It may not yet exist, but it is feared. The new tax on unproductive wealth (IFI), adopted by deputies via an amendment to the 2026 finance bill (PLF), raises many questions and concerns from our readers. As a reminder, the ambition of this new tax would be to transform the current real estate wealth tax (IFI) into a tax on so-called “unproductive” wealth. In other words: tax savings invested in goods which do not finance the “real” economy, that is to say business activity.
This would affect: sports cars, yachts, gold bars, works of art, cryptocurrencies, and surprisingly… life insurance in euro funds. Although the latter are also partly invested in shares and corporate bonds, and thus finance the productive economy. The inclusion of an investment as common as life insurance with guaranteed capital in this base has undoubtedly contributed to the fear, for savers, of seeing their other investments affected, including the most secure.
Livret A, LDDS, current accounts… Liquid investments concerned?
Thus, Serge asks us if this new IFI will include “current accounts, Livrets A, or Sustainable Development and Solidarity Livrets (LDDS)”. At first glance, it would seem so: “Regarding the new taxable basis of the tax on unproductive wealth, it is difficult to answer precisely on the basis of the amendment alone. Liquid savings, such as passbook accounts, for example, should in all likelihood be taxable. confirms Nicolo Acquari, heritage engineer at Mirabaud.
The amendment from MP Jean-Paul Matteï, at the origin of this new version of the IFI, in fact indicates that will be concerned “cash and similar financial investments”. A fairly generic name, which makes it difficult to comment precisely on the savings products concerned, as Bernard asks us: “Can you tell me if the IFI will apply to the social shares as they exist for example in certain banks, as well as to the amount of liquidity linked to the stock savings plan (PEA) or to the securities account?”
Difficult to say what the term “financial investments” includes
As it stands, even if a PEA or a securities account allows you to invest in shares and bonds – therefore in “productive” companies -, these are financial investments, just like social shares, which are a fraction of the capital of a bank, which would bring the whole a priori in the scope of the new IFI. And what about shares in real estate investment companies (SCPI), which are on the border between real estate and financial investment?
For example, Diane asks us “whether life insurance invested 100% in SCPI will be considered as an unproductive asset which will be included in the calculation of this new IFI, or as multi-support life insurance which will not be included in the calculation?” If you have invested in SCPI via the units of account (UC) of your life insurance contract, you can rest easy, Diane, because “what is excluded for sure at this stage are the units of account (UC)”underlines Nicolo Acquari. On the other hand, SCPI shares subscribed directly to a management company will be included in the calculation of the new IFI.
What about real estate?
In terms of real estate, in fact, only the main residence could, as it stands, escape it, which is what François is asking us: “Good morning ! The article does not mention the hypothesis where the main residence would be excluded from the IFI… Can you tell me more?” You are right François, this is not a hypothesis, but an adopted amendment. The latter, tabled by the deputy Philippe Brun, was in fact aimed “to exclude from the tax base on unproductive wealth one property per tax household (generally the main or secondary residence), within the limit of a reduction of 1 million euros”.
Finally, if the list of investments included in the base of this new tax seems very extensive, we must not forget that it is the addition of the value of all of these assets which will determine whether or not you will be subject to this tax. “But at what amount is wealth really taxed?” Roger asks us. To answer your question, this new IFI project will apply if the total of all eligible assets exceeds 1.3 million euros. More precisely : “The initial text presented by MP Matteï gave a threshold of 2 million euros, which was reduced to 1.3 million euros by the amendment of MP Philippe Brun”points out Nicolo Acquari. Beyond this amount, a single rate of 1% will apply, in the event of definitive adoption of this amendment in the 2026 Budget.
