Leaving France for Spain: exit tax, foreigners' register and NIE

Moving to Spain does not automatically exempt you from French taxation simply by relocating: only one of the three criteria for tax residency (home, business activity, economic interests) is sufficient to maintain your status. For Spain, this is determined by spending more than 183 days in the calendar year or by having the center of your economic interests there. Your securities may trigger the exit tax, with a deferral of payment as outlined in the information leaflet in certain cases. This leaflet does not address the French personal income tax (IRPF) tax brackets or the thresholds of form 720.

Two definitions of residence, two day counts

On the French side, more than six months of residence generally characterizes a principal residence, without any absolute criterion. On the Spanish side, occasional absences count as days of residence, unless proof of tax residence in another country is provided. Both administrations can therefore consider you a resident in the same year. The Franco-Spanish convention then takes precedence over domestic law: its Article 4 first considers the permanent home, then the center of vital interests if you have a home in each state; failing that, the habitual residence, then nationality, and finally the agreement of the competent authorities. See the Spanish tax residence.

Upon arrival: central register, NIE and model 030

France Diplomatie states that Spain is a member of the European Union and that French citizens can enter with a valid passport or identity card. Its website does not address the NIE (Foreigner Identification Number) or stays exceeding three months. The Spanish Ministry of the Interior describes such stays as follows:

• Less than three months. Passport or valid identity document.
• More than three months. The EU citizen must personally register at the Foreigners' Office (Oficina de Extranjeros) of their province, or at the police station, within three months of their arrival, using form EX-18, an identity document, and supporting documents. The certificate, issued immediately, includes the NIE number.

The NIE is a "personal, unique, and exclusive number" issued upon request to foreigners who have economic, professional, or social ties to Spain; the Ministry's website says nothing about its use for tax purposes. Without an NIE, the Spanish Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria) requests a tax identification number using form 030. The Ministry's website pages are undated: review them before applying.

Form 720: What Spain requires you to declare abroad

Spanish residents file form 720 for their assets and rights located abroad, in three separate sections: bank accounts; securities, rights, insurance policies and annuities; and real estate. The Spanish Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria) indicates that, for 2026, filing is required from January 1st to March 31st; the thresholds are not included here. For assets, the 2025 handbook sets a general exempt minimum of €700,000 unless otherwise decided by the autonomous community (wealth tax in Spain).

Exit tax: conditions, 2026 rate and deferral

The exit tax applies to taxpayers who have been tax residents of France for at least six of the ten years preceding the transfer and who hold either at least 50% of the profits of a company or securities with a total value of €800,000. The two official documents differ on the threshold: "greater than €800,000" in the 2074-ETD notice, and "at least €800,000" in the information sheet. The text of Article 167 bis of the French General Tax Code (CGI) could not be consulted; this discrepancy is resolved on your tax return.

Income tax is 12.8%; social security contributions are 17.2% for a transfer in 2025 and 18.6% for a departure in 2026. The rate of 12.8% comes from the information sheet I read, which concerns transfers in 2025 and indicates 18.6% social security contributions for departures in 2026.

The payment deferral is "either automatic or granted upon request." The instructions state that it is granted automatically (case no. 1) if you transfer your residence to a Member State of the European Union or to another State or territory that has concluded with France an administrative assistance agreement and a mutual assistance agreement regarding tax recovery, provided that the State is not non-cooperative within the meaning of Article 238-0 A of the French General Tax Code (CGI). Two facts are relevant in the case of Spain:

• France Diplomatie designates it as a member of the Union (page updated on 13/10/2026); ;
• The annex to the draft finance bill for 2027 on France's network for the exchange of intelligence indicates that 11 States and territories are on the French list, from Anguilla to Vietnam, including Panama and Russia; it does not name Spain among them.

These readings do not replace the text of the decree of April 15, 2026, which we have not read: the classification is verified on the date of departure. Without automatic deferment, the application must be submitted no later than 90 days before the transfer.

Form 2074-ETD exists only in paper form; in case no. 1, it is filed the year following the transfer, along with forms 2042 and 2042 C. Monitoring is done via form 2074-ETS3. For unrealized capital gains only, the instructions only require it in the year an event terminates the deferral or results in a tax refund; it is annual when receivables or deferred capital gains exist, and form 2074-ETSL can then replace form 2074-ETS3 in a year without an event. The tax refund occurs after 2 years if the total value of the securities is less than €2.57 million, and after 5 years if it exceeds that amount, provided the securities are retained. Re-establishing residence in France can also give rise to a tax refund or refund. Finally, the transfer of residence terminates the deferral of taxation on the contribution-sale (Article 150-0 B ter): see the...’exit tax and tax deferral.

1995 Convention: Withholding tax and sharing of rights

Signed in Madrid on 10/10/1995 and entered into force on 01/07/1997, the convention is amended by the multilateral convention.

The "right to benefits" clause, added by the multilateral convention, denies the treaty benefit if one of the main objectives of an arrangement was to obtain it. Inheritances are governed by a convention of January 8, 1963, articles 29 to 38 of which apply: real estate is taxed only in the state where it is located (article 30), and intangible assets, including bank accounts, only in the state of residence of the deceased (article 34). The page France-Spain tax treaty these texts are repeated.

What remains taxable in France

Dividends from French sources are subject to a withholding tax of 12.80 % (rate as of January 1, 2026), unless more favorable treaty provisions apply. Capital gains on securities are generally not taxable in France, unless, together with the family group, you held more than 25 % of the rights to profits of a company subject to corporate income tax and headquartered in France at some point during the five years preceding the sale: 12.8 %, or 75 % for a person domiciled in a non-cooperative state. Capital gains on real estate are subject to a levy of 19 %. Social security contributions are added depending on your situation (17.2% of the % tax for residents outside the EU, EEA, and Switzerland; exemption from CSG and CRDS social security contributions for individuals affiliated with an EEA or Swiss social security scheme, for capital gains since January 1, 2019), as detailed on the tax administration's website. In the year of departure, form 2042 includes your income up to the date of departure, and form 2042-NR includes only your French-source income thereafter.

An executive leaving for Madrid with €1,400,000 worth of securities: a numerical example (fictitious profile)

Situation. A fictional Lyon-based executive, residing in France for over ten years, owns 60 shares of his company. His shares are worth €1,400,000, having been purchased for €400,000. He plans to move to Madrid with his family in 2026 and spend 190 days in Spain that year.

Issue. He wants to calculate the exit tax, know the form of the deferment and situate his days of presence in relation to the Spanish threshold.

Strategy. He calculates the tax before departure, consults the list of non-cooperative states at that date and prepares the paper 2074-ETD.

Result. The unrealized capital gain is €1,000,000. The tax liability amounts to €314,000: €128,000 in income tax (12.8 times the % threshold) and €186,000 in social security contributions (18.6 times the % threshold), representing 31.4 times the % threshold of the capital gain. His securities are worth less than €2.57 million: the tax relief period is 2 years, if he retains them. At 190 days, he exceeds the Spanish threshold of 183 days by 7 days.

What changes depending on your situation

• The criterion that maintains your residence in France: home, activity or economic interests.
• The value and nature of your securities, which determine the exit tax and the relief period.
• The residence in Spain of your spouse and minor children, which gives rise to a presumption of your habitual residence in Spain, unless proven otherwise.

No result is guaranteed in advance: each point must be read in light of the documents in your file.