Tax relief on art purchases for your business: the complete guide to the Aillagon law

An underutilised scheme

Buying a work of art for your business, displaying it in your premises, and deducting the investment from your taxable profit: this is exactly what Article 238 bis AB of the French General Tax Code, known as the "Aillagon law", has provided for since 2003. Twenty years on, the scheme remains largely unknown to SME managers and self-employed professionals.

This guide explains the mechanism, its conditions, how to calculate it, its limitations, and what it means in concrete terms for a business with an annual turnover of between 1 and 10 million euros—the segment where it is most relevant.

The principle in two sentences

A business subject to corporation tax (IS), or to income tax in the business profits category (BIC), may deduct from its taxable profit the acquisition price of original works by living artists, spread over 5 years in equal instalments, up to an annual ceiling.

This ceiling: 0.5% of turnover (excluding VAT), reduced by charitable donations. If the deduction for one year exceeds the ceiling, the excess cannot be carried forward. Hence the importance of calibrating your acquisitions each financial year.

Who can benefit

Eligible entities include:

Businesses subject to corporation tax (SAS, SARL, SA, SCA, etc.).
Sole traders and partnerships taxed on business profits (BIC) on a real basis.

Not eligible:

Self-employed professionals taxed on non-business profits (avocats, médecins, architectes in liberal practice). The Aillagon law does not cover non-business profits (BNC). A professional partnership (SEL) taxed on corporation tax or a regulated professional partnership (SELARL) taxed on corporation tax, however, may benefit.
Associations not subject to commercial taxes.

Often overlooked point: a property holding company taxed on corporation tax that owns offices leased to an operating entity may also acquire works and apply the scheme, provided the work is displayed in an accessible location.

The strict conditions to observe

Three conditions, all mandatory:

Living artist at the time of acquisition. Purchasing a work by a deceased artist entitles you to no Aillagon benefit (other schemes exist, more restrictive, for period works).
Original work: painting, sculpture, drawing, engraving, art photography (limited edition signed), tapestry. Reproductions, unnumbered multiples and decorative works without signature are excluded.
Exhibition to the public or employees for 5 years, in an accessible location: reception hall, meeting room, shared office, lobby. The work cannot be kept in the director's personal office or in a private residence.

The work must be entered in the company's fixed asset schedule, in account 218 (other tangible fixed assets).

The calculation: a concrete example

Let us take an SME with €2,000,000 turnover (excluding VAT) purchasing a work for €15,000 (excluding VAT).

Step	Calculation	Amount
Annual ceiling	0.5% × €2,000,000	€10,000 / year
Theoretical deduction	€15,000 ÷ 5 years	€3,000 / year
Compared to ceiling	€3,000 < €10,000	OK, fully deductible
Tax saving (corporation tax at 25%)	€3,000 × 25% × 5 years	€3,750 over 5 years

In other words, on a work priced at €15,000, the State reimburses €3,750 through reduced tax. Net cost after tax: €11,250, with the work remaining fully owned by the company and valued on its balance sheet.

More ambitious scenario, same turnover, acquisition at €50,000:

Theoretical annual deduction: €50,000 / 5 = €10,000
Ceiling: €10,000 → exactly at the ceiling
Tax saving: €50,000 × 25% = €12,500 spread over 5 years

Beyond that, you must either split the acquisition across two financial years, or accept losing the portion exceeding the ceiling. A good gallery knows how to build an optimised acquisition schedule.

The formalities: less burdensome than it seems

There is no specific Aillagon form, nor any prior approval request required. The procedure takes three steps:

On acquisition: the gallery issues an invoice addressed to the company (with its SIRET and intra-community VAT number). The work is capitalised in account 218.
At year-end: the extra-accounting deduction is reported on form 2058-A (profit statement for corporation tax entities), line "Miscellaneous deductions", box XG. A supporting note attached to the filing reminds of Article 238 bis AB and specifies the artist's name, the work, and the price.
For 5 years: keep supporting documents (invoice, certificate of authenticity, photo of the work on display in the premises). In case of audit, the tax authority verifies accessibility of the work.

Your accountant probably knows the scheme; if not, Article 238 bis AB and BOI-BIC-CHG-70-10 of the Official Bulletin of Public Finance set out the full doctrine.

Beyond the tax benefit: why it is worth it

Reducing your tax at 25% would be sufficient justification for the acquisition. The interest goes further:

Working environment. An original work transforms a hall, a meeting room, an open plan office. The effect on how colleagues, clients and partners perceive the space is immediate, and bears no comparison to a poster.
Corporate culture. Acquiring an artist is also telling something about your business: its relationship with long-term thinking, craftsmanship, uniqueness. Several of our clients have made it a recurring feature (one new acquisition per year, presented at the annual general meeting).
Asset value. The work remains on the balance sheet, does not depreciate like computer equipment, and may appreciate if the artist's market value rises. After 5 years, it can be retained, resold, or transferred to the owner (with corresponding tax consequences).
Soft patronage. Supporting a living artist means funding contemporary creation. It is not patronage in the strict fiscal sense, but the effect on the ecosystem is real.

A practical case with Galerie Roz In Winter

We regularly assist businesses with such acquisitions. Our standard proposal for a first approach:

Site visit or exchange of floor plans and photos to identify suitable locations (lighting, dimensions, height).
Pre-selection of works matching the Aillagon budget optimised for your company's turnover.
Final selection at the gallery, ideally in the presence of the director or decision-makers.
Invoicing to the company's SIRET, certificate of authenticity, delivery and installation included.
Explanatory note sent to your accountant for the 5-year deduction.

We also offer a commitment to buy back at 50% of the purchase price beyond the 5th year, for businesses wishing to refresh their collection. This option does not alter the tax benefit (any sale will simply generate taxable proceeds at the time of realisation).

Talk it through in person

If you are the director of an SME or professional partnership and this scheme interests you, the simplest approach is to discuss it directly. We arrange meetings at the gallery, in Barbizon, or we visit Paris for acquisitions above €10,000. An hour is enough to review your situation, your ceiling, and present three or four tailored options.

Business contact: artistesrozinwinter@gmail.com · +33 6 10 71 13 25