French Expatriation Tax Lawyer: Securing Your Departure, Your Return, Your Status
Alphard Law advises individuals, executives and families at every tax milestone of international mobility involving France: preparing a departure from France (tax residence, exit tax, the year of departure), non-resident status while holding French income or assets, and moving to France, whether for the first time or as a return, including the inpatriate regime. Transferring your tax residence is the most consequential wealth operation a taxpayer can undertake: it should be prepared six to twelve months ahead, precisely documented, and coordinated with the tax rules of the destination country.
Preparing a departure from France
Tax residence is not declared, it is proven. Leaving France only produces its tax effects if residence is genuinely transferred under Article 4 B of the French Tax Code (household, main place of stay, professional activity, centre of economic interests) and, where two states claim the same taxpayer, under the treaty tie-breaker rules. Meeting a single domestic test is enough to remain taxable in France on worldwide income (Article 4 A). We audit the situation before departure, calibrate the timeline and build the residence file that will hold up against the French tax authority, including years later in the event of an audit.
The French exit tax can be neutralised, provided it is anticipated. Transferring one's tax domicile out of France triggers the exit tax of Article 167 bis of the French Tax Code on unrealised gains attached to substantial shareholdings, subject to residence-duration and threshold conditions. Payment deferral, automatic or upon request depending on the destination country, annual reporting obligations, and relief where the shares are retained: a properly prepared departure almost always neutralises the cash impact. We handle the entire exit tax workstream, from the initial filings to the final relief.
The year of departure and coordination with the destination country. The year of transfer follows its own regime (worldwide income until departure, French-source income thereafter), and the consistency between the French position and the tax rules of the host country, whether the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Portugal, the United States, the United Kingdom or any other jurisdiction, determines the solidity of the whole. We work with vetted local counsel in every relevant jurisdiction.
Non-residents: your French obligations continue
Non-residents remain taxable in France on French-source income, rent, dividends, compensation for duties performed in France, and on French real estate capital gains under the levy of Article 244 bis A, as well as under the French real estate wealth tax (IFI) on French property. We handle non-resident compliance, the recovery of excess withholding taxes under the applicable treaty, and the defence of non-resident status when the French tax authority challenges it, a fast-growing category of audits in the era of automatic information exchange. Our French-American client base benefits from a dedicated practice coordinating French filings with US obligations (FBAR, FATCA).
Moving to France: arrival deserves as much preparation as departure
Becoming a French tax resident is the moment of definitive arbitrages: realising or not realising gains before arrival, dealing with structures built abroad (companies, life insurance wrappers, trusts) which become reportable in France and sometimes recharacterised, and securing the inpatriate regime of Article 155 B of the French Tax Code where its conditions are met, notably partial exemptions on the inpatriation premium and certain foreign-source passive income. An improvised arrival turns years of proper foreign organisation into French tax risk; a prepared arrival turns them into an opportunity.
Our method
Every mobility engagement produces a written audit of the starting position, an operations timeline, the list of filing obligations on both sides of the border and a residence file built in real time, because records created at the time of the facts always outweigh reconstructions. The firm then follows its clients over the years, as finance acts and personal circumstances evolve. The criteria for choosing counsel for this type of operation are set out in our guide on how to choose the best tax lawyer; the firm's approach is described by our clients in their reviews, rated 5.0 out of 5 on Google.
Frequently asked questions
How long before my departure from France should I seek advice?
Ideally six to twelve months before the planned date. That window allows the optimal transfer date to be chosen, the exit tax to be handled properly, pre-departure reorganisations (sales, gifts, restructurings) to be carried out, and the residence file to be built from day one. Later advice narrows the options without ever eliminating them all: even weeks before departure, an audit prevents irreversible mistakes.
Am I within the scope of the French exit tax?
The exit tax (Article 167 bis of the French Tax Code) applies to taxpayers who transfer their tax domicile out of France after being French residents for at least six of the previous ten years, and who hold shareholdings worth more than 800,000 euros overall or representing at least 50 percent of a company's profits. Payment deferral and relief mechanisms mean a properly prepared departure almost always neutralises the cash impact.
I keep real estate in France after leaving: what happens to my French taxes?
You remain taxable in France on French-source rent and on capital gains from the sale of French property (Article 244 bis A), and potentially under the IFI if the net value of your French real estate exceeds the statutory threshold. The tax treaty between France and your country of residence organises the interaction with your home-country taxation. An annual French return remains due in most cases.
Can the French tax authority challenge my non-resident status years after I left?
Yes, within the statutory reassessment periods, and such audits are multiplying with automatic information exchange. The authority reconstructs stays, economic interests and family ties to argue that the household or the centre of economic interests remained in France. That retrospective scrutiny is precisely why the residence file must be built at the time of departure, not reconstructed during an audit.
What is the French inpatriate regime?
Article 155 B of the French Tax Code offers, under conditions, partial exemptions to persons taking up professional duties in France after residing abroad, notably on the inpatriation premium and certain foreign-source passive income. Eligibility depends on the conditions of arrival and the structuring of the compensation package: it must be prepared before taking up the position, not after.
Are you planning a move out of or into France, or does your non-resident status raise questions? Contact Alphard Law for a confidential initial discussion.