France-Tunisia: the 1973 convention as amended by the MLI in 2024

The tax treaty between France and Tunisia was signed in Tunis on May 28, 1973, and entered into force on April 1, 1975. The Multilateral Tax Convention (MLC) amends it: its effects begin in France on January 1, 2024, for withholding taxes and on May 1, 2024, for other taxes. The text caps the withholding tax at 12% on interest and at 5%, 15%, or 20% on royalties. For dividends, Article 14 refers to the legislation of the company's country of residence, without specifying a percentage. This page follows the consolidated text published by the French tax authorities and includes information that they were unable to review.

A text from 1973, a law from 1974, the MLI since 2024

The convention includes a protocol that forms an integral part of it. Law No. 74-1080 of December 21, 1974, approved it. The administrative list (BOI-ANNX-000306, version of April 29, 2026) classifies it under the heading "IR – S – DE" and indicates an exchange of letters dated May 29 and June 24, 1985. According to the administration's commentary (§ 140), this exchange of letters concerns turnkey contracts.

The official commentary (BOI-INT-CVB-TUN) is dated September 12, 2012: it precedes the MLI. It should be read in conjunction with the consolidated text, which the administration publishes for Tunisia. Where the commentary and the consolidated text diverge, this page follows the text.

The right to benefits: the clause added since the MLI

A clause entitled "Right to Convention Benefits" precedes Title I. It excludes a benefit provided by the Convention as an element of income if it is reasonable to conclude that its granting was one of the principal purposes of an arrangement or transaction that enabled its acquisition. It remains possible, however, to establish that the granting of the benefit is consistent with the object and purpose of the relevant provisions.

The amicable procedure of Article 41 must be initiated within three years of the first notification of the contested measure.

Residence: the order of criteria in Article 3 § 2

Article 3 § 2 governs the case of a natural person resident in both States:

1. She is a resident of the State where she has a permanent home; if she has a permanent home in each of the two States, she is a resident of the one with which her personal and economic ties are closest (centre of vital interests); ;
2. if the center of her vital interests cannot be determined, or if she has no permanent home in either State, she is a resident of the State where she habitually resides; ;
3. if she habitually resides in both States or in neither, she is a resident of the State of which she is a national; ;
4. If she has the nationality of both States or of neither, the competent authorities decide by mutual agreement.

For a company, Article 3 § 3 refers to the seat of effective management.

Dividends: Article 14 does not specify a percentage

Dividends paid by a company resident in one state to a resident of another are taxable in that other state (Article 14, paragraph 1). The state of the company may also tax them, according to its own legislation and subject to Article 15, paragraph 2. These three paragraphs do not contain any percentages: this page therefore does not specify any ceiling, and the applicable rate is determined on a case-by-case basis.

Article 15 provides that, for a company subject to dividend distribution tax in its state of residence and which has permanent establishments in the other state, the income giving rise to that tax is allocated between the two states. Article 16 addresses adjustments that would modify this allocation. According to Article 17, the allocation is made by the company and notified.

Interest at 12 %, royalties at 5, 15 and 20 %

The text contains four paragraphs concerning royalties (5 %, 15 %, 15 %, 20 %): the administration's commentary groups them as above. These ceilings are maximums: the actual rate levied depends on the domestic law of the source state.

Wages: 183 days in the fiscal year. Pensions: the state of residence

For wages, Article 22, paragraph 1, designates the State of residence, unless the employment is carried out in the other State. Paragraph 2 defers taxation to the State of residence if 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, or the person paying on their behalf, is not a resident of the other State; ;
• the cost of remuneration is not borne by a permanent establishment or fixed base of the employer in the other State.

Article 25 reserves pensions, life annuities and similar remuneration paid in respect of employment prior to the beneficiary's State of residence.

Capital gains and construction projects

The administration's commentary (2012 version, prior to the MLI) indicates that the shares of a company whose assets consist primarily of real estate follow the statement of financial position. The consolidated text, however, sets out the numerical test of the table (more than 50% of the value, 365-day window); this page does not detail the consequences.

Article 29: Exemption with effective rate, credit for certain incomes

For France, income taxable exclusively in Tunisia is exempt from French taxes, but France retains the right to calculate its tax at the rate applicable to all of your taxable income (§ 1 a). For interest, royalties, directors' fees, and fees paid to artists and athletes (Articles 18, 19, 23, and 24), France includes the gross amount in the tax base and grants a reduction equal to the tax levied in Tunisia (§ 1 b). Tunisia, for its part, deducts from its tax an amount equal to the tax paid in France, up to the limit of the portion of its tax corresponding to income taxable in France (§ 2). A specific tax credit exists for dividends from Tunisian sources; it is not detailed here.

Inheritance: Articles 30 to 37

Title II, Chapter II, organizes the allocation of inheritance tax: taxes covered (Article 30), real estate (31), business and professional assets (32 and 33), other movable property (34), assets not mentioned (35), liabilities (36), and rates (37). Three rules are found in the text:

• buildings are subject to inheritance tax only in the State where they are located (Article 31); ;
• Tangible movable property, including household furniture and works of art, is taxable only in the State where it is located on the date of death, except for boats and aircraft, which are taxable only in the State where they were registered (Article 34 § 1); ;
• Property not covered by Articles 31 to 34 is covered only in the State where the deceased was domiciled at the time of death (Article 35).

The 2012 commentary further links shares and negotiable bonds of French or Tunisian capital companies to the state where the issuing company is headquartered, and debts to the state of residence of the debtor. Gifts are not addressed here.

Non-discrimination, information, recovery

Article 6 prohibits taxing nationals of the other state more heavily than nationals in the same situation. Article 40 governs the exchange of necessary information. According to the 2012 commentary, no assistance in tax collection is provided for.

Interest, royalties and 183 days: a numerical example (fictitious profile)

Situation. A fictitious French resident receives €8,000 in interest, €4,000 in copyright royalties, €6,000 in patent royalties, and €10,000 in trademark royalties from Tunisia. Employed by a French company, he also undertakes three missions to Tunisia during the year: 62, 47, and 51 days.

Issue. He wants to know the maximum tax that Tunisia can collect at source 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: €960 on interest (12 %), €200 on copyright (5 %), €900 on the patent (15 %), €2,000 on the trademark (20 %): a maximum of €4,060 on €28,000. His assignments total 160 days: a 23-day margin. A fourth assignment of 40 days would bring the total to 200 days, 17 days above the threshold. The two other conditions of Article 22 remain to be examined, and the actual rate levied in Tunisia depends on Tunisian law.

What changes depending on your situation

• Your residence as defined in the convention, assessed according to the criteria in its article 3.
• The nature of the income: dividend, interest, royalty (and its category), salary, pension.
• The number of days spent in each state during the fiscal year.
• The nature and location of your assets, for inheritance purposes.
• The effects of the right to benefits clause on your situation.

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