 for a single person and €9,200 for a couple.

Tax payable on withdrawals may be deducted at source by the insurer before any payout, or alternatively declared as a gain in your annual income tax return.

If you opt for deduction at source, the following tax rates are levied on any gains:

Gains realized in 1 - 4 years 47.1% (35% income tax and 12.1% social tax).
Gains realized in 5 - 8 years 27.1% (15% income tax and 12.1% social tax).
Gains realized after 8 years 19.6% (7.5% income tax and 12.1% social tax).

If you opt to declare your gains from your policy on your annual income tax return in France, you pay tax on them at your highest applicable rate. The social taxes are also levied.

If you would like further information on Assurance Vie products available to French residents for wealth management purposes, please go to Financial health-check

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