Is there a US-France agreement not to tax Social Security income?

Reader question: I am an Irish citizen but have two pensions from the US where I worked for 40 years. Is there an agreement not to tax US Social Security and private pensions in France?

Yes, there is such an agreement.

The France-US double tax treaty states that American pension income is taxable only in the US.

This includes the state old-age Social Security pension as well as money from private pension plans.

However, this income still has to be declared to France so it can be taken into account as part of your worldwide income, potentially putting other French taxable income into higher bands.

However, France will not actually tax these pensions if they are correctly declared in section 6 of the 2047 foreign income online section/form.

A tax credit will be given against the French tax that would otherwise have been payable if it was normal French-taxable income.

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