Taxes in France

French tax rates in 2026 at a glance

A cheat sheet of the rates in force after the 2026 Finance Act (Law No. 2026-103 of 19 February 2026) and the 2026 Social Security Financing Act.

In France income tax is charged on the household (foyer fiscal), not the individual: family income is split into shares, so the same salary gives a very different bill for a single person and for a family with children. Almost every kind of income also carries social levies, so the real burden is higher than the scale suggests.

For 2026 the brackets were indexed by 0.9% and the rates did not change. The real changes hit capital: social levies on dividends, securities gains and crypto went up from 17.2% to 18.6%, and the 20% minimum tax on high earners was extended.

Compare taxes in 146 countries: relocation taxes 2026

French tax residency: three tests and the 183 days

Article 4 B of the General Tax Code (Code général des impôts, CGI) treats a person as tax resident in France if they meet at least one of the tests below. Citizenship is irrelevant: a foreigner with a residence permit is usually resident from the very first year.

One test is enough. A family in France while you work elsewhere, or a main job in France while your family lives abroad, can each make you resident. The 183-day rule is not written into French law as a separate test; it is a practical benchmark for the principal place of stay. We explain why spending fewer than 183 days does not guarantee non-residency in our article on tax residency and the 183-day rule.

Residents pay tax on worldwide income, non-residents only on French-source income. If two countries both treat you as resident, the tax treaty settles it through a cascade: permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality and finally agreement between the tax authorities.

The year of the move is split at the date residency changes: before it only French income is declared, after it everything. If you are moving, for example through a French residence permit via your own company, decide in advance which foreign assets and payouts are better closed out before the move date. A visa alone does not make you resident: the tax office looks at where you live, work and keep your money.

France tax residency: how to become a resident and count the days

France needs only one of three tests: family or main place of stay in France, a main job here, or a centre of economic interests. More than 183 days a year almost always means residency. Citizenship plays no role.

A family in Lyon makes you resident even if you work in Dubai. A resident pays progressive income tax on worldwide income, a non-resident only on French income. The status is confirmed by the French tax service.

Mistakes cost more: the family stayed in France, and the tax office claims tax on your foreign salary. Murblz support removes these risks: we check all three tests, count days and obtain the certificate. We guarantee professional work and a transparent process, and in most cases a result on the first filing.

Talk to a manager now

Income tax: the scale, the family quotient and a salary calculation

The scale set by the 2026 budget applies to income earned in 2025, with the thresholds raised by 0.9% for inflation.

The family quotient (quotient familial)

Household taxable income is divided into shares: one for a single person, two for a married couple or PACS partners (civil union), plus half a share for each of the first two children and a full share for the third and each further child. Tax is calculated on one share and multiplied back. The benefit from children is capped: each extra half share can cut the tax by no more than 1,807 euros.

Deductions and surtaxes

Salaries automatically get a 10% deduction for professional expenses (for 2025 income at least 509 and at most 14,555 euros per person), or you can claim actual expenses. PER retirement plan contributions within limits (no longer deductible after age 70 from 2026) and maintenance payments also reduce the base, and there are tax credits such as 50% of spending on home services.

Above the scale sits the exceptional contribution on high incomes (CEHR): 3% on reference income between 250,000 and 500,000 euros for a single person (500,000 to 1 million for a couple) and 4% above those amounts. From 2025 income the differential contribution on high incomes (CDHR) was added: if the household's overall tax rate is below 20%, it tops up the difference. The 2026 budget extended the CDHR until the year in which the budget deficit falls below 3% of GDP.

Worked example: a gross salary of 4,000 euros a month

A private-sector employee who is not a cadre (the managerial category), single, no children. The salary sits just below the 2026 monthly social security ceiling of 4,005 euros. The employee share of supplementary health cover (mutuelle) depends on the employer and is left out.

The employee loses about 1,145 euros a month, or 28.6% of gross. On top of gross pay the employer pays its own contributions, around 45% of salary on average. For pay up to three times the minimum wage (SMIC) the burden is reduced by the single degressive relief (RGDU), which replaced the previous reliefs in 2026.

The same salary in a family with two children and one earner is divided into three shares: about 11,809 euros per share, tax of about 69 euros a year, and after the relief for small tax bills (décote) practically zero. The gap with a single person is more than 3,600 euros a year.

Social charges: employees, employers and the self-employed

Social charges fund pensions, healthcare, unemployment and family benefits. For most people they are bigger than the income tax itself.

Micro-entrepreneur rates are the URSSAF figures for 2026, excluding the vocational training levy and excluding income tax under the versement libératoire option.

Simplified joint-stock company president or private limited company manager

A salaried president of a simplified joint-stock company, including a single-shareholder one, is treated like an employee (assimilé salarié): contributions are close to an employee's, just without unemployment insurance. Simplified company dividends carry no social contributions, only the flat tax. A majority manager (gérant majoritaire) of a limited company or single-member limited company is self-employed (TNS): contribution rates are lower, but dividends above 10% of share capital, share premium and the shareholder current account are charged to social contributions as earned income.

If you live in France and work for a foreign employer, social security is a separate question from tax: within the European Union coordination rules apply, while for other countries it depends on whether France has a social security agreement with them.

Corporate tax and dividends

Corporate income tax (impôt sur les sociétés) applies to simplified joint-stock companies, including single-shareholder ones, private limited companies, public limited companies and other companies.

For a calendar financial year, tax is paid in instalments on 15 March, 15 June, 15 September and 15 December if the previous year's tax exceeded 3,000 euros, with the balance due by 15 May. Losses carry forward indefinitely, but above 1 million euros a year they can offset only 50% of profit.

Worked example: a simplified company with 100,000 euros of profit

Dividends

Dividends paid to a French resident fall under the single flat levy (prélèvement forfaitaire unique, known as the flat tax): 12.8% income tax plus 18.6% social levies, 31.4% in total on payments made from 1 January 2026, up from 30%. Instead of the 12.8% you can opt for the progressive scale, in which case dividends are taxed after a 40% allowance; this pays off at a marginal rate of 0% or 11%. The option is made on the tax return and covers all investment income for the year.

Doing business through a French company starts with company registration and a business account in France. Bookkeeping and annual accounts are mandatory from the first year, see audit and reporting.

VAT in France: rates, the exemption threshold and e-invoicing

The franchise: when you do not charge VAT

If last year's turnover stayed under the base threshold, the business operates without VAT (franchise en base) and states on its invoices that VAT is not applicable under article 293 B of the CGI. If the upper threshold is crossed during the current year, VAT is due from the date it is crossed. The single 25,000-euro threshold introduced by the 2025 budget was first suspended and then repealed by Law No. 2025-1044 of 3 November 2025. The draft 2026 budget proposed a general 37,500-euro threshold and 25,000 euros for building work, but Parliament dropped that article.

A company from outside the European Union with no permanent establishment in France cannot use the franchise and must register from the first euro. Since 2025 businesses established in other European Union countries can use the French franchise if their European Union turnover does not exceed 100,000 euros and they have notified their home tax authority in advance. Distance sales to consumers in other European Union countries above 10,000 euros are taxed at the buyer's rate through the OSS one-stop shop.

E-invoicing from 1 September 2026

The biggest VAT change of the year is the e-invoicing reform (facturation électronique). From 1 September 2026 every VAT-registered business in France must be able to receive electronic invoices through an accredited platform, and large and mid-sized companies must also issue them. Small businesses and micro-enterprises start issuing e-invoices from 1 September 2027. VAT returns are filed monthly (form CA3) under the normal regime or annually (CA12) with instalments under the simplified regime.

Micro-entrepreneurs, freelancers, startups and the impatriate regime

The micro-enterprise (micro-entrepreneur)

The simplest legal way to work for yourself in France: social charges are a percentage of turnover, income tax is based on turnover minus a fixed allowance, bookkeeping is minimal, but real expenses are not deductible.

The turnover caps are revised every three years in line with the income tax scale: for 2026-2028 they went up by about 7.6%. Exceeding the cap for one year is tolerated; two years in a row means leaving the regime. The VAT threshold is lower than the regime cap: a freelancer with services turnover above 37,500 euros stays a micro-entrepreneur but has to charge VAT. The versement libératoire option lets you pay income tax as a fixed percentage of turnover, provided household reference income from two years earlier is below a per-share limit.

Worked example: an IT freelancer with 60,000 euros of turnover

Turnover of 60,000 euros is above the upper VAT threshold for services, so 20% VAT is added to invoices: neutral for business clients, a price increase for private ones.

IT, startups and research

France has no special regime for IT companies, but it offers strong tools for innovative businesses: the research tax credit (crédit d'impôt recherche) of 30% of R&D spending up to 100 million euros a year, young innovative company status (JEI) with reduced employer contributions for research staff, and a 10% rate on income from patents and software. Founders can look at the France startup visa under the French Tech Visa programme.

The impatriate regime (article 155 B CGI)

For people hired into France from abroad who were not French tax residents during the five calendar years before starting work. The benefits last until 31 December of the eighth year after the start of employment:

• the relocation bonus (prime d'impatriation) is exempt from income tax, or you can choose a flat 30% exemption of remuneration instead;
• pay for work done abroad in the employer's interest is exempt;
• 50% of foreign passive income and securities gains from countries with an administrative assistance agreement is exempt from income tax;
• foreign real estate is left out of real estate wealth tax for five years.

The total exemption is capped at 50% of remuneration or 20% of taxable pay, depending on the method chosen. Social charges are not reduced. The regime suits employees holding a passeport talent, not people living on passive income.

Digital nomads

France has neither a digital nomad visa nor a special tax regime for remote workers. If you live in France and work remotely for foreign clients, you are resident on all your income. The visitor visa does not allow professional activity in France. Can you work remotely for a foreign employer on it? Ask an expert.

Capital, property, inheritance and crypto

Investment income: 18.6% instead of 17.2%

The 2026 Social Security Financing Act raised CSG on investment income from 9.2% to 10.6%, lifting total social levies to 18.6%. For gains on securities and crypto the new rate already applies to 2025 income; for dividends and interest it applies from 1 January 2026. Rental income, property gains, life insurance (assurance-vie) and home savings plans stay at 17.2%.

Owners of companies in low-tax jurisdictions face the controlled foreign company rules (articles 123 bis and 209 B CGI), see controlled foreign company rules.

Property

Buying. Transfer duty is about 5.8% of the price, or about 6.3% in departments that used their right to raise it from 1 April 2025. With notary costs, resale property typically costs 7-8% on top of the price.

Owning. Property tax (taxe foncière) is paid by whoever owns the property on 1 January, at rates set by each municipality. Housing tax (taxe d'habitation) on main homes was abolished from 2023 but still applies to second homes, and municipalities in areas with housing shortages can raise it by 5-60%.

Renting out. Unfurnished rental income up to 15,000 euros a year can use the micro-foncier regime with a 30% allowance; above that, or by choice, actual expenses are deducted.

Selling. The main home is exempt. For other property, taper relief starts in the sixth year of ownership: after 22 years the gain is free of income tax, after 30 years free of social levies.

Real estate wealth tax

Real estate wealth tax is due if net real estate on 1 January is worth more than 1.3 million euros. Financial assets and crypto are not caught: the tax on unproductive wealth floated during the 2026 budget debate did not make it into law.

The scale only applies once the 1.3 million threshold is crossed, the main home is valued with a 30% discount, and non-residents pay only on French property. For buying property, see investment property in France.

Inheritance and gifts

A spouse or PACS partner inherits tax-free. Children get an allowance of 100,000 euros from each parent, after which the scale runs from 5% to 45%: 20% on the slice from 15,932 to 552,324 euros, 45% above 1,805,677 euros. Siblings get 15,932 euros and pay 35-45%, nephews and nieces 7,967 euros and 55%, unrelated people 1,594 euros and 60%. The allowance per child renews every 15 years. France taxes an estate if the deceased was resident, if the heir has been resident for at least 6 of the last 10 years, and always for assets located in France.

Crypto

A private investor pays 31.4% on net gains when selling crypto for euros or using it to pay for purchases. Swapping one crypto for another is not taxed, and there is no tax if total annual disposals do not exceed 305 euros. Professional trading is taxed as business income. Accounts on foreign exchanges must be declared every year, and from 2026 European Union crypto platforms collect client data for tax authorities under the DAC8 directive.

Non-residents and withholding taxes

A non-resident pays French tax only on French-source income: salary for work done in France, rent and gains from French property, French pensions and dividends.

Non-residents pay social levies of 17.2% on income from French property, while those covered by the European Union, EEA or Swiss social security system pay a 7.5% solidarity levy instead.

Exit tax

Article 167 bis CGI applies to people who have been resident for at least 6 of the last 10 years and hold securities worth 800,000 euros or more, or at least 50% of a company: unrealised gains are taxed as if sold on the day of departure. On a move to the European Union, the EEA or a country with administrative assistance agreements, payment is deferred automatically, and the tax is cancelled if the shares are still held 2 years after departure, or 5 years if they are worth more than 2.57 million euros. The 2026 budget left these periods unchanged.

France's double tax treaties

The table shows treaty withholding rates on French dividends for selected countries. A reduced rate applies only if the recipient certifies residency on the prescribed form before the payment.

A new treaty with Moldova was signed in 2022 and published in 2024. Under the 1963 treaty with Monaco, French citizens who move to Monaco keep paying French income tax.

The treaty with Russia, signed on 26 November 1996, works only in part: since 8 August 2023 Russia has suspended its articles 5-22 and 24 and points 2-9 of the protocol, and France, on the principle of reciprocity, stopped applying the same provisions from the same date. Treaty rates on dividends, interest and royalties no longer apply, salaries, pensions, business profits and capital gains are taxed in each country under its own rules, and tax withheld in Russia is not credited in France but only deducted from the taxable base.

Filing, deadlines and what it means if you move

In your first year after the move the tax office does not yet know your rate, so the employer withholds at a neutral rate from a table, and the final calculation follows your first return.

Penalties

A late return carries a 10% surcharge, rising to 40% if it is not filed within 30 days of a formal notice. Deliberate under-declaration costs 40%, fraud or abuse of law 80%, plus late interest of 0.2% a month. Each undeclared foreign bank account costs 1,500 euros, or 10,000 euros for non-cooperative jurisdictions. Foreign accounts, including accounts on crypto exchanges, are declared every year (forms 3916 and 3916-bis). The normal assessment window closes at the end of the third year after the tax year, and extends to 10 years for undeclared foreign accounts and assets.

The uncomfortable truth for movers

The tax on labour is among the highest in Europe. On a 4,000-euro salary the employee gives up about 29% in contributions and tax, and the employer pays around 45% more on top. Compare with the neighbours in taxes in Spain and in our tax overview by country.

Family changes everything. A single professional pays many times more than a family with children on the same income.

Capital is taxed harder from 2026. A 31.4% flat tax, a 20% minimum tax on high incomes and an exit tax. If most of your income is dividends and capital gains, France is rarely the optimal residence without the impatriate regime.

Income from countries without a working treaty costs more. Rent, dividends and interest from such a country can be taxed twice: France then only deducts the foreign tax from the taxable base.

The rules change every year. The 2026 budget was only adopted in February 2026 using article 49.3 of the Constitution, and along the way a tax on unproductive wealth and a tougher exit tax were debated. Check any figure against the current law before you decide.

Where France wins. An eight-year impatriate regime, healthcare and pensions in return for contributions, moderate tax for families, access to the European Union and a path to French citizenship. All relocation programmes are collected on the France page.

FAQ