Legal & tax
The quiet fine print
Written in plain language, because discretion should never mean confusion.
A gift is a gift
Éclat Désirs is a gifting platform, not a marketplace and not an employer. A Patron either purchases an item from the original house or contributes towards it. Nothing is owed in return — no service, no obligation, no contract.
How Muse payouts work
A Patron always pays exactly the amount she or he chooses — never a cent more, and no service charge is ever added at checkout. One-time gifts reach the Muse in full. On recurring monthly memberships we retain 15% from the Muse payout — on a €500 membership, €475 reaches her — which funds the concierge desk, private relay shipping and the editorial house. This retention is shown only inside the Muse's own balance, never to a Patron.
Tax, honestly
Gifts and recurring patronage may be treated differently depending on where you live. Recurring support that resembles regular income is often declarable. We are not tax advisers — we provide an annual statement of everything received through Éclat Désirs so your adviser has clean numbers.
Private addresses
Your home address is never shown to a Patron. Deliveries are routed through the Éclat Concierge relay with a per-wish reference code. Only the concierge desk can resolve a code to a real address.
Password-protected wishlists
Any wishlist can be made private or protected with a password. Search engines are excluded from protected lists, and links can be revoked at any moment without breaking your public profile.
Data & discretion
We store the minimum required to deliver a gift. Contribution records are visible only to you and the Patron involved. Anonymous gifts stay anonymous — including to us in the thank-you flow.
This page is editorial guidance, not legal or tax advice.
Tax & legal
Gifts, gracefully understood.
When is a gift considered a gift?
A gift is a voluntary transfer with nothing expected in return. The moment something is owed — time, service, presence, content — most tax authorities stop reading it as a gift.
When can recurring payments become taxable income?
Regularity, obligation and reciprocity are the three signals. Occasional generosity is usually a gift; a monthly payment tied to expectations begins to resemble income in many jurisdictions.
Switzerland
Gift tax is cantonal. Spouses are generally exempt; unrelated donors are taxed at higher rates with modest allowances.
Germany
Schenkungsteuer applies with allowances renewing every ten years — generous between spouses, far smaller between unrelated persons.
France
Droits de donation depend on the relationship between donor and recipient, with declared allowances and progressive rates.
United Kingdom
No gift tax as such, but the seven-year rule can pull larger gifts back into inheritance tax.
United States
The donor — not the recipient — reports gifts above the annual exclusion against a lifetime exemption.
Tax obligations depend on your country of residence and personal circumstances. This content is educational only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Please consult a qualified tax professional.