Taxes in France: An Expat's Guide for 2026

Are You a French Tax Resident?

French tax residency is decided by Article 4 B of the Code Général des Impôts (CGI), not by your nationality or the type of visa you hold. You qualify as a French tax resident if you meet any one of the following criteria (impots.gouv.fr — international):

A French tax resident is taxed on worldwide income. A non-resident is taxed only on French-source income (rental income from a French property, salary for work performed in France, dividends from French companies). Bilateral treaties between France and most countries override these rules to prevent the same income being taxed twice — see the official list of conventions.

Residency, not nationality

A British retiree spending eight months a year in the Dordogne is a French tax resident, even on a British passport and pension. An American banker on a two-year secondment in Paris with family back in New York may remain a US tax resident under the treaty's tie-breaker rules. The Code Général des Impôts looks at facts, not papers, which is why borderline cases (cross-border commuters, digital nomads, people with homes in two countries) often need an expert-comptable to settle. For the legal residency path that usually precedes tax residency, see our guide to becoming a French resident.

Prélèvement à la source (PAS)

Since January 2019, France collects most income tax monthly at source — the prélèvement à la source, equivalent to British PAYE. Salaries and pensions are docked by your employer or pension fund based on a tax rate calculated and transmitted by the Direction Générale des Finances Publiques. Self-employed earners and landlords pay monthly or quarterly direct debits from their bank account.

• →Your tax rate is recalculated each September on the basis of the previous year's declaration;
• →You can switch to a neutral rate (taux non personnalisé) to avoid disclosing your full household income to your employer;
• →You can modulate your rate up or down through your impots.gouv.fr account when income changes significantly;
• →Couples can split the rate between spouses (taux individualisé) so each pays in proportion to their own income.

PAS does not remove the obligation to file an annual declaration: it is an instalment system, not a final settlement. Each spring, the actual tax is calculated against what was withheld during the year; the difference is collected or refunded between September and December. Setting up the monthly debit requires a French RIB (bank account details), so opening a French bank account is one of the first steps after arrival — see our guide to banking in France.

Social Charges (CSG and CRDS)

Income tax is only one layer. On top of it sits a parallel set of contributions sociales that fund the social-security system: chiefly the CSG (Contribution Sociale Généralisée) and the CRDS (Contribution au Remboursement de la Dette Sociale). They are flat-rate, deducted at source on most income, and apply on top of the progressive income tax.

Source: service-public.fr — CSG/CRDS rates.

For employees, social charges are already deducted from gross pay before the net salary lands in the bank; a French payslip lists every contribution line by line. The same income is then declared in spring and reconciled against the income-tax brackets shown above.

Capital Gains

Real-estate capital gains follow their own regime, distinct from the income-tax brackets. The principal residence is fully exempt, regardless of how much it has appreciated. For any other property — secondary home, rental investment, building plot — the gain is split into two layers, each with its own taper (service-public.fr):

Capital gains on financial assets (shares, bonds, life insurance, crypto-assets) are usually taxed at the prélèvement forfaitaire unique — the 30% flat rate combining 12.8% income tax and 17.2% social charges. You can opt out and apply the progressive income-tax brackets instead if it is more favourable, but the choice is made for the whole household and the whole tax year.

The Special Expat Regime (régime des impatriés)

Under Article 155 B of the CGI, employees newly recruited from abroad — or transferred to a French entity within their group — can benefit from the régime des impatriés for up to 8 years after arrival. The regime exists to attract international talent and is generous, but it has tight eligibility conditions (BOFiP — Art. 155 B):

• ✓You must not have been a French tax resident in any of the five calendar years preceding the year of arrival;
• ✓You must hold a French employment contract with a French employer, started no later than the year you become a resident;
• ✓The exemption covers the impatriation premium (the supplement paid for relocating) and the share of activity carried out abroad;
• ✓The total exempted amount is capped: typically up to 30% of total compensation, with various sub-options depending on the contract;
• ✓50% of foreign-source passive income (dividends, interest, royalties) is also exempt during the 8-year window.

The regime is opt-in and must be claimed on each annual declaration. Self-employed expats, freelancers and pensioners are not eligible — only employees of an existing French entity. Because the rules are technical and the savings significant, almost every impatrié uses an expert-comptable at least for the first declaration.

Our editorial take

“The régime des impatriés is one of the most valuable perks of relocating to France for work, yet it is routinely under-claimed because the paperwork looks intimidating. If you were recruited from abroad, have an accountant model the exemption before your first declaration — the fee is a fraction of the tax it usually saves over eight years.

Luka

Expat Life Editor

Help and Resources

A handful of official channels handle nearly every question an expat will face during the declaration period:

• →impots.gouv.fr — the only official portal for filing, paying and managing your tax account; also hosts the simulator and the bracket table;
• →Centre des Finances Publiques — your local tax office handles paper appointments and complex personal situations; find yours via the impots.gouv.fr contact page;
• →Service des Impôts des Particuliers Non-Résidents (SIPNR) — the dedicated office in Noisy-le-Grand for non-resident filings, reachable by post and through the impots.gouv.fr secure messaging;
• →Expert-comptable — a French chartered accountant is the standard route for first-year filings, US dual returns, the impatriés regime, IFI valuations and any cross-border situation;
• →English-speaking lines — a few customer-service numbers handle tax-adjacent questions in English (banks, Ameli for social-charge queries); see our English-speaking helplines directory.

If you arrive from a specific country, our country pages summarise the treaty rules and the practical steps: moving from the UK, from the USA, from Canada and from Australia.