#Leaving France: Tax Lawyer for the French Exit Tax and a Legally Sound Change of Residence

Moving your tax residence out of France is lawful. French tax law governs this departure through precise rules: domicile criteria in Article 4 B of the French Tax Code (code général des impôts, CGI), a tax on unrealised capital gains in Article 167 bis, and continued French taxation of certain assets left in France. A poorly prepared departure costs more than the departure itself: reassessment of your tax domicile, penalties, and exit tax becoming payable for failure to file on time.

In Paris, Hashtag Avocats assists corporate officers, founders, senior executives and investors who are considering a change of tax residence. We quantify the consequences before the decision, set the timetable of steps and handle the tax filings. Every situation is different and is analysed in light of French law and the applicable tax treaty.

Three questions to settle before you leave

Will you really be a non-resident of France?

Tax domicile is not chosen; it is established by the facts. Article 4 B of the CGI sets out three alternative sets of criteria: your home or principal place of stay, the exercise in France of a professional activity that is not merely ancillary, and the location in France of the centre of your economic interests. A single criterion is enough to make a person domiciled in France. The 183-day rule, often cited, is not the French rule: it appears in none of these criteria. In addition, the corporate officers of companies whose registered office is in France and which generate annual turnover there of more than €250 million are presumed to carry out their main professional activity in France, unless proven otherwise.

Our detailed analysis: the Article 4 B criteria.

Does the French exit tax apply to you?

Article 167 bis of the CGI taxes unrealised capital gains on company shares and securities at the time your domicile is transferred out of France. Two cumulative conditions trigger the regime: having been domiciled in France for at least six of the ten years preceding the transfer, and holding securities representing at least 50% of a company’s profits or with an aggregate value of more than €800,000. Payment is automatically deferred when you move to a European Union Member State or to a State that has concluded with France both an administrative assistance agreement to combat tax fraud and evasion and a mutual assistance agreement on tax recovery. Elsewhere, deferral is granted on request, subject to providing guarantees.

Our detailed analysis: deferral of exit tax payment.

What happens to what stays in France?

Leaving does not sever the tax link with your French assets. The real estate wealth tax (impôt sur la fortune immobilière, IFI) remains due on real estate assets and rights located in France only, above €1,300,000 of net taxable value (Article 964 of the CGI). The sale of a French property is subject to the 19% levy under Article 244 bis A. Inheritance tax remains due in France on French assets, and on the entire estate if the heir has themselves been domiciled in France for at least six of the last ten years (Article 750 ter). French-source income you retain is subject to the 20% minimum rate of Article 197 A, raised to 30% above the upper limit of the second band of the income tax scale.

What the law says

Four sets of rules govern the core of a departure.

• Articles 4 A and 4 B of the CGI: who is taxable in France, and on what base. Persons domiciled in France are taxable on their worldwide income; others, on their French-source income only.
• Bilateral tax treaties: when two States both consider the same person to be their resident, the treaty decides. French treaties follow the logic of Article 4 of the OECD Model Convention: permanent home, then centre of vital interests, then habitual abode, then nationality.
• Article 167 bis of the CGI: the exit tax, its scope, its deferral and its discharge.
• Articles 964, 244 bis A and 750 ter of the CGI: what France continues to tax after you leave, in terms of IFI, real estate capital gains and gifts and inheritance.

2026-2027 timetable: in force, under discussion, proposed

Three levels, not to be confused.

Details are in our comparison of the 2027 manifestos (in French), and the question of retroactivity in our analysis of the scope of a new finance law (in French).

Our method

A well-managed change of tax residence is prepared twelve to eighteen months before the departure date. We work in five stages.

1. Diagnosis. Inventory of your assets, sources of income, shareholdings and the ties you keep with France. Identification of the Article 4 B criteria that could still attach your home to France.
2. Costed simulation. Cost of leaving under each available option: exit tax with deferral, gift before departure, sale before or after the transfer, keeping or selling French property.
3. Timetable of steps. Order and date of each transaction, taking into account the taxable event for each tax. IFI is determined by the position on 1 January; capital gains, on the day of sale; exit tax, on the transfer of domicile.
4. Tax filings. Form 2074-ETD for the exit tax, returns 2042 and 2042-NR for the year of departure, form 3916 for accounts opened abroad.
5. Follow-up after departure. Building the evidence file, monitoring the deferral until discharge, responding to requests from the tax authorities and defending you in a tax audit.

What we do not do

Our work stops where criminal risk begins. We do not set up sham domiciles: a fictitious tax domicile abroad is an aggravating circumstance of tax fraud, punishable by seven years’ imprisonment and a €3,000,000 fine under Article 1741 of the CGI. We do not advise structures lacking substance, which expose you to abuse of law under Articles L64 and L64 A of the French Tax Procedure Code (livre des procédures fiscales, LPF). We take no part in failing to declare a foreign account, which is penalised by a fine of €1,500, raised to €10,000 depending on the State concerned, and which extends the reassessment period from three to ten years.

Where an account or income has not been declared, the right course is regularisation, described in our article on the undeclared foreign account, not silence.

Our analyses

Deciding

• leaving France: what is law and what is merely announced
• 2027 presidential election and wealth (in French): a factual, dated comparison
• number of departures from France (in French): what the sources measure
• tax planning, abuse of law and fraud: the line between tax planning and fraud

Leaving: the legal mechanics

• assessing tax domicile: the Article 4 B criteria
• 2042-NR return: the year of departure
• unrealised gains on departure: thresholds, deferral, discharge
• gift before moving abroad: eliminating the unrealised gain
• IFI for non-residents: keeping a property in France
• inheritance after moving abroad: Article 750 ter
• form 3916: accounts and contracts abroad
• tax audit after leaving: what the tax authorities check

Destinations and tax treaties

• tax in Portugal
• Italy
• Swiss lump-sum taxation
• Dubai
• Belgium
• Spain
• Israel

Red lines and disputes

• sham expatriation: the risks of a token departure
• regularising a foreign account: how to regularise
• timing of the consultation: when to consult

Not leaving?

Some of the questions raised ahead of an election involve no departure at all: passing on assets, splitting ownership, structuring a holding company, rebalancing life insurance. These topics are covered on our page wealth and the 2026 Finance Law (in French). For international business matters, our international tax lawyer page covers permanent establishments, transfer pricing and intra-group flows.

A departure is often part of a wider review: sale of a business, succession planning, an ongoing tax audit. Our tax lawyer in Paris page presents the full range of the firm’s tax work, for individuals and businesses alike.

Frequently asked questions

How many days must you spend outside France to stop being taxed there?
No number of days is enough on its own. Article 4 B of the CGI looks at your home, your principal place of stay, your professional activity and the centre of your economic interests. A person who spends more than half the year abroad remains domiciled in France if their spouse and children stay there.

Can you keep your main home in France after leaving?
Keeping a home is possible, but keeping it permanently available to you weakens the evidence that your home has moved. Letting it out, genuinely and with documentation, places the property in an investment logic rather than a residence logic. The rental income remains taxable in France.

Does the exit tax apply to every move abroad?
No. It requires domicile in France for six of the previous ten years and securities representing at least 50% of a company’s profits or with an aggregate value of more than €800,000. Below these thresholds, Article 167 bis does not apply.

What happens to IFI when you leave France?
A non-resident remains liable for IFI on real estate assets and rights located in France only, where their net taxable value exceeds €1,300,000 on 1 January. Real estate held abroad falls outside the tax base.

Can you leave part-way through the year?
Yes. The year of departure is then split: income received before the departure date is taxed under the rules for residents, income received after it under the rules for non-residents. Two returns are filed.

Can the tax authorities challenge a departure after the event?
Yes. The reassessment period is three years for income tax, extended to ten years in the case of undisclosed activity or failure to meet the reporting obligations for accounts and contracts held abroad (Article L169 of the Tax Procedure Code).

Should you close your French bank accounts?
No, a non-resident may lawfully hold French accounts. You must, however, inform the banks of your change of residence, and declare in France any accounts opened abroad for as long as you remain domiciled in France.

Discuss your situation

A departure is costed before it is decided. We review your situation, the applicable law and the relevant tax treaty, then give you a timetable of steps and an estimate of the cost of each option. Every situation is different and deserves a dedicated analysis.

Official sources

• Article 4 B of the French Tax Code, tax domicile – Légifrance (in French)
• Article 167 bis of the French Tax Code, taxation of unrealised capital gains on transfer of domicile out of France – Légifrance (in French)
• Article 244 bis A of the French Tax Code, levy on real estate capital gains of non-residents – Légifrance (in French)
• Article 750 ter of the French Tax Code, territorial scope of gift and inheritance duties – Légifrance (in French)
• Article 964 of the French Tax Code, real estate wealth tax – Légifrance (in French)
• Article 197 A of the French Tax Code, minimum tax rate for non-residents – Légifrance (in French)
• Article 1741 of the French Tax Code, tax fraud and aggravating circumstances – Légifrance (in French)
• Article L169 of the French Tax Procedure Code, reassessment period – Légifrance (in French)
• Law No. 2026-103 of 19 February 2026, the 2026 Finance Law – Légifrance (in French)

This page sets out the law for general information purposes, as verified on the date of publication. It does not constitute legal advice. Every situation is different and deserves a dedicated analysis. Content compliant with the professional conduct rules of the legal profession.