The 1970 France-Morocco tax treaty, read article by article

The convention between France and Morocco was signed in Paris on May 29, 1970, and amended by an addendum signed in Rabat on August 18, 1989. It caps withholding taxes at 15% on dividends, 15% or 10% on interest, and 5% or 10% on royalties. It takes into account the employee's stay during the tax year, with a threshold of 183 days. Regarding inheritances, the tax authorities' list is marked "S," but Article 26 comprises three paragraphs: a rule on the registration of deeds and judgments, a rule on transfers during the lifetime of the individual, and a specific exemption.

A text from 1970, an amendment from 1989, no end date

Law No. 71-369 of May 19, 1971, approved the convention, which entered into force on December 1, 1971. The 1989 amendment rewrote, in particular, the articles on dividends and interest; it entered into force on December 1, 1990. The tax authorities' commentary (BOI-INT-CVB-MAR) is in effect in its version of July 24, 2019.

Article 34 stipulates that the convention remains in force indefinitely. Each State may denounce it by giving notice before June 30, starting from January 1 of the fifth year following its entry into force; it then ceases to apply on the following January 1.

What the text covers: revenues and registration fees

Title II deals with double taxation: income taxes (Articles 8 to 25), then registration and stamp duties (Articles 26 and 27). On the French side, the taxes covered for income are income tax, corporation tax, and payroll tax. The tax authorities' commentary clarifies that the convention "does not cover wealth taxes.".

Article 2: The home is settled in three stages

Article 2 defines the domicile of natural persons:

1. the location of the permanent home; ;
2. if you have a home in both states, the location of the center of your professional activities; ;
3. Alternatively, the place where you stay the longest.

The administration's commentary adds that the convention applies its own criteria: the domicile referred to in Article 4 B of the French General Tax Code (CGI) is not decisive. A legal entity is domiciled at its registered office.

Withholding tax: 15 %, 10 % and 5 %

Trademarks, film rentals, technical or economic studies, and equipment rentals are treated like patents (Article 16 § 2 c). These ceilings are maximums: the actual rate applied depends on the domestic law of the levying state, which this page does not detail. They do not apply to interest and royalties if the recipient has a permanent establishment or fixed place of business in the source state to which the income is attributable.

Another rule specific to this convention: dividends paid by a French company to a beneficial owner domiciled in Morocco are exempt from withholding tax in France if they are taxable in Morocco in the name of the beneficiary.

Salaries: 183 days, over the fiscal year

Article 18 establishes the principle that remuneration from salaried employment is taxable only in the state of residence, unless the employment is exercised in the other state. An exception defers taxation to the state of residence when three conditions are met:

• the stay in the other State does not exceed a total of 183 days "during the tax year in question"; ;
• the employer is not domiciled in the other State; ;
• the remuneration is not deducted from the profits of a permanent establishment or a fixed base which the employer owns there.

The reference period is the tax year in question. Public remuneration falls under Article 18 bis, introduced in 1989: in principle, only the paying state taxes it.

Pensions, real estate, capital gains

The administration's comment indicates that pensions paid since January 1, 1971 by a French debtor to a person domiciled in Morocco are no longer taxable in France, and that pensions of Moroccan origin paid to a person domiciled in France are.

Eliminating double taxation: exemption, credit and deemed rates

Article 25 combines two methods. For income taxable exclusively in the other State, a State does not include it in its tax base but retains the right to calculate its tax at the rate applicable to all income. For dividends, interest, and royalties under Articles 13, 14, and 16, the State of residence may, in accordance with its domestic legislation, include the gross amount in its tax base; it then grants a reduction equal to the tax levied by the other State, up to the amount of tax due on that income.

To calculate the French tax credit on income from Moroccan sources, the text uses deemed rates (Article 25 § 3):

• 25 % for dividends from companies domiciled in Morocco, increased to 33.33 % for a category of dividends that paragraph a) designates by reference to the dahir of December 31, 1960; ;
• 10 % for loan interest from Moroccan organizations specializing in economic development; ;
• 10 % for royalties under Article 16 § 2 b, paid by persons domiciled in Morocco.

Paragraph (d) excludes the rate in paragraph (a) when the dividend recipient is not subject to either income tax or corporation tax. The tax authorities' commentary clarifies that the flat rate of 25 % remains applicable.

Inheritance and gifts: what Article 26 says

The list of tax treaties used by the tax authorities (BOI-ANNX-000306, version of April 29, 2026) includes the abbreviation "IR – S – DE" for Morocco: income tax, inheritance tax, and registration fees. Article 26 contains the following information, in three paragraphs:

• Paragraph 1 applies the legislation of the second State to acts and judgments submitted for registration in one State after having been drawn up in the other, with imputation of the duties already collected; ;
• Paragraph 2 reserves to the State of location or operation the registration fees on transfers between living persons of buildings, business assets or clientele; ;
• Paragraph 3 provides that "Moroccan securities forming part of the estate of a person of French nationality domiciled in Morocco are exempt in France from inheritance tax".

The exemption in paragraph 3 applies to a person who is a French national and domiciled in Morocco. Articles 33 and 34 refer to "open estates" for the purposes of entry into force and termination. For an estate involving Morocco, verify the text and Moroccan law.

Exchange of information and recovery

Article 28 stipulates that tax authorities shall exchange information relevant to the assessment and collection of the taxes in question, and to the suppression of tax fraud. Article 29 provides for assistance in the recovery of sums definitively owed, once all domestic avenues have been exhausted.

Withholding tax ceilings and 183 days: numerical example (fictitious profile)

Situation. A fictional French resident receives €20,000 in dividends from Morocco, €8,000 in interest from a term deposit, €5,000 in other interest, €4,000 in royalties, and €6,000 in patent royalties. Employed by a French company, he also undertakes three business trips to Morocco during the year: 60, 45, and 40 days.

Issue. He wants to know the maximum tax that Morocco can levy at source on these revenues according to the convention, and whether his missions remain below the threshold of 183 days.

Strategy. It applies the ceiling of its article to each income, then adds up the days of stay for the tax year.

Result. Caps: €3,000 on dividends, €1,200 and €500 on interest, €200 on royalties, €600 on fees: a maximum of €5,500 on €43,000 of income. His assignments total 145 days: a 38-day margin. A fourth assignment of 50 days would bring the total to 195 days, or 12 days above the threshold. The two other conditions of Article 18 remain to be examined, and the actual tax rate levied in Morocco depends on Moroccan law.

What changes depending on your situation

• Your home address as defined in Article 2, which is not the same as that defined in Article 4 B of the French General Tax Code (CGI).
• The nature of the income: dividend, interest, royalty, salary, pension.
• The number of days spent in each state during the fiscal year.
• The nature and location of your property, and your nationality, for Article 26.

The rule depends on your situation. No results are guaranteed.