In summary…
On the day of your return, France becomes your tax residence again: it taxes your income from all sources from that date, and you must declare each account and each life insurance contract opened abroad.
Returning doesn't erase or regularize anything on its own: what you've built elsewhere is included in your French tax return from the very first year. Our position: prepare for your return with the timeline in hand, before your arrival date, and not by filing your tax return afterward.
«I’m returning to Lyon in August after seven years abroad. My securities account and life insurance policy are still there. Where do I start?» The answer lies in three steps: setting the date, declaring what already exists, and handling real estate and inheritance. From the date of arrival, the tax authorities will examine your assets wherever they are located.
1. The day of return sets the schedule: two declarations in the first year
The arrival date splits your income into two periods
France considers you a tax resident as soon as one of three criteria is met: your home (or, failing that, your main residence) is in France; you carry out a professional activity there, unless it is secondary; or the center of your economic interests is located there. A tax treaty with the country you are leaving resolves any disputes between the two states. Our article on the three criteria of article 4 B details each criterion.
In the first year, the tax return is filed in two parts. Income from French sources received up to the date of your return is declared on form 2042-NR. Income received since that date, both French and foreign, is declared on form 2042. If you had no French income during your absence, you file a single return with the tax office of your new residence for all income received since your arrival.
Specifically. If you declared French income as a non-resident, promptly notify the non-resident tax office of your new address via the secure messaging system in your online account. Without a personalized tax rate, withholding tax will be applied at the default rate, which disregards your family situation: request your personalized rate upon arrival.
For the technician. Article 4 B of the French General Tax Code (CGI): Tax residence is determined according to three alternative criteria; individuals domiciled in France are taxable on all their income. Forms: 2042-NR for French-source income prior to return, 2042 for the period of residence, 2047 for foreign-source income.
2. What France imposes upon return, including what has been established elsewhere
As a resident, you are taxed on your worldwide income: interest, dividends, rental income from foreign properties, and foreign pensions. This income is declared using form 2047, which is attached to form 2042. The tax treaty between France and the country of origin of the income serves to prevent double taxation: the mechanism is explained in our article on the tax credit and form 2047.
Foreign-sourced employment and replacement income is also subject to CSG and CRDS (social security contributions levied on income) if you are domiciled in France and covered by a mandatory French health insurance scheme. Set up your health insurance coverage upon arrival: see our update on health insurance upon return.
Since January 1, 2026, the overall rate of social security contributions on most investment income of a resident is 18.6 %, compared to 17.2 % for life insurance, home savings plans, property income and real estate capital gains.
Capital gains are calculated according to the standard rule: selling price minus purchase price. Returning abroad does not erase the capital gains accumulated abroad. However, a special regime exists for certain employees and executives who relocate to France: the expatriate regime (Article 155 B of the French General Tax Code). This regime is reserved for individuals who were not tax residents of France for the five calendar years preceding their appointment and applies until December 31st of the eighth calendar year following their appointment. It does not cover all returns: its conditions must be met before arrival (see [link to relevant section]). our article on impatriates.
| Subject | During expatriation | After the return |
|---|---|---|
| Taxable income in France | French-source income | Income from all sources, with form 2047 for foreign income |
| Accounts and contracts abroad | No French statement | Declaration each year, one per account or contract |
| Withholding tax | Withholding tax applicable to non-residents | Default rate or personalized household rate |
| Real estate wealth tax | Real estate located in France | Global real estate above €1.3 million, with a 5-year timeframe |
3. Accounts, contracts, securities: everything held abroad must be declared annually.
Once your tax residence is in France, you must declare each year, along with your income tax return, any bank accounts, digital asset accounts (cryptocurrencies), and life insurance or capitalization contracts opened, held, used, or closed abroad during the year. This declaration is made on a separate form for each account or contract, specifically for declaring accounts opened, used, or closed abroad. An online bank account whose IBAN does not begin with FR is likely a foreign account.
One exception: an account used solely for online purchases or sales receipts, linked to a French account, and on which sales receipts do not exceed €10,000 per year. For all other accounts, failure to declare costs €1,500 per undeclared account, and €10,000 if the account is in a country without an information exchange agreement with France. For a digital asset account, the fine is €750, increased to €1,500 if the account value exceeds €50,000 at any point during the year. When the tax authorities demand payment of taxes on funds held in an undeclared account, a surcharge of 80% of these taxes replaces the fine. Partner countries automatically transmit this data to the French tax authorities. Details in our article on accounts and contracts to declare and, for life insurance, in the one about the contract opened abroad.
For the technician. Article 1649 AA of the French General Tax Code (capitalization and life insurance contracts taken out outside France). Penalties: Article 1766 (contracts), 80% surcharge under Article 1729-0 A. Automatic exchange of information: DAC 2 Directive and OECD Common Reporting Standard (CRS). BOFiP: BOI-CF-CPF-30-20 and BOI-CF-INF-20-10-50.
4. Real estate and inheritance: two projects to be launched in the first year
The IFI looks at the whole world, with a five-year timeframe.
As a resident, you are liable for the French real estate wealth tax (IFI) if the net taxable value of your non-professional real estate assets exceeds €1,300,000 on January 1st, whether the properties are located in France or abroad. One rule softens the blow: if you were domiciled abroad for the previous five calendar years, you are only taxed on the assets located in France for a further five years. See the IFI for expatriates and the IFI of residents.
Gifts and inheritances: the domicile changes the scope
Tax residence is also the criterion that determines the extent of taxation on gifts and inheritances. France taxes all assets, both in France and abroad, when the donor or the deceased is domiciled there; it also taxes them when the beneficiary is domiciled there and has been for at least six years during the last ten. If neither party is domiciled there, only assets located in France are taxable, subject to inheritance and gift treaties. A gift is simulated before being signed. If you left with securities subject to exit tax, your return has specific effects, described in our article on exit tax and tax domicile.
For the technician. Provisions of the French General Tax Code (CGI) relating to the French Wealth Tax (IFI), including the rule applicable to taxpayers who transfer their tax residence to France. Article 750 ter of the CGI concerns the territory for inheritance and gift tax: assets located in France and outside France if the donor or the deceased is domiciled there, or if the beneficiary is domiciled there and has been for at least six years during the last ten years; otherwise, only assets located in France are subject to tax (BOFiP BOI-ENR-DMTG-10-10-30). Article 167 bis of the CGI addresses the treatment of exit tax upon return.
Case study: the IFI after five years of residence
Situation. A couple returns in 2026 after eight years outside of France. They own a rental apartment in France worth €450,000 and a property abroad worth €1,100,000, with no debt.
Issue. For five years, only properties located in France are counted. After this period, foreign properties are included in the database.
Strategy. During the window period, no IFI (French wealth tax) is levied. The couple prepares for the deadline and simulates, before the first year concerned, the fate of the foreign property.
Result. The IFI base is €450,000 during the window period, meaning €850,000 is below the threshold. At maturity, the base is €1,550,000, meaning €250,000 is above the €1,300,000 threshold: the IFI becomes payable.
Illustrative example, calculated using the rules in effect on October 23, 2026. Assumptions: values as of January 1, no debt, no principal residence allowance, five-year regime applicable because the couple was domiciled abroad for the previous five calendar years. 450,000 + 1,100,000 = 1,550,000.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to declare in France the foreign income received before my return?
No, not for the period preceding your return date: only income from French sources is declared then, on form 2042-NR. From your return date onwards, all your income, French and foreign, is entered on form 2042.
Do I need to notify the tax authorities of my return?
If you declared French income as a non-resident, promptly inform the non-resident tax office of your new address. Otherwise, no prior formalities are required: the address is included in your initial tax return.
Does an account that is only used for online payments need to be declared?
Not if it meets three conditions simultaneously: use for online purchases or sales, link to an account opened in France, and sales received under €10,000 in the year. If only one condition is missing, the account is declared.
Are you returning in the coming months?
The initial meeting takes stock of your assets: accounts, contracts, securities, real estate. It establishes the order of decisions to be made before your arrival date.
Are you a notary, chartered accountant, lawyer, or fellow consultant? Are you assisting with a return from expatriation? We work in partnership on the asset inventory and the reporting schedule: the client remains yours, we hand over the completed file to you.
Book an appointment
The initial consultation is to establish your exact situation and determine if there is anything that can be done—sometimes there is nothing, and we will say so as well. Thirty minutes, with no obligation.
Book an exchange with Balmont Conseil
Alexis Sagnier, financial and real estate investment advisor, insurance broker, AMF certified. ORIAS 13003497. Updated on 23/10/2026.
Official sources consulted
- Service-Public.fr — Income tax, return from expatriation
- Service-Public.fr — Declaration 2042-NR, departure abroad or return to France
- Service-Public.fr — Do we have to declare accounts opened abroad?
- Service-Public.fr — Declaration of accounts opened, used or closed abroad
- Service-Public.fr — Real estate wealth tax: people and properties concerned
- Service-Public.fr — Social security contributions on investment income
- Impots.gouv.fr — The regime for impatriates
- BOFiP — BOI-ENR-DMTG-10-10-30 (territoriality of transfers free of charge, tax domicile)
- Economie.gouv.fr — Taxes: what are the rules for residents abroad?
- National Assembly — Written Question No. 39208 (foreign accounts, DAC 2 and CRS exchanges)
