Moving abroad: what happens to your assets

“Alexis, I'm leaving in three months. Do I need to close my Livret A?”

No: the Livret A can be kept, with no residence condition. But your LDDS and LEP must be closed. That is the whole difficulty of leaving: each part of your wealth follows its own rule, and several are decided before the date, not after.

The most expensive one to forget comes down to one figure: if you leave the European Union with a large securities portfolio, the exit tax deferral application must be filed at least 90 days before departure.

At Balmont Conseil, we review your assets line by line, with the applicable rule and when to act.

1. What is decided before the date

Four decisions that are too late to make once you have left.

Your tax departure. You remain domiciled in France if just one criterion of Article 4 B of the French Tax Code is met: home or main place of stay, main professional activity, or centre of your economic interests. A spouse who stays in France or a business run from France is enough.
The exit tax, 90 days before. It targets individuals domiciled in France for six of the last ten years who hold more than €800,000 in securities or at least 50% of the profits of a company. Outside the European Union and associated states, the deferment must be requested at least 90 days before departure, with guarantees.
Your main residence. If sold after departure, it is exempt only if you move within the European Union or the EEA and sell it before the end of the following year, without having let or lent it in the meantime. For a move elsewhere, the sale is decided beforehand.
Your savings accounts and your PER. LDDS, LEP and Livret Jeune are closed; the PER cannot be unlocked on grounds of expatriation, and your payments will in principle no longer be deductible.

2. What happens to each part of your wealth

Here, investment by investment, is what the rules provide for a departure in 2026, verified in official sources as at 1st October 2026.

Item	Keep it?	What changes	When to act
Livret A, PEL, CEL	Yes	Interest exempt in France for a non-resident, unless moving to a non-cooperative State.	—
LDDS, LEP, Livret Jeune	No	Reserved for people domiciled in France: to be closed, with the savings transferred.	Before departure
French assurance-vie	Yes	No more social charges; withdrawals taxed at 12.8%, or 7.5% after eight years, a rate the tax treaty can reduce.	Check if the insurer accepts payments from your country
PEA	Yes, unless moving to a non-cooperative State	Gains outside the scope of French tax for a non-resident; your host country may tax them.	Before departure, with the exit tax
Individual PER	Yes	No early release due to expatriation; payments are in principle no longer deductible without taxable income in France.	Review the payments before departure
Company shares and securities	Yes	Exit tax beyond €800,000 or 50% of a company's profits; automatic deferral within the Union, on guarantees elsewhere; relief after 2 years (5 years beyond €2.57 million).	90 days before departure outside the EU
Main residence	Yes	Exempt after departure only when moving within the EU or the EEA, if sold before the end of the following year and not let; otherwise 19% plus social charges.	Before departing for a third country
Rental property	Yes	Rent taxed in France: minimum rate of 20% then 30%; 17.2% social charges (18.6% for furnished lets), 7.5% if covered in Europe, Switzerland or the United Kingdom.	Return filed every year
Social protection	Depends on status	Posted worker: French scheme retained; expatriate: local scheme. The CFE (French expatriates' social security fund) is optional.	Enrol within 3 months of departure

Sources: impots.gouv.fr, international section (pages of 10 March, 8 April and 25 June 2026); BOFiP: BOI-IR-CHAMP-10, ACTU-2019-00094, BOI-RPPM-PVBMI-40-30-30-20; service-public.fr, fact sheets F2365, F2367, F2368, F16140, F36526 and F34342; CLEISS; CFE (French expatriates' social security fund); French Tax Code, Articles 4 B, 125-0 A, 125 A, 150 U, 167 bis and 244 bis A. Position as at 1st October 2026. On a phone, swipe the table.

The year of departure. You file the following year, in two parts: your income from 1st January to departure on the usual return, and only your French-source income after departure on a non-resident return. The non-resident tax office then handles your file.

The exit tax. Once the deferral is granted, the return is filed with that of the year following departure, then every year while it runs. The tax is discharged if the securities are held for two years, or five years above €2.57m.

The return. If you return to France after five years away to take up a position, you can benefit from the inpatriate regime for eight years, and from IFI (real estate wealth tax) limited to your French assets for five years. Your accounts opened abroad must then be declared each year: failing to do so costs €1,500 per account.

3. Our services: 360° support for expatriates and investors

Three workstreams, in calendar order.

Six months before: the assessment

We check each of the criteria of Article 4 B, cost the exit tax, and establish, line by line, what is kept, what is closed and what is sold before the date.

Tax domicile criteria, one by one.
Exit tax: calculation and timetable of the deferral.
Main residence: sell before or after.

Three months before: the formalities

Applying for the exit tax deferral outside the European Union, closing the savings accounts reserved for residents, reviewing payments into the PER, the insurer's position on your assurance-vie, joining the CFE (French expatriates' social security fund) if useful.

For long-term mobility or moves between several countries, a Luxembourg assurance-vie contract may be considered, case by case.

After departure: the follow-up

Return for the year of departure, annual exit tax follow-up, French income, and preparation for your return when the time comes. The annual review is free of charge.

4. Methodology: our way of working

We work in four stages, and at each stage you know where you stand.

The initial review. We establish your actual situation: the make-up of your wealth, the project timeline, the situation of each member of the household, and the tax domicile of your heirs — because it is theirs that counts, not yours.
The applicable framework. We set out, source by source and with its date, the framework that applies to you. What we do not know, we mark “to be confirmed” — never anything else.
The choices. We present the options with figures and their respective consequences, and you decide. Wealth structuring comes after the decision, not before.
Ongoing monitoring. An annual review, free of charge, to check that the framework has not moved — treaties are amended, incentive regimes are abolished, thresholds change.

5. What the firm offers you

What concretely sets our work apart.

Sources, not claims. Every item in your file carries its reference and its date. You can check. It is the only way to work on a subject where most of the information available online is out of date.
A single point of contact in France. We coordinate your local advisers; we do not replace them: the host country's domestic tax rules are handled with a qualified professional on the ground. Our role is to keep the whole picture consistent and to defend the French side of the file.
Fees that are easy to understand. Fees disclosed before any commitment: fixed-price reviews, tailor-made engagements at €500 incl. VAT per hour, insurers' commissions on contracts taken out. The annual review is free of charge.

Frequently asked questions about moving abroad

Should I close my Livret A before leaving?

No. The Livret A can be held with no tax domicile condition, and its interest remains exempt. However, the LDDS, LEP and Livret Jeune are reserved for people domiciled in France and must be closed.

Can I keep my PEA when I move abroad?

Yes: since 2012, leaving no longer closes the plan, unless you move to a non-cooperative State or territory. A non-resident's gains are outside the scope of French tax; your host country, however, may tax them.

When should I apply for the exit tax deferral?

For a move within the European Union or to an equivalent State, the deferral is automatic. Elsewhere, it must be applied for at least 90 days before departure, with a tax representative and guarantees (Article 167 bis of the French Tax Code).

Can I sell my main residence after I leave without paying tax?

Only if you move within the European Union or the EEA, sell no later than 31 December of the year following departure, and the property has been neither let nor lent in the meantime (Articles 150 U and 244 bis A of the French Tax Code). For a move elsewhere, it is better to sell beforehand.

How do I declare my income in the year I leave?

The following year, in two parts: the usual return for income received from 1st January to departure, and a non-resident return for your French-source income received after departure. The non-resident tax office then takes over.

In summary

A departure is prepared line by line: what to keep, like the Livret A or the PEA; what to close, like the LDDS and the LEP; and what to decide before the date, like the exit tax and the sale of the main residence.

Six months before departure, there is still time to organise everything. Three months before, some doors are already closed.

Firm's fees: €500 incl. VAT per hour. Annual follow-up is free of charge.