Inheritance in Mauritius: which law applies, forced heirship and tax

A French national living in Mauritius may leave assets and heirs in both countries. Both Mauritian and French law may then apply to the estate, and French inheritance tax may be due. Every estate is planned with a notary.

Is there inheritance tax in Mauritius?

No. The Succession and Donation Duties Act, which charged duty on estates and gifts, was repealed with effect from 1 November 1987 (sections 10 and 11 of the Finance Act 1987) (Finance Act 1987). Settling an estate still involves registration duty on the documents required, administrative fees and professional fees. The affidavit of succession, which names the heirs, bears the minimum duty of Rs 500, for example (sections 3 and 3B of the Registration Duty Act) (Registration Duty Act).

A deed of gift is drawn up by a notary (Article 931 of the Civil Code) (Mauritian Civil Code). Registering it attracts duty of at least 5% of the value given, unless an exemption applies (sections 3(1)(b) and 3(2)(b) of the Registration Duty Act) (Registration Duty Act).

The exemptions include these transfers:

• from an ascendant to a descendant, or to that descendant’s spouse or surviving spouse;
• between spouses;
• between heirs, for inherited assets.

For immovable property, these transfers bear neither registration duty nor land transfer tax (section 45A and the Eighth Schedule of the Land (Duties and Taxes) Act) (Land (Duties and Taxes) Act). For movable property, the deed is exempt from registration duty (First Schedule, Part III, item 28 of the Registration Duty Act) (Registration Duty Act). Unless an exemption applies, a gift of immovable property also bears land transfer tax.

Which law governs the estate?

The Mauritian authorities and a French notary use different rules to decide which law applies. They can apply different laws to the same asset.

For the Mauritian authorities

Under Supreme Court case law, succession to immovable property follows the law of the country where the property lies, and succession to movable assets, such as bank accounts or securities, follows the law of the deceased’s last domicile (Austin v Bailey, 1962, quoted by the Law Reform Commission) (Law Reform Commission, private international law, April 2016).

Immovable property in Mauritius is therefore governed by Mauritian law, even when a foreigner owns it (Article 3 of the Civil Code). The Civil Code makes no provision for choosing the law that governs an estate (Mauritian Civil Code).

A person who is not a Mauritian citizen and receives immovable property by inheritance does not need the certificate a non-citizen otherwise needs to acquire or hold property in Mauritius (section 3(3) of the Non-Citizens (Property Restriction) Act) (Non-Citizens (Property Restriction) Act 1975).

For a French notary

For deaths on or after 17 August 2015, the EU Succession Regulation makes the law of the country where the deceased was habitually resident at death govern, as a rule, the whole estate (Articles 21 and 83). For a French national who lived in Mauritius, that is, as a rule, Mauritian law, even though Mauritius is outside the EU (Article 20). Where Mauritian law applies on this basis, without a choice of law, the notary takes the Mauritian conflict rules into account: a flat in France is then governed by French law (Article 34) (Regulation (EU) No 650/2012).

Anyone may also choose, in a will, the law of a country whose nationality they hold when making the choice or at death (Article 22). A French national living in Mauritius can choose French law for their whole estate. That choice binds a French notary or court; the Mauritian authorities still apply Mauritian law to immovable property in Mauritius. Before a French notary, the law designated by the Regulation governs, among other things, the heirs’ shares and the children’s reserved shares (Article 23).

Who inherits, and how much is protected?

Children

The Mauritian Civil Code reserves a share of the estate for children, known as the reserved share. Gifts and legacies together may not exceed half of the estate where the deceased leaves one child, a third with two children, and a quarter with three or more (Article 913). Grandchildren count as the child they represent (Article 914). Lifetime gifts are included in this calculation: if they exceed what the deceased could freely give away, known as the disposable portion, the heirs with reserved shares may have them reduced (Articles 920 to 922) (Mauritian Civil Code).

With no descendants, the deceased’s ascendants, such as parents, may also have a reserved share (Article 915). A person with neither descendants nor ascendants may give away or leave the whole estate (Article 916).

The surviving spouse

The estate includes only what belonged to the deceased. The matrimonial property regime is therefore settled first, under the law that governs it and the marriage contract, if there is one. Under a community regime, each spouse takes back their own property and the community is then wound up; the spouse’s share belongs to the spouse and does not form part of the estate (Articles 1441 and 1450).

Without a will, the surviving spouse shares the estate equally with the children (Article 767). The spouse has no reserved share: a will that says so clearly, or lifetime gifts, can reduce or remove the spouse’s share of the estate (Articles 769 and 770). On the conditions of Article 768, however, the spouse has a life interest (usufruct) in the family’s main home and its furniture, if they belonged to the deceased or to the community. The spouse’s share of the estate is first allocated to those assets, and the usufruct cannot be removed by a will or a gift. Where there are no descendants, the spouse comes before the deceased’s parents, brothers and sisters (Articles 746 and 748 to 751) (Mauritian Civil Code).

Under French law

If French law governs the estate, children have the same reserved shares (Article 913 of the French Civil Code). Where there are no descendants, a surviving spouse who is not divorced has a reserved quarter of the estate (Article 914-1) (Légifrance, French Civil Code, Articles 912 onwards).

How do you make a will in Mauritius?

The Mauritian Civil Code recognises three forms of will (Article 969):

• a handwritten (holograph) will, written entirely, dated and signed by the testator (Article 970);
• a notarial will, made before two notaries, or before one notary and two witnesses (Article 971);
• a sealed (mystic) will, handed closed and sealed to a notary in the presence of at least six witnesses (Article 976).

Two people may not make a will in the same document (Article 968), so each spouse makes their own (Mauritian Civil Code).

A will can be carried out only once it has been registered with the Registrar-General (section 40 of the Registration Duty Act) (Registration Duty Act). The notary who drew it up, or with whom it was deposited, registers it within three months of the death or of learning of it. The Registrar-General keeps a register of wills that a notary or an attorney may consult on written application (section 9 of the Notaries Act) (Notaries Act 2008).

A handwritten or sealed will, even one made abroad, is presented to the Master of the Supreme Court before it is carried out; the Master has it deposited with a notary of the Master’s choosing (Article 1007). A will made abroad can be carried out on assets in Mauritius only once it has been registered there (Article 1000) (Mauritian Civil Code).

Under the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961, to which France and Mauritius are both parties, a will is valid as to form if it complies with the law of the place where it was made. It may also comply with the law of a nationality, domicile or habitual residence of the testator, when the will was made or at death, or, for immovable property, with the law of the place where the property lies (Article 1) (HCCH, 1961 Convention) (HCCH, status table).

How is an estate settled in Mauritius?

The heirs take over the deceased’s assets by law, together with the duty to pay the debts (Article 724). Each heir may accept the inheritance, accept it with the benefit of an inventory, which means paying debts only up to the value received, or renounce it (Articles 774, 775 and 802). Renunciation and acceptance with the benefit of an inventory are declared at the office of the Master and Registrar of the Supreme Court (Articles 784 and 793 of the Civil Code, section 3 of the Transcription and Mortgage Act). The heir has three months to draw up an inventory, then forty days to decide, counted from the close of the inventory if it ends before the three months are up (Article 795) (Mauritian Civil Code).

The affidavit of succession is a sworn statement that names the heirs; it is drawn up by an attorney. A notary can instead draw up a notarial deed naming the heirs, known as an acte de notoriété (Registrar-General, « Affidavit »). Where the deceased owned immovable property in Mauritius, one of these documents is drawn up within three months of the death and presented within the same period to the Conservator of Mortgages, who transcribes it free of charge (sections 4 and 4B of the Transcription and Mortgage Act) (Transcription and Mortgage Act). The affidavit is registered within three months of the death; after that, the duty is increased by 50% (Sixth Schedule, item 19 of the Registration Duty Act) (Registration Duty Act).

Adult heirs with legal capacity may divide the estate by agreement, in whatever form they choose, if they all consent and are present or represented (Article 819 of the Civil Code). An heir who lives abroad can be represented by an agent holding a power of attorney (section 15 of the Notaries Act). If an heir refuses or disputes the division, it goes to court (Article 823). Where an heir is a minor or under guardianship, division by agreement remains possible under the statutory procedure and the judge’s supervision (Article 440 of the Civil Code, section 26 of the Succession and Wills Act) (Mauritian Civil Code) (Notaries Act 2008) (Succession and Wills Act).

When does France charge inheritance tax?

French inheritance tax turns on the tax domicile of the deceased, that of each heir, and where the assets are (Article 750 ter of the French tax code) (BOFiP, BOI-ENR-DMTG-10-10-30).

At the date of death	Assets within the scope of French tax
The deceased’s tax domicile is in France	All their assets, in France and abroad, regardless of the heirs’ tax domicile
The deceased’s tax domicile is outside France; the heir’s is in France and was there for at least six of the ten years before the year of death	The assets in France and abroad that this heir receives
The deceased’s tax domicile is outside France; the heir’s is not in France, or was not there for at least six of the ten years before the year of death	Assets located in France

For example, if your tax domicile is in Mauritius, the share of your Mauritian house received by a child whose tax domicile is in France falls within the scope of French tax if the child meets the six-year test. The share of a child whose tax domicile is in Mauritius does not. A surviving spouse or PACS partner is exempt from French inheritance tax (Article 796-0 bis) (BOFiP, BOI-ENR-DMTG-10-20-10).

Tax domicile is defined by Article 4 B of the French tax code, and any one test is enough: having one’s foyer, the home where one normally lives, or failing that one’s main place of stay in France, carrying on a professional activity there that is not incidental, or having one’s centre of economic interests there (BOFiP, BOI-ENR-DMTG-10-10-30). Since 16 February 2025, a person meeting one of these tests is not treated as domiciled in France for tax if an applicable double-taxation treaty does not treat them as resident in France (Légifrance, French tax code, Article 4 B). The France–Mauritius treaty covers only taxes on income and on capital (Article 2): no tax treaty between the two countries deals with inheritance tax (France–Mauritius treaty, Article 2) (French tax authority, international treaties).

Assets located in France include immovable property there, claims against debtors domiciled in France, and securities of companies whose registered office or place of effective management is in France (BOFiP, BOI-ENR-DMTG-10-10-30).

The estate return of a person domiciled outside France is filed, with payment, at the non-residents’ tax office (Recette des non-résidents) in Noisy-le-Grand. The deadline is six months after a death in metropolitan France and twelve months in other cases (Article 641 of the French tax code). Allowances and rates are the same as for residents. No return is required where the gross estate is below €50,000 for direct-line heirs, a surviving spouse or a PACS partner, provided they have received no unregistered or undeclared gift from the deceased. For other heirs, the threshold is €3,000 (French tax authority, when and where to file) (French tax authority, calculation).

Trusts, foundations and life insurance

The Mauritian trust

The Trusts Act 2001 lets a settlor transfer assets to one or more trustees, who hold them for beneficiaries or for a set purpose (section 2). Where the settlor is not a Mauritian citizen, the transfer cannot be set aside under the inheritance rules of their domicile or nationality (section 8(4)). Nor will a Mauritian court accept a claim against a trust governed by Mauritian law that rests on a foreign law or judgment on heirs’ rights (section 11(5)). The Prime Minister’s approval is required to transfer immovable property in Mauritius to a trust in which a non-citizen holds a beneficial interest, to appoint a non-citizen as a beneficiary of a trust holding such property, and to make a distribution to that beneficiary (section 22) (Trusts Act 2001).

The Civil Code, amended by the same Act, for its part preserves the heirs’ reserved shares where the settlor is a Mauritian national or domiciled in Mauritius at death: if the assets placed in trust exceed the disposable portion, the trust can be reduced, if need be in value (Articles 1100-3 and 1100-4). The heirs may also assert their right to have immovable property in Mauritius placed in trust brought into account (Article 1100-3). The Trusts Act applies subject to these provisions of the Civil Code (Article 1100-6) (Mauritian Civil Code).

For French tax, assets placed in trust come within gift and inheritance tax under the rules of Article 750 ter, and a beneficiary’s tax domicile in France counts even if the beneficiary is not an heir (BOFiP, BOI-ENR-DMTG-10-10-30). The trustee reports the trust’s creation, changes and termination to the French tax authority, and the value of its assets every year, in particular where the settlor or a beneficiary has their tax domicile in France, or where the trust holds an asset located in France (Article 1649 AB) (BOFiP, BOI-DJC-TRUST).

The Mauritian foundation

A foundation under the Foundations Act 2012 has legal personality once it is registered and has been issued with its certificate of registration (section 5). A founder endows it with assets, which a council administers for beneficiaries or for a purpose set by its charter (sections 3, 8 and 13). Where the founder is not a Mauritian citizen, the endowment cannot be set aside under the inheritance rules of their domicile or nationality, subject to the Non-Citizens (Property Restriction) Act (section 4(3)) (Foundations Act 2012). For French tax, a foundation may be treated as a trust if the relationships created by its charter meet the definition in Article 792-0 bis, which also covers structures with legal personality (BOFiP, BOI-DJC-TRUST).

Life insurance

For sums outside Article 757 B, the Article 990 I levy applies to the part attributable to premiums paid from 13 October 1998, whether the insurer is established in France or abroad. It applies where the insured’s tax domicile was in France at death, or where the beneficiary’s was in France at death and for at least six of the ten years before the death. Each beneficiary has an allowance of €152,500, across all policies on the same insured; a surviving spouse or PACS partner is exempt (BOFiP, BOI-TCAS-AUT-60).

Article 757 B covers premiums paid after the insured’s 70th birthday on policies taken out on or after 20 November 1991, other than retirement savings plans. Those premiums come under inheritance tax, under the rules in the table above, after one overall allowance of €30,500 for all policies and beneficiaries; the earnings on those premiums are left out (BOFiP, BOI-ENR-DMTG-10-10-20-20).

What should you prepare for a first meeting?

For a first meeting, bring together:

• a list of your assets and the country each is in: property, accounts, investments, company shares;
• your life insurance policies and their beneficiaries;
• your nationalities and where you have lived over the last ten years, and the same for your heirs;
• your marriage contract if you have one, the date and place of your marriage, and the country where you first lived together after marrying;
• any wills and gifts already made, in France or in Mauritius.

Necker Finance helps you organise your accounts and investments with the succession and tax rules of both countries in mind.