Expatriation, non-residents, cross-border estates, tax audits: what a French international tax lawyer actually delivers.
An executive moves abroad while keeping a company and rental properties in France. A family living outside France inherits assets spread across three jurisdictions. A foreign group receives a French reassessment notice alleging an undeclared permanent establishment. These situations look different, yet they belong to the same discipline: international taxation, meaning the interaction between French tax law, bilateral tax treaties and foreign legislation. They share something else as well. Handled late or handled badly, they end in double taxation, heavy penalties, or statutory presumptions of unreported wealth that are remarkably difficult to rebut.
Engaging an international tax lawyer (avocat fiscaliste international) is not about filing forms. It is about characterising a cross-border situation in legal terms, tax residence, permanent establishment, beneficial ownership, and then drawing the reporting, treaty and litigation consequences before the French tax authority does it for you. Alphard Law, a Paris Bar firm dedicated exclusively to international taxation, practises precisely at this intersection of French domestic law, bilateral treaties and multilateral instruments (OECD, MLI, DAC, CRS).
This page explains why cross-border situations call for dedicated legal expertise (I), the firm's practice areas for individuals, families and businesses (II), and our approach to French international tax audits and litigation (III).
I. Why cross-border tax matters require a dedicated lawyer
A. Tax residence is the cornerstone of every cross-border situation
French domestic law comes first. Under French law, an individual's tax residence is determined by Article 4 B of the French Tax Code (Code général des impôts, CGI), which sets out alternative, non-cumulative tests: the household or main place of stay, the exercise of a principal professional activity in France, and the centre of economic interests. Meeting a single test is enough to make an individual a French tax resident, taxable in France on worldwide income (CGI, art. 4 A). Many taxpayers who have moved abroad discover during an audit that they remained French residents under domestic law, even though they hold a residence permit, a home and an actual tax liability in their host country.
Then the treaty takes over. Where two states simultaneously claim the same taxpayer as a resident, the conflict is resolved by the applicable bilateral tax treaty, whose successive tie-breaker rules generally follow the OECD Model: permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality (OECD Model, art. 4(2)). Treaty analysis overrides domestic law, but it requires a rigorous reading of each treaty, whose wording varies significantly from one instrument to the next, together with solid factual evidence. Tax residence is not declared; it is proven. That is a lawyer's work, not a form-filling exercise.
B. Double taxation is never eliminated automatically
Treaty relief must be actively claimed. Tax treaties allocate taxing rights between the state of residence and the state of source, then eliminate double taxation through exemption or a foreign tax credit. None of this operates by default. Relief depends on the correct characterisation of the income (dividends, interest, royalties, employment income, capital gains), proof of treaty residence, usually through a certificate of residence, and compliance with substantive conditions such as the beneficial ownership clause. A mischaracterised item of income, a missing form or a miscalibrated withholding tax is all it takes to create perfectly avoidable double taxation.
A framework hardened by multilateralism. Since the entry into force of the Multilateral Instrument (MLI) arising from the OECD's BEPS project, most treaties concluded by France include a general anti-abuse rule, the principal purpose test (MLI, art. 7), allowing treaty benefits to be denied where obtaining them was one of the principal purposes of an arrangement. French case law has, in parallel, tightened the requirements of substance and beneficial ownership. In other words, an international structure is no longer judged on formal compliance alone: it must rest on real, documented economic substance. Our position on this point never varies: the best international tax planning is the planning that survives an audit.
II. Alphard Law's practice: individuals, wealth, businesses
A. Expatriation, inpatriation and taxation of non-residents
Preparing a departure from France. Transferring one's tax residence out of France triggers immediate consequences: taxation for the year of departure, the French exit tax on unrealised gains attached to substantial shareholdings (CGI, art. 167 bis), continuing French taxation of French-source income (rental income, dividends, compensation for duties performed in France) and specific non-resident filing obligations. The firm audits the situation before departure, calibrates the timeline, secures the exit tax position (payment deferral, subsequent relief) and aligns the French analysis with the tax rules of the destination country, whether the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Portugal, the United States or any other jurisdiction.
Non-residents holding French assets. Non-residents remain taxable in France on French-source income and on capital gains from French real estate under the levy of Article 244 bis A of the CGI, as well as under the French real estate wealth tax (IFI) on French property. We assist an international client base, with particular depth on French-American matters, with French filings, recovery of excess withholding taxes and coordination with home-country obligations (FBAR and FATCA for US persons). Inbound moves receive symmetrical attention, including the favourable inpatriate regime of Article 155 B of the CGI.
B. Cross-border estates, gifts and wealth structures
International successions. For gift and inheritance tax, France applies the territoriality rules of Article 750 ter of the CGI, which frequently produce French taxation even where the deceased or the donor lived abroad, whenever an heir is French-resident or assets are located in France. Very few tax treaties cover inheritance tax, which makes case-by-case analysis indispensable to prevent double death duties. The firm structures cross-border transmissions by combining civil law (the EU Succession Regulation, choice of law) with comparative tax analysis across the jurisdictions involved.
Trusts, foundations and foreign entities. Foreign trusts and foundations are subject in France to a specific reporting and tax regime (CGI, art. 792-0 bis; trustee reporting obligations), and non-compliance exposes settlors, trustees and beneficiaries to severe sanctions. Where foreign assets are unreported, the presumptions of Article L. 23 C of the French Tax Procedure Code (LPF) and Article 755 of the CGI allow the authorities to tax unexplained assets outright at 60 percent. Our practice covers the French characterisation of foreign entities (trusts, foundations, Liechtenstein establishments, holding companies), voluntary disclosure and litigation defence where proceedings are already under way.
C. Businesses: permanent establishment, transfer pricing, restructurings
Securing an international footprint. For companies, the central issue is the characterisation of a permanent establishment, which determines a state's right to tax the profits of a foreign enterprise (OECD Model, arts. 5 and 7; Conseil d'État, 11 December 2020, no. 420174, Conversant International). Cross-border remote work, sales agents and commissionnaire arrangements have considerably widened the risk zone. The firm advises French groups expanding abroad and foreign groups operating in France on permanent establishment risk, profit attribution and transfer pricing documentation, including the French documentation requirements of Article L. 13 AA of the LPF.
Structuring and restructuring. We also advise on the tax structuring of cross-border operations: subsidiaries and branches, intragroup financing, international management packages and corporate migrations, together with the anti-abuse rules liable to apply (CGI, arts. 209 B and 123 bis on controlled entities in low-tax jurisdictions, withholding taxes under Articles 182 A and 182 B, ATAD rules). Every structure is stress-tested against domestic, treaty-based and EU anti-abuse provisions before implementation, not after.
III. French tax audits and litigation: our method
A. Audits increasingly target international situations
A better-informed tax authority than ever. Automatic exchange of information (the OECD's Common Reporting Standard and the EU's DAC directives) delivers millions of data points each year to the French tax authority (DGFiP) on foreign accounts held by French residents. Requests to justify the origin of foreign assets (LPF, art. L. 23 C), challenges to tax residence, reassessments under Article 155 A of the CGI on fees paid to foreign entities and outright 60 percent assessments under Article 755 of the CGI have multiplied accordingly. Faced with these procedures, haste and improvisation are the two most expensive mistakes: every written answer to the authorities shapes the rest of the case.
The defence begins with the first letter. Our litigation approach starts well before court: reviewing the procedural regularity of the audit, rebuilding documentary evidence of the origin of funds, contesting the legal characterisation adopted by the inspector, and mobilising treaty remedies, including the mutual agreement procedure to eliminate double taxation arising from a reassessment. Where the case warrants it, we take the dispute before the French tax courts, administrative or judicial depending on the tax at stake, up to the Conseil d'État or the Cour de cassation.
B. The Alphard Law method: an exclusively international practice
A deliberate boutique positioning. Alphard Law is intentionally focused: international taxation is not one department among others, it is the firm's entire practice. That specialisation sustains a granular knowledge of France's treaty network, of the jurisdictions our clients interact with most (the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, the United States, the United Kingdom, Bulgaria and Central Europe, Andorra, Asia-Pacific) and of the current audit practice of the French administration in cross-border matters. The firm is recognised by The Legal 500 and works with vetted local counsel in every relevant jurisdiction.
Lawyer-grade deliverables, not generalities. Every engagement produces a written, sourced and defensible analysis: a legal opinion, a structuring memorandum, residence documentation, a response to the tax authority or full litigation briefs. Fees are quoted transparently, on a fixed-fee basis whenever the scope allows it. And because international situations evolve, we follow our clients over time, as legislation, case law and personal circumstances change.
C. Practical recommendations: anticipate rather than endure
Consult before the transaction, not after. Almost every difficulty we handle in litigation could have been avoided by timely advice: a departure from France should be prepared six to twelve months ahead, an international estate should be organised during the settlor's lifetime, a foreign expansion should be structured before the first contracts are signed. Document everything, contemporaneously. Tax residence, the substance of a foreign company or the origin of funds are proven with records created at the time of the facts; reconstructing a file years later is always harder and less convincing. Never answer a foreign-assets enquiry alone. The procedures under Article L. 23 C of the LPF and Article 755 of the CGI are technical and their deadlines short; an incomplete answer can ground an outright 60 percent assessment. An international tax lawyer should be instructed the day the first letter arrives.
Conclusion
International taxation has become a precision discipline, at the crossroads of French domestic law, more than one hundred and twenty bilateral treaties, the OECD's multilateral instruments and a continuously expanding anti-abuse arsenal. In this environment, the line between legitimate planning and tax risk no longer runs through the ingenuity of structures but through the rigour of legal characterisations, the reality of substance and the quality of documentation.
In our view, the role of an international tax lawyer is now twofold: securing positions upstream, by building robust and documented cross-border situations, and defending them downstream, with the procedural expertise that increasingly well-equipped audits demand. That is exactly the perimeter of Alphard Law.
Our recommendation is clear: any individual, family or business whose situation involves a significant foreign element, whether residence, assets, income or operations outside France, should have its international tax position reviewed before the French tax authority reviews it for them. The cost of preventive advice bears no comparison with the cost of a reassessment.
Frequently asked questions
When should I consult an international tax lawyer in France?
Ideally before any transaction with a foreign element: moving to or from France, acquiring assets abroad, receiving foreign income, incorporating a company outside France, or planning a gift or estate involving several countries. In practice, three signals call for immediate advice: a letter from the French tax authority concerning foreign assets or income, a planned change of residence within the next twelve months, and any doubt about whether you qualify as a French tax resident. The earlier the consultation, the more options remain open.
I live abroad but keep real estate in France: what must I declare?
As a non-resident you remain taxable in France on French-source income, notably rent from French property, and on capital gains from the sale of that property (CGI, art. 244 bis A). You may also be liable for the French real estate wealth tax (IFI) if the net value of your French property exceeds the statutory threshold. The tax treaty between France and your country of residence then determines how this French taxation interacts with your home-country liability. In most cases an annual French return remains due.
What is the French exit tax and does it apply to my departure?
The French exit tax (CGI, art. 167 bis) taxes unrealised gains on shareholdings held by taxpayers transferring their tax residence out of France, where they were French residents for at least six of the ten years preceding departure and hold shareholdings worth more than 800,000 euros overall or representing at least 50 percent of a company's profits. Payment deferral, automatic or upon request depending on the destination country, and relief mechanisms exist. A properly prepared departure almost always neutralises the cash impact.
I hold an unreported foreign account or trust: what are the risks and remedies?
Unreported foreign accounts, capitalisation contracts and trusts expose the holder to fixed fines, 80 percent surcharges and, above all, the procedure of Article L. 23 C of the LPF: where the origin of the assets is not justified, they are deemed to have been received gratuitously and taxed outright at 60 percent (CGI, art. 755). France automatically receives banking information from more than one hundred jurisdictions under the CRS. A voluntary disclosure prepared with a lawyer, protected by French legal professional privilege, is almost always preferable to waiting for an audit.
How does the firm charge for its work?
Every engagement begins with a confidential discussion to understand the situation and define the scope of work. Fees are then set transparently in a written fee agreement, on a fixed-fee basis for defined assignments (a legal opinion, the structuring of a departure, a voluntary disclosure, a response to a reassessment notice) or on a time-spent basis for evolving matters, particularly litigation. No fees are incurred without the client's prior written agreement.