The 1966 France-Ivory Coast tax treaty, as amended by the MLI: what the texts say

The convention between France and Côte d'Ivoire was signed in Abidjan on April 6, 1966. Two amendments modified it: one in 1985 concerning royalties and the other in 1993 concerning investment income, salaries, double taxation, and wealth tax. It is also amended by the Multilateral Convention (MLI): the tax authorities' list specifies January 1, 2024, for withholding taxes and July 1, 2024, for other taxes. For employees, the 1993 amendment establishes a threshold of 183 days over any twelve-month period.

This page is based on the official government guidance (BOFiP), the text of the agreement, and the consolidated version amended by the MLI, all three published or referenced by the French government. It does not provide any withholding tax rates; we have not cited any from memory. It was unable to access a readable official Ivorian website.

A 1966 text, two amendments, the MLI

The convention entered into force on October 1, 1968, following Law No. 67-1186 of December 28, 1967. It was published by Decree No. 69-66 of January 15, 1969.

The 1985 amendment applies, for taxes withheld at source, to sums paid from 1 January 1989. The 1993 amendment also introduced Article 17 on public remuneration, applicable from 1 January 1996. A technical cooperation agreement on personnel matters, signed on 24 April 1961 and amended by an exchange of letters in 1995, is separate from the tax convention.

MLI

The consolidated version specifies that the MLI (Minimum Tax Incentive) came into effect on January 1, 2019, for France and on January 1, 2024, for Côte d'Ivoire. Its provisions take effect, for taxes withheld at source, when the taxable event occurs on or after January 1, 2024; for all other taxes, for tax periods beginning on or after July 1, 2024. The BOI-ANNX-000511 list uses the same dates for Côte d'Ivoire.

The consolidated version reproduces the clause on the right to benefits: a benefit provided for in the convention is not granted for an item of income if it is reasonable to conclude that its granting was one of the main purposes of an arrangement or transaction.

The list of administrative agreements (April 29, 2026) includes for Ivory Coast the mention "IR – IF – S – DE": income tax, wealth tax, inheritance tax, registration fees.

The taxes targeted on the Ivorian side

According to the commentary, the convention aims, on the Ivorian side:

• the tax on industrial and commercial profits and on the profits of agricultural operations; ;
• the tax on profits from non-commercial professions; ;
• tax on public and private salaries, allowances, emoluments and wages; ;
• the tax on income from movable capital; ;
• general income tax.

The protocol adds the national contribution.

Article 2: The home

A natural person is domiciled at the place of their permanent home, that is to say, the center of their vital interests. According to the commentary, if this criterion is insufficient, the longest period of residence takes precedence, followed by nationality, and then an agreement between the authorities.

This concept is that of the convention. French tax residence is determined by Article 4 B of the French General Tax Code (CGI), discussed on our page regarding its three criteria.

Buildings and capital gains on real estate

Two official sources do not classify real estate capital gains under the same article. We present them both without distinguishing between them.

• The BOFiP commentary links these capital gains to article 9. It states that the rule applies "not only to the actual income from the assets in question, but also to real estate capital gains".
• In the consolidated version amended by the MLI that we reviewed, section 9 addresses income from real estate, including profits from farming and forestry operations, taxable only in the state where the property is located. Capital gains are addressed in section 15.

According to Article 15 of the consolidated text:

• Paragraph 1: Gains from the disposal of immovable property, as defined in Article 4, are taxable in the State where such property is situated.
• Paragraph 2: Gains from the disposal of shares or similar rights or interests, such as partnership or trust units, are taxable in the other State if, at any time during the 365 days preceding the disposal, such securities derive directly or indirectly more than 50% of their value from real property situated in that other State.
• Paragraph 5: Gains from the disposal of any property other than that of paragraphs 1 to 4 shall be taxable only in the State in which the transferor is domiciled.

The discrepancy between the BOFiP (Article 9) and the consolidated text (Article 15) should be verified with the tax authorities before any decision is made. Article 4 defines real estate by reference to the land ownership legislation of the state where it is located. On the French side, according to the commentary, shares or units of transparent real estate companies referred to in Article 1655 ter of the French General Tax Code (CGI) are considered real estate.

Wages: the threshold of 183 days, over twelve months

The general rule is that remuneration from employment performed in the other State is taxable there. An exception, in Article 22, defers taxation to the State of residence when three conditions are met:

• the stay in the other State does not exceed 183 days; ;
• the employer, or the person paying on their behalf, is not domiciled in the other State; ;
• the remuneration is not deducted from the profits of a permanent establishment or fixed base of the employer in the other State.

The original wording referred to the fiscal year. According to the commentary, the 1993 amendment clarifies that the limit is assessed over any twelve-month period, not the calendar year. Normal work interruptions, including vacation time, are included in this period if the employee subsequently resumes their duties in the other state.

Public remuneration falls under Article 17: only the state from which it originates can tax it.

Eliminating double taxation: Article 26 § 3

Article 26 is found in the chapter on income taxes. Paragraph 3 applies to each State, depending on the individual's domicile: the State of domicile (the "first State") may tax the income that the treaty makes taxable in the other State. The tax levied in the other State is not deductible from the taxable income in the first State. In return, the individual is entitled to a tax credit against the tax owed in the first State.

The amount of the credit depends on income. There are two systems:

• for income from Articles 13, 14, 15 § 2, 16, 18 and 20 § 2 and 3, the credit is equal to the tax levied in the other State, without being able to exceed the tax of the first State corresponding to this income; ;
• For other income, the credit is equal to the tax of the first state corresponding to that income.

Paragraph 3 applies "subject to" paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 26, which are not reproduced on this page. The BOFiP commentary describes the French method as an imputation of the corresponding French tax against income taxable in Côte d'Ivoire.

Fortune, inheritance, registration

The consolidated version includes, after the chapter on income, a chapter on wealth (Articles 26 A to 26 C, created by the 1993 amendment), a chapter on inheritance (Articles 27 to 34 A), and a chapter on registration duties other than inheritance tax and stamp duties (Articles 35 and 36). Article 26 A concerns, for France, the wealth tax and any identical or similar taxes that would be added to or replace it.

This page does not detail these substantive rules, nor the application of the chapter on wealth to the French Wealth Tax (IFI). The commentary indicates that the agreement is of the same type as the one concluded with Mali on September 22, 1972, and that the agreement procedure is similar. The agreement contains clauses for mutual assistance regarding the exchange of information and tax collection.

Ivory Coast is included in the table in the annex to the draft finance law for 2027 on the exchange of information, and is not among the 11 States on the French list of non-cooperative States and territories.

What this page does not cover

• Withholding tax rates on dividends, interest and royalties.
• Pensions and annuities.
• The non-discrimination clause.
• Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 26.
• Wealth tax, substantive rules on inheritance and registration fees.
• The rules of Ivorian domestic law.

Missions in Ivory Coast over twelve months: a numerical example (fictitious profile)

Situation. A salaried employee, residing in France, a fictitious profile, is employed by a French company. He undertakes three missions to Ivory Coast during the same twelve-month period: 55, 48 and 62 days.

Issue. He wants to know if the 183-day threshold of Article 22 has been exceeded.

Strategy. He keeps a daily tally over any period of twelve consecutive months, including holidays, and then has the other two conditions examined.

Result. His three assignments total 165 days, exceeding the threshold by 18 days. A fourth assignment of 25 days would bring the total to 190 days, 7 days above the threshold. This is not sufficient to draw a conclusion: the conditions relating to the employer and the permanent establishment still need to be examined. The durations are hypothetical based on a hypothetical profile.

What changes depending on your situation

• Your home as defined in Article 2.
• The nature of the income: salary, public remuneration, real estate income, capital gain, dividend, royalty.
• The tax date: the event triggering withholding tax, or the tax period, with regard to the dates of the MLI.
• The count of your days over each twelve-month period.
• The nature and location of your assets, for real estate capital gains and inheritances.

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