Tax in France for expats starts with residence: if your home, your main place of stay, your main work or the centre of your economic interests is in France, you are generally French tax resident and taxed on worldwide income. For income received in 2025 and taxed in 2026, French income tax is charged at progressive rates of 0% to 45% applied to each household part, investment income is generally subject to a flat 12.8% income tax plus social charges, which rose to 18.6% for many types of investment income from 2026, taking the combined flat rate to 31.4%, and real estate wealth above €1.3 million can be subject to IFI. French inheritance tax is generally charged on each beneficiary according to their relationship to the person who died, with rates of up to 45% for children and up to 60% for unrelated heirs. For British expats, including people moving from the UAE or the wider Gulf, the UK and France double taxation convention allocates taxing rights over specified categories of income and gains, including UK pensions, interest and gains, subject to its detailed conditions, while UK rental income, UK property gains and UK inheritance tax can continue to apply, subject to the relevant UK rules and any treaty relief. This guide explains how French residence works, the 2026 rates, how investments and property are taxed, what the treaty says about UK pensions, and the points to plan before you arrive. It is general information, not personal tax advice. French figures are those set by the 2026 finance law and the separate 2026 social security financing law and UK figures are for the 2026 to 2027 tax year unless another date is given, the information was reviewed on 13 November 2026, and all rules and figures should be rechecked before you rely on them.
Under article 4 B of the French General Tax Code (CGI), you are tax domiciled in France if you meet any one of four tests: your home (foyer) is in France, meaning where you and your family normally live; failing that, your main place of stay (lieu de séjour principal) is in France, where the French tax authorities generally treat presence of more than 183 days in a year as a strong indication, although this is not a mechanical rule and the test looks at where you actually stay most; you carry on your main professional activity in France, whether employed or self-employed, unless it is ancillary; or the centre of your economic interests, such as your main investments, business base or source of most of your income, is in France. Meeting a single test is enough, so a person who spends fewer than 183 days in France can still be resident if their family home is there. The French tax year is the calendar year, and in the year you arrive you are generally taxed as a resident on income from the date your tax domicile moves to France. Married couples and couples in a PACS civil partnership are normally taxed jointly as one household. If you are also resident in the UK under UK law, Article 4 of the UK and France double taxation convention decides treaty residence by looking at where you have a permanent home, then where your personal and economic relations are closer, then your habitual abode and then nationality. Residence is a question of fact, so the date it begins should be planned and documented with a French tax adviser.
France taxes income using a household system called the quotient familial. Taxable household income is divided by a number of parts, broadly one for a single person, two for a married or PACS couple, an extra half part for each of the first two children and a full part from the third, the scale is applied to each part and the result is multiplied back up, with the benefit of extra parts for children capped. For income received in 2025 and taxed in 2026, the scale set by the 2026 finance law, per part, is 0% up to €11,600, 11% from €11,601 to €29,579, 30% from €29,580 to €84,577, 41% from €84,578 to €181,917 and 45% above €181,917, according to service-public.gouv.fr. Tax is collected at source on salaries and French pensions, with a return filed each spring to reconcile the year, and people in their first year of French residence normally need to file a return even if no tax has yet been withheld. Pensions benefit from a 10% allowance, subject to a household cap, and a separate high income contribution and minimum tax can apply to very high incomes. The figures are indexed each year, so the scale for the year in question should be checked on impots.gouv.fr or service-public.gouv.fr.
Dividends, interest and gains on shares and bonds received by French residents are generally taxed under the prélèvement forfaitaire unique (PFU), a flat 12.8% income tax plus social charges. The 2026 social security financing law raised the CSG element of social charges on many types of investment income from 9.2% to 10.6%, taking total social charges on those items from 17.2% to 18.6% and the combined flat rate from 30% to 31.4% for income and gains received from 2026. The higher rate applies to items such as dividends, gains on shares, bond and savings account interest and some gains and withdrawals from individual retirement savings plans (PER), depending on the product, while life insurance products, home savings plans, unfurnished rental income and property gains generally stay at 17.2%, although the exact treatment depends on the product, its date and your social security position. Instead of the flat tax, a household can opt each year to have all such income taxed at the progressive scale, which can give access to a 40% allowance on dividends but must be applied to all eligible investment income for the year. Under Article 12 of the UK and France convention, UK interest beneficially owned by a French resident is generally taxable only in France, and the UK does not generally withhold tax on dividends paid by UK companies. Investments that are tax free in the UK, such as ISAs, are generally not recognised as tax free in France, so their income and gains can become taxable once you are resident, and French residents must declare foreign bank accounts and foreign life insurance contracts each year on forms 3916 and 3916-bis, with penalties for accounts not declared. How each holding is treated depends on its type and structure, so a portfolio should be reviewed before or soon after arrival.
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Social charges are a separate layer of tax on top of income tax. Whether they apply to you, and at what rate, depends on whether you are covered by the French social security system. People who receive a UK State Pension and hold an S1 form registered in France generally have their healthcare funded by the UK, and where the coordination rules are met, pensioners in that position may not be liable to French CSG and CRDS on their pension income, although income tax still applies. On investment income and gains, people who are not affiliated to the French social security system because they are covered by the system of another EU or EEA state, Switzerland or the UK under the post Brexit arrangements may pay the 7.5% solidarity levy (prélèvement de solidarité) instead of CSG and CRDS. This is not automatic for every UK national or every S1 holder. For residents who are within the French system, social charges on pension income can reach 9.1% depending on household income, and the applicable social charges on investment income depend on the type of income and your affiliation. The conditions turn on your specific social security affiliation, so the position should be confirmed with the French authorities or a French tax adviser rather than assumed.
A gain on the sale of your main home in France is generally exempt. Gains on other French property are taxed at 19% income tax plus 17.2% social charges, with holding-period abatements that remove income tax after 22 years of ownership and social charges after 30 years, and a further surcharge can apply to large gains. IFI, the French real estate wealth tax, applies where the net value of a household's taxable real estate assets is more than €1,300,000 on 1 January, with the scale applied from €800,000 at rates from 0.5% up to 1.5% and a reduction for values just above the threshold. Your main home benefits from a 30% reduction in value, deductible debts are taken into account under strict rules, and indirect holdings of property through companies and some funds can be included. Under article 964 of the CGI, a person who was not tax domiciled in France in the previous five calendar years is taxed only on French real estate until 31 December of the fifth year following the year in which French residence begins, so UK property held by a new arrival is generally outside IFI for that period. Non-residents remain within IFI on French real estate where the threshold is exceeded. Buyers of French property pay transfer taxes and notary fees on purchase, which vary by department and type of property.
Whether to keep, draw or move a UK pension depends on individual circumstances, and advice may conclude that no change is suitable. Under Article 18 of the 2008 UK and France double taxation convention, pensions and other similar remuneration paid in consideration of past employment to a resident of one country are taxable only in that country. Where you are resident in France for treaty purposes, a UK workplace or personal pension is therefore generally taxable in France, not the UK, and HMRC can be asked to pay it without UK tax deducted through the treaty claim form for French residents, which the French tax office certifies first. Government service pensions, such as civil service, armed forces, police or teaching pensions from public employment, fall under Article 19 and are generally taxable only in the UK, unless the recipient is both resident in France and a French national without also being a UK national, in which case France has the taxing right. Where a government pension is taxable only in the UK, France still takes it into account under Article 24 in working out the rate of French tax on your other income, and gives a credit equal to the French tax attributable to that pension, so in practice it is not taxed again in France. The UK State Pension is generally treated as taxable only in France for French residents under Article 18, and the Department for Work and Pensions pays it without tax deducted at source, although it can be taken into account in the UK tax code applied to any other UK pension until a treaty claim is in place. Under current UK policy and the UK and EU social security arrangements, it is uprated each year for people living in the EU, including France, who meet the eligibility rules, although future policy could change and entitlement depends on your own record. France does not generally recognise the UK 25% tax-free lump sum as tax free, and the French treatment depends on the character and timing of the payment. A pension lump sum received by a French resident is generally taxable in France under the pension rules at the progressive scale. Article 163 bis of the CGI also allows an optional flat 7.5% rate after a 10% allowance for retirement lump sums in narrow circumstances, broadly where the sum is paid as a single, unsplit payment and the contributions were deductible or related to income that was exempt where it was earned, but whether that option is available for a particular UK lump sum depends on the scheme and the facts and is not certain. The timing and form of any lump sum relative to the date you become resident therefore need advice in both countries before you act. The 25% overseas transfer charge can apply to a transfer to a qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme (QROPS), a category of overseas scheme rather than a specific product. For transfers requested on or after 30 October 2024, when the broad exclusion for transfers within the EEA and Gibraltar was removed, it applies unless an exclusion applies, such as the member being tax resident in the same country as the receiving scheme, the receiving scheme being an occupational scheme where the member is an employee of a sponsoring employer, or certain international organisation and overseas public service schemes, and the charge can apply later if a residence based exclusion stops applying during the relevant period after the transfer. The standard Overseas Transfer Allowance, £1,073,100 for 2026 to 2027 and different where certain protections apply, is tested separately, and the overseas transfer charge and the tax on transfers above the allowance are alternative charges, not cumulative ones, as our guide to the Overseas Transfer Allowance and the 25% charge explains. A transfer can mean giving up UK scheme protections, including the guaranteed income of a defined benefit scheme, can change death benefits, access rules, investment choice and consumer protections, and involves costs, investment risk and currency risk, and can result in a lower income in retirement, so it is not suitable for everyone, and retaining a UK pension is also an option. Whether to retain, transfer or access a pension depends on individual circumstances and needs personalised regulated advice.
UK residence is decided separately under the Statutory Residence Test. Split year treatment may apply in the UK tax year you leave, as our guide to the Statutory Residence Test and split year treatment explains. Moving to France does not end UK tax on UK income. UK rental income remains within UK tax and the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme may apply, as our guide to the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme explains, and the same income is also declared in France, where Article 6 of the convention allows the UK to tax it and Article 24 sets out how France gives relief. A sale of UK property or land is within UK capital gains tax for non-residents, with a UK return generally due within 60 days of completion even where no tax is due, as our guide to selling a UK property as a non-resident explains, and the same gain can also be taxable in France, where foreign property gains of residents are generally taxed under the French property gains rules with relief for UK tax. Article 14(6) of the convention allows each country to tax, under its own law, gains of a person who was resident there at any time in the previous six fiscal years, and the UK temporary non-residence rules can still apply: broadly, if you had sole UK residence for the whole or part of at least four of the seven tax years before the year you left and your period without sole UK residence lasts five years or less, certain gains and income realised while you were away can be taxed in the UK in the year you return, subject to the detailed conditions in HMRC guidance. People moving to France from the UAE, which has no personal income tax on employment or investment income, or from other Gulf states with similar or differing rules, move to worldwide taxation, so gains on assets held abroad, foreign bank interest and foreign rental income can come within French tax from the date residence begins, and French rules generally tax gains by reference to the original cost, not the value on arrival, subject to limited exceptions. The timing and structure of transactions can affect tax outcomes, but any action requires advice in each country and may not be appropriate.
France charges inheritance and gift tax on the people who receive assets, with allowances and rates that depend on their relationship to the person who died. A surviving spouse or PACS partner is exempt from inheritance tax. Each child has an allowance of €100,000 from each parent, renewable every 15 years for lifetime gifts, and the balance is taxed on a scale from 5% to 45%, with the 45% rate applying above €1,805,677 according to service-public.gouv.fr. Siblings pay 35% and 45% after a small allowance, nephews and nieces 55%, and unrelated people, including unmarried partners who are not in a PACS, 60% after an allowance of €1,594. Where the person who died was tax domiciled in France, worldwide assets are within French inheritance tax, and where they were not, French assets are within it, together with worldwide assets received by an heir who has been French tax resident for at least six of the previous ten years. French civil law also reserves fixed shares of an estate for children, and although the EU Succession Regulation allows a foreign national to choose the law of their nationality for their succession, French rules introduced in 2021 can give children a right to compensation from French assets in some cases, so wills should be reviewed by a French notaire and a UK lawyer. On the UK side, since 6 April 2025 UK inheritance tax on worldwide assets depends on long-term UK residence: broadly, someone UK resident for at least 10 of the previous 20 tax years, with that status continuing for between 3 and 10 tax years after leaving depending on residence history, while UK situs assets, such as UK property, can remain within UK inheritance tax whatever your residence status. From 6 April 2027, unused pension funds and certain death benefits are legislated to come within UK inheritance tax, as our guide to inheritance tax on pensions from April 2027 explains. The UK and France have a 1963 convention on estates that can give relief where both countries tax an estate on death, but relief is not automatic, and it depends on the assets and the people involved.
France has an impatriate regime under article 155 B of the CGI for employees and some company officers recruited from abroad, or posted by a foreign group, who were not tax domiciled in France in the five calendar years before taking up the role. Broadly, it can exempt from income tax an impatriation bonus or the extra pay linked to the move, and the part of pay for days worked abroad, within limits, until 31 December of the eighth calendar year after the year you take up the role, and it can exempt 50% of certain foreign source investment income and gains, subject to conditions. The regime has specific eligibility and claim rules, interacts with social charges and the high income minimum tax, and is not available to retirees or to people moving to France without a qualifying employment, so eligibility should be confirmed with a French tax adviser and the employer before the move. Unlike some other countries, France has no general flat rate or reduced rate regime for retirees, so most people moving to France to retire are taxed under the standard rules described in this guide.
People moving to France often focus on the 183 day rule, but France has four separate residence tests and meeting any one of them is enough. The date residence begins matters because gains and income after that date are generally taxable in France, and investments that were tax free in the UK or the Gulf, such as ISAs, are not generally recognised as tax free there. Establishing the residence date and reviewing how investments are held are usually among the first points to look at. This is general information, not personal advice, and whether any action is appropriate depends on your circumstances.
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Any one of the four article 4 B tests makes you French resident, so a family home or main business interest in France can make you resident even if you spend fewer than 183 days there.
ISAs and the UK tax-free pension lump sum are not generally recognised as tax free in France, so income, gains and lump sums can become taxable once you are resident.
French residents must declare foreign bank accounts and foreign life insurance contracts each year on forms 3916 and 3916-bis, and penalties apply per undeclared account even where no tax is lost.
Whether you pay full French social charges or the 7.5% solidarity levy on investment income depends on your social security affiliation, which should be confirmed rather than assumed.
Heirs who are not related, including unmarried partners not in a PACS, can pay 60% French inheritance tax, and stepchildren are generally treated as unrelated unless conditions are met.
Gains made after French residence begins are taxable in France on the full gain from original cost, so the timing of sales around the move needs planning in both countries.
French inheritance tax is charged on the person who inherits, so the rate depends heavily on who your heirs are. Children have an allowance of €100,000 from each parent, while an unmarried partner who is not in a PACS can pay 60%, and French forced heirship rules can interact with a will made under UK law. Wills and the way assets are owned often need reviewing by advisers in both countries when someone moves to France. This is general information, not a recommendation, and any decision needs individual advice.
Illustrative example only, not a real client. This example is simplified and fictional, applies the French rules for 2026 and the UK rules for 2026 to 2027 described in this guide as stated assumptions, ignores currency movements and costs, and is not a guarantee of any outcome. It does not describe advice given to any client, does not represent the experience of actual clients and does not illustrate a recommended course of action. David and Claire are British, married and have lived in Abu Dhabi for 14 years. They plan to retire to a house in the Dordogne in spring 2027. They own a rented flat in Manchester, hold UK shares and funds, some of them in ISAs, and savings in UAE and UK bank accounts. David has a UK defined contribution workplace pension and plans to take a lump sum, and Claire has a small UK teaching pension from early in her career. They assumed that, because their savings had built up tax free in the UAE and the UK, they would stay tax free in France.
In this fictional example, a hypothetical review by a regulated financial adviser, working alongside French and UK tax advisers, might consider the following points on these assumptions. Their move date would decide when they become French resident, and they would be taxed as one household from that date. Income and gains on their UK shares, funds and ISAs, and interest on their bank accounts, could become taxable in France, generally under the flat tax, and the rate of social charges would depend on whether they are covered by the French system or hold S1 forms. The rent from the Manchester flat would remain taxable in the UK and would also be declared in France with relief for UK tax. David's workplace pension would generally be taxable in France under Article 18 once he is French resident for treaty purposes, and the French treatment of any lump sum would depend on its timing and form. Assuming Claire's teaching pension relates to state school employment and is paid from public funds, it would generally remain taxable only in the UK under Article 19, while being taken into account in France in setting the rate on their other income. If it did not meet the Article 19 conditions, it would fall under Article 18 instead. Their French house would be relevant to IFI only if their French real estate exceeded the threshold. No course of action is recommended, and this example is not a personal recommendation, a promotion of any pension transfer or a tax opinion.
Illustrative outcome only: this does not assess suitability or recommend any course of action, and no tax outcome, liability or saving is guaranteed. On these assumptions, the points that would need consideration include the date residence begins, the French treatment of their ISAs and other investments, their social charge position, the timing and French taxation of David's lump sum, the treatment of each pension under the treaty, and how French inheritance tax and forced heirship rules would apply to their wills. Whether any change to their pensions, investments or the timing of their move would be appropriate is a separate question needing its own suitability assessment and tax advice, and advice may conclude that no changes are suitable. Different facts, such as an earlier move date or different heirs, could produce a very different result.
Illustrative example, not a real client.
Clarity Global Wealth helps British expats, including people living in the UAE and the wider Gulf, who are moving to France, or already live there, understand how French and UK tax rules could apply to their income, pensions, investments and estate before they act. Clarity Global Wealth is an introducer that provides information and introductions only, does not itself give financial advice and does not assess the suitability of any product or course of action, and an introduction is not a recommendation. We can arrange a free introduction to regulated financial planning with a separate regulated financial adviser; the introduction is an initial conversation, not advice, does not itself create an adviser and client relationship, and places you under no obligation to proceed with advice or any product, so you can review your position with a regulated financial adviser where advice is appropriate. Any charges for advice would be explained to you before you proceed. The value of investments and pension funds can fall as well as rise, currency movements can affect values, tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and can change, and advice may conclude that no changes are suitable. This guide does not promote, name or recommend any specific investment, pension transfer or product. Clarity Global Wealth does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice, and adviser comments in this guide are general information, not personal recommendations. French and UK tax returns, residence opinions, treaty claims and wills are work for qualified tax advisers, French notaires and lawyers, so where that is needed we coordinate with them.
Related guides: Moving From the UK: The Statutory Residence Test, Drawing Your UK Pension While Living Abroad, The Overseas Transfer Allowance and the 25% Charge, The Non-Resident Landlord Scheme, Selling a UK Property as a Non-Resident, Returning to the UK After Years Abroad, Inheritance Tax on Pensions from April 2027, Expat Estate Planning for Brits in Spain and Portugal and Tax in Ireland for Expats.
This guide is provided for general information only and reflects our understanding of the rules as at the date of publication. It is not personal financial, investment, pension or tax advice, and should not be relied upon as such. Rules and tax treatment can change and depend on your individual circumstances and country of residence. You should always seek regulated advice specific to your situation before taking action.
Under article 4 B of the French tax code you are French tax resident if your home or main place of stay is in France, if your main professional activity is in France, or if the centre of your economic interests is in France. Meeting any one of these tests is enough.
For income received in 2025 and taxed in 2026, the scale per household part is 0% up to €11,600, 11% to €29,579, 30% to €84,577, 41% to €181,917 and 45% above. Social charges are charged separately.
Most dividends, interest and gains on shares are taxed at a flat 12.8% income tax plus social charges. For many types of investment income received from 2026, social charges are 18.6%, giving a combined rate of 31.4%, while life insurance products, unfurnished rental income and property gains generally stay at 17.2%.
Under Article 18 of the UK and France treaty, most UK workplace and personal pensions, and in practice the UK State Pension, paid to someone resident in France for treaty purposes are taxable only in France, subject to treaty residence and the character of the pension. UK government service pensions are generally taxable only in the UK unless you are a French national resident in France without UK nationality.
Not generally. France does not generally recognise the UK tax-free status, and a lump sum received by a French resident is usually taxable in France at the progressive scale. An optional 7.5% flat rate exists for some retirement lump sums under strict conditions, but whether it applies to a UK lump sum depends on the scheme and needs French tax advice.
France's wealth tax, IFI, applies only to real estate and only where net taxable real estate is worth more than €1.3 million on 1 January. Someone who was not French tax resident in the five calendar years before moving is taxed only on French real estate until 31 December of the fifth year after the move.
Each child has an allowance of €100,000 from each parent, and the balance is taxed on a scale from 5% to 45%. A surviving spouse or PACS partner is exempt.
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