How to send money to France in 2026: euros in 10 seconds from the euro area, gifts to family and paying for a home through the notary

Money reaches France in euros: from euro area countries in 10 seconds, from other countries in 1-3 business days. In 2026 paperwork matters more than the route: a gift to children is declared online even with no tax, and for an apartment sums from $3,400 (€3,000) go only by transfer to the notary, who checks where the money came from.

In detail

In 2026 the simplest way to send money to France is a euro bank transfer to an account at a French bank: from euro area countries it arrives in 10 seconds, from other countries in 1-3 business days. A gift to a child of up to $120,000 (€100,000) from each parent is tax-free, but since 1 January 2026 it is declared online.

Dollars on this page are converted at the European Central Bank rate of 7 October 2026, 1.1177 dollars per euro, and rounded up. Table checked on 8 October 2026.

Can you send money to France from a non-EU country

Yes: a French bank accepts an international transfer from any country whose banks have a correspondent link with the sender's bank, and credits it in 1-3 business days.

From Kazakhstan money is most often sent to France from your own account at a Kazakh bank: Kazakh law sets no limit on such a transfer, while without an account up to $10,000 (4.54 million tenge) goes in one transaction. The Kazakh bank will ask for an ID with the individual identification number, the payment purpose and, for a large sum, a document on where the money comes from. The order gives the 27-character French account number, the recipient's name as held by the bank and the international bank code. Tenge are better exchanged into euros while still in Kazakhstan: the French bank then credits the sum with no second exchange.

It pays to send money straight in euros. If dollars or another currency are sent to a euro account, the French bank exchanges them at its own rate and charges an exchange fee, and on a large sum the gap with the market rate is noticeable.

Fees along the way are taken by the sender's bank and correspondent banks: they show in the transfer statement, not in the French bank's tariff. So in the payment order you choose the option where the sender pays all costs, and the recipient sees the full sum.

The sending country has its own rules: limits on transfers abroad, documents for your bank, currency controls. They do not depend on France; they are covered in sending large sums abroad. If your bank does not send the payment to France directly, there are usually more legal options than it seems: tell a manager about your situation, and they will choose a route for your country and amount.

How much money can be given to children in France tax-free

$120,000 (€100,000) from each parent to each child once every 15 years is exempt from French gift tax, and this is the main thing to know before sending money to family.

French gift tax arises when the donor lives in France or when the recipient has lived in France for at least 6 of the last 10 years. Money sent from abroad to a student or to parents who moved to France recently is counted under the same allowances.

French tax service data for 2026, checked on 8 October 2026:

On top of this there is a separate allowance for a gift of money: another $36,000 (€31,865) once every 15 years to a child, grandchild or great-grandchild, if the donor is under 80 on the day of the gift and the recipient is an adult. The allowances add up: one parent passes $150,000 (€131,865) to a child tax-free, two parents $300,000 (€263,730).

Until 31 December 2026 one more allowance applies, for housing. Up to $120,000 (€100,000) from each donor goes tax-free, and one recipient can receive up to $340,000 (€300,000) this way, if within 6 months the money goes on a new main home or energy-saving renovation of their own home (article 790 A bis of the French General Tax Code). The home then stays the recipient's main residence, or is let as someone's main residence, for 5 years.

How to declare a gift to the tax office from 1 January 2026

Online: since 1 January 2026 a gift of money is declared in your personal account on the French tax service website, and the paper form is accepted only from those without internet access.

The return is filed even when no tax is due: the filing date starts the 15-year period by which the allowances are later counted. A gift under the separate €31,865 allowance is declared within a month of the transfer.

The transfer reference says it is a gift and states the family relationship, and the recipient keeps the statement of receipt: the sum and date in it must match the return.

Want to pass money to your children in France without paying more than needed? A manager will advise how to combine the allowances and in what order to declare the gift.

Paying for an apartment in France: the money goes through the notary's account

A buyer in France pays for an apartment not to the seller but to the notary: under the French Monetary and Financial Code, since 1 January 2015 the notary accepts sums of $3,400 (€3,000) or more in property deals only by bank transfer to their own account.

The path of the money in a purchase looks like this:

1. Preliminary contract: the buyer sends a deposit of 5-10% of the price to the notary's account.
2. 10 days to reflect: in this period the buyer may change their mind, and the deposit is returned in full.
3. Documents on the origin of the money: the notary checks them before the final deed and may ask the bank for a certificate that the account the payment came from is in the buyer's name.
4. The rest of the price and the registration costs, 7-8% of the price for resale housing, are sent to the notary in advance, so the money is credited by the day of signing.
5. Final deed: after signing the notary pays the seller and sends the deal for registration.

The payment to the notary is sent from your own account. A transfer from a relative's or a company's account is accepted by the notary together with documents explaining why someone else is paying: a gift or loan agreement or a company resolution.

Buying an apartment with money coming from another country? Ask a manager how to get the payment to the notary by the right date. The deal is covered in detail in buying an apartment in France.

A transfer to a non-resident in France: an account and help from the Banque de France

A French bank opens an account for a non-resident in a few days or weeks if it sees a clear purpose: buying a home, study, work or a move. For the branch meeting or online check prepare 5 documents:

• a passport;
• proof of address abroad no older than 3 months;
• a document on income: an employment contract, a salary certificate or a tax return;
• the tax number of the country of residence and a tax residence form;
• a document on the purpose of the account: a preliminary purchase contract, a university letter, an employment contract.

The right to an account for residents of France and the EU

1 business day is what the Banque de France needs to appoint a bank that must open an account for a resident of France, a resident of another EU country or a French citizen abroad. You can apply if a bank has not opened an account within 15 days of the request or has stated in writing that it will not.

The appointed bank opens the account within 3 business days of receiving the documents, and the basic services on it are free: receiving transfers, account details, statements, payments and a card. Deposits at a French bank are insured up to $120,000 (€100,000) per depositor at one bank.

A euro transfer in 10 seconds: what the recipient's French bank checks

10 seconds is the limit for an instant euro transfer under EU Regulation 2024/886, and French banks accept such transfers around the clock, at no extra charge over an ordinary transfer.

Before the debit, the sender's bank gets a reply from the French bank on whether the recipient's name matches the account number. If the name matches partly, the sender sees the correct name and fixes the typo before the transfer, not after a return.

From a country outside the euro area the name is written exactly as in the French bank's statement, and the recipient's bank code is taken from the account details: a mistake in the name or code is the most common reason money comes back a week later minus fees.

The euro payments area is wider than the EU: it includes Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Norway and, since October 2025, Montenegro. From these countries a euro transfer to France goes as a domestic European one.

The name-match reply is not a check of the money: a French bank asks about the origin of a sum separately if a payment stands out from the account's usual activity.

What documents you need for a transfer to France, by amount

Up to $10,000 the details and the payment purpose are enough, and above that a French bank asks where the money comes from and what it is for in France. Checked on 8 October 2026:

A gift to family is declared to the tax office under the rules above at any amount, while moving your own money from your own account abroad to your own account in France is not income. How to gather papers on the origin of money is covered in proof of source of funds.

Sending $100,000 or more for an apartment or a move? A manager will prepare a source-of-funds document pack for the bank and the notary. How to move capital as a whole is on the capital relocation page.

Tax for a French resident: foreign accounts and worldwide income

A French resident pays tax on worldwide income and lists their foreign accounts in the return every year, while moving your own money to France is not taxed.

A French tax resident is someone whose home or main place of stay, main work or centre of economic interests is in France: one criterion is enough. After the move, deposit interest, dividends and rental income from an apartment abroad go into the French return.

Rates and deductions are on the taxes in France page, and moving in how to get residency in France.

Onward from France: the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the USA

From France money most often goes where children study, relatives work or capital is held. Each country has its own rules for the recipient:

• United Kingdom - pounds, 4 transfer routes and deposits up to $160,000 at one bank
• Switzerland - an account after a source-of-funds check, a 21-character number
• USA - an account on a passport, deposits up to $250,000
• Canada - no limit on the amount, no gift tax

Sending money to nearby countries

• Andorra - euros under European rules
• Spain - first a foreigner's number, then an account
• Italy - a 16-character tax code and a transfer from the EU in 10 seconds
• Monaco - a deposit for residency and an apartment
• Belgium - a short account number and a deposit to the notary
• Jersey - pounds and euros, deposits paid out in 7 business days

All countries and ways to move capital are on the capital relocation page.

FAQ