Taxation rules for non-residents

Some non-residents, such as those with holiday homes in France that they use for part of the year but also rent out, need to make a tax declaration to France. This applies if you have any income of French origin of a type declarable in France, the most common kind being rental income from French properties. 

More information on types of income typically declarable, depending on your country of residence (this varies according to double tax treaties), can be found at tinyurl.com/non-res-inco.

The tax service website has information for non-residents under the heading ‘international’ and some tax information in English under the ‘English’ heading at the top of the homepage. 

Non-residents are also advised to check with the tax authorities of the country where they live as to any obligations to declare to them. See tinyurl.com/non-res-live for contact details. Non-residents’ net taxable income is usually taxed by France at a flat rate of 20% (plus social charges). 

It may be more if this income alone is high enough to push your tax higher after application of the usual tax bands and the family quotient. There is a higher fixed tax rate of 30% for any part of 2025 French taxable income above €29,580. 

Note that the equivalent rates are 14.4% and 20% if the income comes from the French overseas regions or departments. If you are taxed in the usual way for non-residents, your avis d’impôt will say application du taux minimum de 20%. 

This 20% is applied after the usual ‘family quotient’ mechanism aimed at reducing tax for larger families (see chapter 5, section 'Tax bands and the family 'parts'). Your avis d’imposition will show a revenu fiscal de référence (net taxable income) figure based purely on your French income.

If you believe your averaged out tax rate would have been less than 20% – or 30% on higher amounts – if you had declared your worldwide income in France, there is an option to tell France your worldwide income figure (and potentially have a lower rate) but you must be ready to provide proof of your worldwide income such as a copy of a tax declaration to your country of residence. 

The tax authorities have tried to simplify the option for the averaged rate based on worldwide income, which they say is advantageous for many people. When declaring online if you enter your other (non-French taxable) income for this purpose the system will automatically apply the tax rate version that gives you lower tax – either by the bands or the fixed rate.

To benefit from this, in stage 3 of the online declaration, in the Non-résidents section, select Bénéficier du taux moyen d’imposition s’il est plus favorable. There will be an extra section to complete at the end of the declaration to add your other worldwide income. 

If declaring on paper select box 8TM at the end of the 2042C and enter your total worldwide income. 

You should also clarify the nature of your income/s on form 2041TM. If you live in a country (such as the UK or US) that has signed an agreement with France against tax fraud and evasion, you do not have to provide supporting documents, but can just sign the form at the bottom to attest on your honour to having given correct information. 

Do, however, retain documents proving the income in case of queries from the tax office. The tax office will check what your average rate would have been through the bands being applied and compare it to the fixed 20% or 30% rate. 

If you pay capital gains tax on the sale of a French property, which can arise on holiday home sales, this will be dealt with by the notaire on behalf of the tax office of the area where the property is located. The local tax office will also deal with any local property taxes on your French property. 

Where one partner in a couple is resident in France but the other is not, the worldwide income of the former is declared in France as well as any income for dependants who live in France.

Any relevant French income of the non-resident partner/spouse must be declared (see also the previous article on fiscal residency). People who are non-resident are taken into account in the calculation of the family quotient if they are part of the tax household. 

If this situation of differing residence applies to your couple, you should seek advice from the local tax office of the French resident partner as to how to declare, given the circumstances and the legal set-up of your relationship (check, for example, if the non-resident should make a separate declaration to the Service des impôts des particuliers non-résidents).

If you were formerly a resident of France but became non-resident during the last tax year you need to declare your worldwide income for the part of the year you were resident. 

In this case, your first declaration from abroad should be to your old tax office – if declaring on paper – and you should confirm your new address abroad on it. Declare income up to the date of departure in the usual way and indicate on form 2042-NR any declarable French income received after you left France.

If there is no declarable French income after your departure, let your French tax office know this by making a mention expresse at the end of the online form, or by adding a note on page 2 of the paper 2042. If you continue to receive French income, the nonresidents’ tax service will handle your tax in future years.

A non-resident returning to France who received French income for the part of 2025 when they were non-resident should make one final declaration to the non-residents’ service, on 2042-NR for French income before the return and 2042 for worldwide income afterwards as a resident.

The tax simulator at impots.gouv.fr is only for residents but non-residents can declare online and have a personal space on the site.

Points of contact for non-residents

Service des impôts des particuliers non-résidents at Noisy-le-Grand. Tel: 00 33 (0)1 72 95 20 42 or, for residents of Monaco Service des Résidents de Monaco at the SIP Nice Est Ouest Menton. Tel: 00 33 (0)4 93 28 62 78