Accountants · to pass on to your clients
Business gifts of wine: the simulator to send to your clients
Every year end, the same questions reach the firm: can the VAT on bottles given as gifts be recovered, does postage count towards the €73, from when do gifts go on the overheads statement. This simulator answers them with your client's figures, before they order. Pass on the link in your November newsletter; the text is ready below.
The simulator
One line per category of recipients. The value of a gift is incl. VAT, wine, gift box and postage included. Set on a common example: ten key clients, a list of regular clients, and partners thanked twice a year.
| Category | Recipients | Value of one gift, € incl. VAT | Gifts per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Key clients | |||
| Regular clients | |||
| Partners, referrers |
The three rules behind the calculation
- VAT: €73 incl. VAT per recipient per year. All the year's gifts to the same recipient are added together, postage and packaging included. Above that, the VAT is lost on the whole amount, not on the part that exceeds it.
- Income tax: the expense remains deductible if the gift is made in the company's interest and its amount is not excessive in relation to the business, whether it is below the VAT threshold or above.
- Overheads statement: above €3,000 of gifts in the financial year, their total amount is declared on the detailed overheads statement (relevé des frais généraux, article 54 quater of the French tax code, CGI). Low-value promotional items don't count towards this total; a bottle given as a gift does.
The details, borderline cases and documents to keep are on the VAT on wine page. Gifts to employees follow other rules, those of URSSAF (the French social security contributions body): see employee gifts. Wine for receptions and seminars counts as entertainment expenses: see corporate event.
The text for your newsletter
To paste into the November newsletter or into an email to clients who give wine. The button adds this page's link at the end.
Year-end gifts: three rules before you order. The VAT on a gift can be recovered if it doesn't exceed €73 incl. VAT per recipient over the year, postage included, all gifts combined. Above that, it is lost on the whole amount. Above €3,000 of gifts in the financial year, the amount is declared on the overheads statement.
Keep the invoice in the company's name and the list of recipients: who received what, and when. To do the calculation with your own figures, a free simulator, no sign-up:
What the client should keep
- An invoice in the company's name, VAT shown, broken down by bottle with postage separate: that's what makes it possible to allocate by recipient.
- The list of recipients with the date and value of each gift, over the calendar year.
- The delivery notes when gifts go to several addresses.
Transvins quotes and invoices are made out in the company's name, bottle by bottle, postage separate, with the list of delivery addresses if you send it to us. For your own firm's gifts, see the page law firms, notaries, accountants; for a year-end list with the ordering calendar, the client gifts calculator.
Does the €73 threshold apply per gift or per year?
Per recipient per calendar year. A €40 bottle in June and another €40 bottle in December to the same client make €80: the VAT on both is lost.
Do postage and the gift box count towards the €73?
Yes, the value taken is that of the gift as delivered, incl. VAT. A grouped delivery to the office followed by hand delivery keeps postage out of the value per recipient.
From what amount must gifts be declared on the overheads statement?
When total gifts for the financial year exceed €3,000, low-value promotional items excluded. The simulator adds up all the lines and flags it.
Is a gift above €73 tax-deductible?
Generally yes: the expense is deductible if it serves the company and isn't excessive. Only the VAT is lost. A case of great growth given to the client who makes up a third of turnover is justified; the same case to fifty clients is open to question.