TAX LAW · ADVISORY & LITIGATION

French Tax Lawyer in Lyon

Law that rises to your ambitions.

Few fields are as technical as French tax law. We work on three fronts: advising individuals and companies, planning, and litigating with the French tax authorities.

Your first consultation, refunded*

+33 9 83 68 80 80 (standard rate)

* The first consultation costs a flat €69 excl. VAT (€82.80 incl. VAT). If you then entrust your case to MUSE, it is automatically credited against your first invoice. For a one-off consultation, you receive clear oral advice and/or a written summary, depending on how we meet.

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The collective in tax law

A collective of independent tax lawyers in Lyon

We are a collective of independent lawyers, skilled across many fields and united around a fully independent online platform. You get the expertise you are looking for, real-time follow-up of your case, and direct contact with your lawyer — no intermediaries.

Independence Expertise Confidentiality

€16.7bn

claimed through tax audits in France in 2024

3 years

the standard reassessment window for the French tax authorities

75%

of transfer value exempt under a Dutreil Pact (family business transfers)

What we handle

From advisory to planning, through to litigation

Planning & advisory

Wealth structuring, French property wealth tax (IFI), anticipating the tax impact of every private or business decision.

Tax returns

Income tax, IFI, capital gains, rental income, international mobility, complex company filings.

Company taxation

Corporate income tax, VAT, structuring and transfers (LBO, OBO, Dutreil Pact), directors and shareholders.

Tax litigation

Audits, reassessment notices, formal claims, and proceedings before the administrative and civil courts.

Tax reliefs

Choosing the legal scheme best suited to your assets and your plans.

Prepare tomorrow, decide today

Tax planning & advisory

Every asset, movable or real estate, generates tax — when you hold it and when you pass it on. Make the most of it. We assist with all your wealth-structuring operations: for the future, by preparing the transfer of your assets; for the present, by identifying the solutions that best fit your plans. We also answer all your questions on the IFI — the French property wealth tax.

Every step in private or business life has tax consequences: anticipate them with your lawyer. We help you make the right choices by mapping the tax impact of each operation before you commit.

The collective's advice

Passing on a family business? Plan ahead: well prepared, the Dutreil Pact exempts up to 75% of the transferred value from transfer duties.

From income tax to capital gains

Tax returns

We prepare your French tax returns (income tax, property wealth tax) and your company filings, whatever your situation — including international mobility between France and Switzerland, the UK or beyond, and your most complex returns: rental income, property investment schemes, calculating and reporting capital gains.

We also advise on the choices open to you: attaching adult children to your household, opting for the progressive scale on investment income, and many other trade-offs.

The collective's advice

Moving abroad to live or work — or settling in France from Geneva or London? Fix your tax residence before the move: it drives how your income is taxed, and the French exit tax.

From incorporation to transfer

Company taxation & structuring

Corporate income tax, VAT, payroll tax, local taxes: every company carries tax obligations. We are there from incorporation, guiding your tax choices and your exchanges with the authorities, then throughout the company's life — investors coming in (LBO, OBO), management and employee incentives (free shares, stock options, management fees), shareholder movements.

The taxation of incorporation, corporate life and transfer drives your structuring choices (registration duties, profit taxation, VAT, local taxes). We structure your company around your plans: tax regime, the director's status and pay, financing, sale or acquisition (mergers, partial asset contributions, LBO), through to transfer (Dutreil Pact) or winding up.

Facing the French tax authorities

Tax litigation & pre-litigation

In this field your only counterpart is the tax administration: precision and rigour are everything. We stand with you at every stage — audit operations and the reply to the reassessment notice, formal claims (contentious or discretionary), then proceedings before the competent courts — civil, administrative, and the administrative court of appeal.

How we proceed

01Audit & reassessment notice

02Reasoned reply & observations

03Formal claim

04Filing before the court

The collective's advice

A reassessment notice sets a thirty-day deadline to reply. Never let it slip — and sign no acceptance before your lawyer has analysed it.

The right scheme, at the right time

Tax reliefs

Denormandie, Malraux, Monuments Historiques, Girardin, rental deficit, furnished lettings (LMNP)…: the key is choosing the right mechanism. We give tailored advice on legal tax-relief schemes, in light of your assets and your plans. These schemes shift with every finance act — so for each operation, we check which are actually open and genuinely suited to your case.

Frequently asked questions

Your French tax questions

How far back can the French tax authorities audit me?

The standard reassessment window is three years (income tax, corporate tax, VAT): the administration can reassess until 31 December of the third year following the tax year. It extends to six years where no return was filed, and up to ten years for hidden activities or undeclared foreign assets. The starting point and any interruptions deserve close checking: they condition the validity of the reassessment itself.

I've received a reassessment notice — what do I do, and how long do I have?

You normally have thirty days to submit observations, extendable by thirty more on request. It is a decisive stage: reasoned observations, backed by the right documents, can kill or shrink the reassessment before any litigation. Sign no acceptance and never let the deadline expire silently — have your lawyer analyse the notice as soon as it arrives.

How do I challenge a tax I believe is not due?

Through a formal claim to the administration, in principle by 31 December of the second year following collection or payment. If it is rejected — expressly or tacitly — the case can go to the administrative or civil court, depending on the tax. A request to defer payment can be attached, suspending collection while the claim is examined.

Where is the line between tax planning and abuse of law?

Planning means choosing, among legal options, the least-taxed route: it is perfectly lawful. Abuse of law targets sham arrangements, or those whose exclusive — or even main — purpose is to dodge tax against the intent of the legislature; it triggers heavy surcharges. The line is technical: advice taken upstream secures your operations and removes the risk.

What is the Dutreil Pact, and what does it achieve?

A collective, then individual, commitment to retain a company's shares which, under conditions, exempts 75% of the value of shares passed on by gift or inheritance from transfer duties. Invaluable for family business transfers, it follows strict formalities (holding periods, a management role) where the slightest misstep forfeits the benefit: it is prepared well in advance.

How can I reduce the French property wealth tax (IFI)?

Several legal levers exist: fair valuation of the assets (discounts for joint ownership, occupation, illiquidity), deduction of debts attached to taxable assets, carving out exempt business assets, and reductions for certain gifts. Each lever calls for an analysis of your situation: the goal is a tax base that is exact — neither inflated nor open to challenge.

Are my tax lawyer's fees deductible?

Often, yes: fees incurred to acquire or preserve taxable income are deductible in the matching category (rental income, business profits, company profits). For private individuals outside any business activity, deductibility is narrower. We check the treatment applicable to your fees at the outset.

A tax issue to secure?

Our lawyers reply promptly — and in English.

+33 9 83 68 80 80

Book an appointment