The France-Sweden tax treaty, article by article

Two conventions bind France and Sweden: one on income and wealth, signed in Stockholm on November 27, 1990, and the other on inheritance and gifts, signed on June 8, 1994. Sweden is not included in the list of conventions modified by the multilateral convention (MLC). This page presents the articles we were able to read, including a clause specifically for Swedish nationals residing in France.

Two texts, no amendments in the list

Income and wealth. The 1990 convention, supplemented by an exchange of letters dated March 14 and 18, 1991, entered into force on April 1, 1992. According to the BOFiP (BOI-INT-CVB-SWE), it applies to income earned from January 1, 1993. The administrative list (BOI-ANNX-000306, version of April 29, 2026) classifies it as "IR – IF" and does not mention any amendments. The BOFiP also indicates a separate agreement, made in Paris on April 17, 1998, on the exchange of information and assistance in tax collection; this page does not provide further details.

Inheritance and donations. The 1994 convention entered into force on 1 February 1996. It applies to deaths and gifts from that date (Article 18) and replaces the 1936 convention.

No changes made by the CML. The table listing amended conventions (BOI-ANNX-000511, version of April 29, 2026) does not include a line for Sweden. We consulted the 1990 text without a consolidated version.

Maximum deductions and key rules

Dual residence: Article 4 § 2

A person is considered a resident if they are subject to taxation in a state by reason of their domicile, residence, place of management, or a similar criterion. Individuals taxed solely on locally sourced income are excluded. A natural person resident in both states is taxed, in order, by the state of their permanent home (then the state of their center of vital interests), their habitual residence, their nationality, and finally by the state designated by the authorities by mutual agreement. A company is taxed by the state of its place of effective management.

Dividends: 15 %, and nothing at source from 10 % of capital

The tax of the source state "may not exceed 15 percent of the gross amount of the dividends" (Article 10, paragraph 2). If the beneficial owner is a company, other than a partnership, that directly or indirectly holds at least 10% of the capital, the dividends "are not taxable" in the source state. The tax on the profits of the distributing company remains payable.

Capital gains: three rules that stand out

Buildings. Gains from real estate located in the other State are taxable in that State (Article 13 § 1). Shares in companies whose assets consist primarily of real estate follow the location of the property when, according to the legislation of the State concerned, the gains are subject to the same tax treatment as those from the alienation of real estate (§ 2); the text also excludes real estate used for the company's own business operations.

Substantial participation. Gains on shares of a company are taxable in the state of that company if the transferor, alone or with related persons, held at least 25% of the company's profits at any time during the five years preceding the transfer (§ 3). The 1991 exchange of letters provides an exception: where a state defers taxation in the event of a group transaction, merger, division, contribution, or exchange of securities, the gains "are taxable only in that first state" for serious economic reasons.

The Swedish national residing in France. Paragraph 6 gives other gains the rule of the state of residence of the transferor. Paragraph 7 places a limit on this: it does not affect Sweden's right to tax gains from the alienation of property realized by a natural person of Swedish nationality, without French nationality, resident in France at the time of the alienation, if that person has been resident in Sweden "for at least five years during the seven years preceding the year of the alienation".

Salaries and pensions

Wages are taxable in the state of residence, unless the employment is exercised in the other state. The exception in Article 15, paragraph 2, requires a stay of no more than 183 days "during any period of twelve consecutive months," an employer who is not a resident of the other state, and an expense not borne by a permanent establishment or fixed base. The reference period is therefore any period of twelve consecutive months.

Private pensions paid in respect of previous employment are taxable only in the recipient's state of residence (Article 18). Public pensions are taxable only in the paying state, unless the recipient is a resident and national of the other state (Article 19, paragraph 2). Interest and royalties (Articles 11 and 12) are taxable only in the recipient's state, if that resident is the beneficial owner. According to paragraph 8 of the Protocol, remuneration paid for technical services, including analyses or studies of a scientific nature, is not considered royalty.

Eliminating double taxation: French tax credit, Swedish dividend exemption

France includes Swedish-source income in its tax base and grants a tax credit; Swedish tax is not deductible (Article 23, paragraph 1). For dividends (Article 10, paragraph 2), gains under paragraphs 1 to 3 of Article 13, and income referred to in Articles 15, paragraph 3, 16 and 17, paragraphs 1 and 2 (certain salaries, directors' fees, artists, and athletes), the credit is equal to the Swedish tax, without exceeding the corresponding French tax. For other income, it is equal to the corresponding French tax. Point 10 of the Protocol defines the tax paid in Sweden as that which is actually and definitively borne.

Under Swedish law (Article 23 § 2 c)), dividends paid by a company resident in France to a company resident in Sweden are exempt from tax in Sweden "to the extent that the dividends would have been exempt" had they been paid by a Swedish company. Other beneficiaries are not covered by this clause, and its other conditions are not detailed here.

Inheritance and gifts: the 1994 agreement

It applies to the estates of persons domiciled, at the time of death, in one or both of the two states, and to gifts made by persons domiciled at the time of the gift. It covers inheritance and gift taxes in France and Swedish inheritance and gift tax. Real estate is taxable in the state where it is located (Article 5); other assets are taxable only in the state of domicile (Article 9). The state of domicile taxes all assets and grants a credit for the tax paid in the other state (Article 12).

Paragraph 3 of Article 12 reserves to Sweden the taxation of the property referred to in Article 9 of a deceased person or donor domiciled in Sweden for at least "five years during the last seven years" preceding the death or donation, and who "at that time possessed the nationality of that other State but not those of both Contracting States" (wording of the text), with a credit for the French tax paid.

Amicable procedure, information

A case must be submitted to the competent authority within three years of the first notification (Article 25). The exchange of information falls under Article 26.

What this page does not cover

Tax credits and withholding tax, wealth tax, Articles 5 to 9, 14, 16, 17 and 20, application to the French wealth tax (IFI), and Swedish domestic law are not detailed. They can be found in the text of the convention.

Five years out of seven: a numerical example (fictitious profile)

Situation. A Swedish national, without French nationality, is a resident of France. He was a resident of Sweden in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, but not in 2023, 2024 or 2025. He sells a property in 2026.

Issue. He wants to know if the residency requirement of Article 13 § 7 is met.

Strategy. It counts the years of residence in Sweden over the seven years preceding the year of the transfer, i.e. from 2019 to 2025, and compares the total to the five-year threshold.

Result. He has resided in Sweden for a total of four years: he is one year short of five. If 2023 had also been a year of residence in Sweden, the total would be five, and the duration requirement would be met. This calculation only considers the duration: paragraph 7 also sets out conditions of nationality and residence in France at the time of the transfer. The profile and the years are fictitious.

What changes depending on your situation

• Your residence as defined in Article 4 and your nationality.
• The nature of the income: dividend, interest, capital gain, salary, pension.
• Your participation history over the five years preceding a sale.
• The number of years you spent in Sweden before moving to France.
• The number of days spent in each state over twelve consecutive months.
• The nature and location of your assets, for inheritance or donation purposes.

No result is guaranteed in advance.