Please note: If you live outside France, always check with the local tax authority to find out if you have filing and/or payment obligations in your country of residence, even if you pay taxes in France.

In some cases, depending on the applicable tax treaty (available on impots.gouv.fr), income or interest must be declared both in France and in your country of residence.

Resident of France for tax purposes

In order to be considered as a “resident of France for tax purposes”, you must fulfil the criteria for having your tax residence in France within the meaning of national legislation.

Determining if your tax residence is in France

You have your tax residence in France if one of the following criteria is met:

• You have your household there or, if you do not have a household, it is the location of your main abode

You have your household in France if you live there most of the time and permanently with your spouse (or civil partner and/or children) or alone.

If you do not have a household, the location of your main abode will be established based on your actual presence in France.

• You have a professional activity in France, as an employee of otherwise, unless this activity is secondary

You have a professional activity in France as a primary occupation if you devote the majority of actual time to it.

• The centre of your economic interests is in France

A person who has more income from French sources than income from foreign sources therefore has the centre of their economic interests in France.

These criteria are examined for each member of your household.

For more details, refer to "Bulletin Officiel des Impôts" (BOI-IR-CHAMP-10).

Following this examination, if you meet one of these criteria, you have your tax residence in France.

However, a country other than France may, on the basis of its own national legislation, consider that you also meet the criteria to be a resident of that country.

In such cases, in order to determine in which of the two countries you are a resident for tax purposes, please refer to the applicable tax treaty.

The concept of “resident for tax purposes”, assessed within the meaning of the tax treaty, always takes precedence over that of “tax residence” deriving from the provisions of national legislation.

The status of resident of France for tax purposes

A person who has their tax residence in France and who pays their taxes there may be considered as a French resident.

If a person may be considered as being resident for tax purposes in both France and another country, this conflict can be settled by referring to the “Resident” article of the tax treaty to determine this person’s country of residence.

To settle this conflict of residence, the “Resident” article sets out four criteria to be examined successively:

• Permanent home

The permanent home is any form of accommodation at your disposal and that is reserved for your use (house, flat, furnished room, lent accommodation, etc.).

• Centre of vital interests

The centre of vital interests is determined by analysing your personal and economic ties with each of the two countries.

• Habitual abode

This is a matter of determining the country in which you usually live (physical presence in the country)

• Nationality

This means that it is only following analysis of these criteria that you will be considered as a resident of one or other of the countries.

Tax implications of being a resident of France for tax purposes

If you are a resident of France for tax purposes, you are taxed on your income from French and foreign sources subject to international tax treaties.

Specific case: If you are an employee of the central government, a local authority or a public hospital, please refer to the page devoted to your situation on the impots.gouv.fr website:

Tax treatment for employees of the central government, local authorities and public hospitals

Couples with mixed residency status

Residency for tax purposes in France and the status of French resident are determined for each member of the household.

If you are married or in a civil partnership, and one of you lives abroad and the other in France, then you are a “couple with mixed residency status”. You may be considered a resident of France for tax purposes even if your spouse or partner is considered a non-resident. You will be subject to different tax treatment.

• If you are both French residents for tax purposes (refer to the definition of French resident for tax purposes).

Then you are taxable in France for all your income, including the pay you receive for your activity abroad.

In this case, you must file your income tax return with the tax office with jurisdiction over your household.
 

• If one of you is a French resident for tax purposes and the other is not under the terms of a tax treaty, and if you are married or in a civil partnership under a joint property regime, you must declare :

  • All the income of the spouse or partner resident in France, and of the children or dependants residing in France for tax purposes

  • The income from French sources of the non-resident spouse or partner, provided that the tax treaty grants France the right to tax this income

NB : Income from foreign sources of the non-resident individual is excluded from the tax base and is not included when applying the so-called “effective tax rate” rule. Non-resident members of the tax household are included for income splitting purposes.

When a non-resident individual has French-source income and/or income that is taxable in France under a tax treaty, they can request to be taxed at the average tax rate. This rate is calculated on the basis of the tax household’s worldwide earnings and is only applied when it is more advantageous than the 20% and 30% minimum rates. However, when couples with mixed residency status file their income tax return online, the box "Bénéficier du taux moyen d'imposition (s'il est plus favorable)" (Opt for the average tax rate when it is more advantageous) does not appear in step 3. As a result, this section cannot be filled in.

Accordingly, you should inform the tax authorities of your wish to opt for the average tax rate by explicitly stating so in the "Informations" (Information) section at the end of your tax return, before the signature page. If you have foreign-source income, you must indicate such income in your explicit statement in order for it to be factored into the calculation base of the average tax rate. Otherwise this rate will only be applied to your French-source income and/or income that is taxable in France under a tax treaty.

If, after receiving your initial tax notice, the average tax rate has not been applied, do not amend your tax return online, as doing so could result in a taxation error. You are advised to file an appeal using the secure messaging service and including the requisite supporting documents (such as the tax notice issued by your country of residence).
 

• If one of you is a French resident for tax purposes and the other is not under the terms of a tax treaty, and if you are married or in a civil partnership under a separation-of-property regime and you are living separately

Then each of you must file an income tax return with the tax office with jurisdiction over your main residence (for the resident) and with the Individual Tax Department for Non-Residents (for the non-resident).

Two tax notices will be established, and each member of the couple will be taxed accordingly as a resident or a non-resident.

NB : the year after moving away from France, the spouse (or civil partner) who has become a non-resident must file an income tax return with the tax office with jurisdiction over their former main residence.

They must indicate whether they continue to receive income from French sources that is taxable in France under the terms of an international tax treaty. In this case alone, the competent tax office will be the Individual Tax Department for Non-Residents, and the taxpayer’s file will be transferred to this tax office the year following the departure with the taxpayer only having to indicate that they have left France and continue to receive income from French sources.