Returning to France from Thailand: tax residency, expatriates and tax returns

As soon as even one of the three criteria in Article 4 B of the French General Tax Code (CGI) is met again, you are once more considered a resident of France under domestic law, even if Thailand still considers you a resident; the tax treaty then determines the tax treatment between the two countries. In the year of your return, you must file two tax returns: form 2042-NR for the period spent abroad, and form 2042 for subsequent periods. Accounts opened in Thailand must be declared using form 3916. The expatriate tax regime may apply to certain employees, subject to specific conditions. On the Thai side, a departure tax certificate is required in three specific cases.

This page does not cover Thai social security, visas, or the Thai tax system. For Thai law matters, local legal advice is still necessary.

Before leaving: the Thailand tax certificate

Thailand has a departure procedure for foreigners: the Tax Clearance Certificate (form P.1). The Thai authorities require it in three cases: you owe taxes or arrears, you need to declare and pay taxes for a foreign company operating in Thailand, or you have taxable income as a performing artist. The application must be submitted within 15 days of departure. Simple transit and stays of up to 90 days per year without taxable income are exempt. Departing without a certificate, when required, is subject to a 20% surcharge on taxes and a fine of up to 1,000 baht.

On the French side, service-public.fr indicates that the country you are leaving may request a tax clearance certificate, called a tax clearance certificate, issued by its administration.

The day of return: two thresholds, two countries

French side. The doctrine (BOI-IR-CHAMP-10) identifies three alternative criteria: the home or principal residence, professional activity, and the center of economic interests. It states: "It is sufficient that one of the criteria be met." Repatriating your family or resuming your main activity may be sufficient.

Thai side. Thailand treats you as a resident after a stay of 180 days in the tax year. The wording of this threshold varies across its official tax documents, and we cannot definitively state the correct interpretation: if you are unsure about your number of days, please verify the Thai tax regulations. For non-resident foreigners, foreign-source income is not taxable in Thailand, even if remitted later, according to the Revenue Department's infographic. Thai-source income remains taxable, whether paid in Thailand or abroad. Our page on the 180-day rule provides further details on this point.

What the convention changes upon your return

If both states consider you a resident, Article 4 § 2 of the 1974 convention establishes the following criteria in this order: permanent home, center of vital interests, habitual residence, nationality, and agreement of the competent authorities. Four other rules apply to a return.

• Gains on property other than that referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 13 (Article 13, paragraph 3). They "are taxable only in the Contracting State of which the transferor is a resident." This State is determined by Article 4.
• Buildings and companies with a predominance of real estate (articles 6 and 13 § 1). Income and gains from property located in Thailand remain attributable to that location, as does the sale of shares in a company whose primary purpose is to hold real estate. Paragraph 2 of Article 13 deals separately with movable property of a permanent establishment or fixed base, ships, and aircraft.
• Pensions (Article 18). Pensions "are taxable in the first state," meaning the state from which they originate. The place of origin of the pension matters. The phrase "are taxable only in" is not included.
• Double taxation (article 23). France exempts income taxable in Thailand, except for income covered by Articles 8, 10, 11, 12, 16, and 17, for which it grants a tax credit equal to the tax paid in Thailand. For dividends, the credit cannot exceed 25% of their gross amount.

Your Thai income after returning

Section 50 of the Thai Revenue Code provides for a withholding tax of 10 % on eligible dividends. The treaty does not specify a ceiling for individual beneficiaries: the rates of 15 % or 20 % apply to companies that directly hold at least 25 % of the capital. The tax credit under Article 23 is the mechanism to consider for a dividend from Thai sources received by a resident of France.

Statements from the year of the comeback

In the year of your return, you are taxed as a non-resident for the first part of the year and as a resident for the second. The tax authorities outline the following procedures.

• Report your new address and bank details in the Public Finances section, and adjust your withholding tax.
• If you did not have any French-source income abroad, fill out form 2043, with supporting documents, for the tax office of your new residence.
• File form 2042-NR for the period of non-residence, including only your French-source income, if you had any. Then file form 2042 for the period of residence, including your taxable French and foreign income.
• For a first-time tax return in France, the filing must be done on paper. If you were previously registered with the SIPNR (French National Register of Non-Returning Persons), online filing is mandatory, unless there is a practical impossibility.

According to service-public.fr, a money transfer of at least €10,000 must be declared online to the customs authorities.

Accounts and contracts opened in Thailand: form 3916

Taxpayers residing in France must declare annually any bank accounts, assurance-vie or capitalization contracts, and digital asset accounts opened, held, used, or closed abroad during the year. The form must be attached to the income tax return. The penalty is €1,500 per undeclared account. The tax authorities' website states that this penalty is €10,000 for an account located in a country without an anti-fraud treaty; we do not apply this amount to Thailand, as confirmed by the legislation.

Impatriate regime: what the administration says

The regime under Article 155 B of the French General Tax Code (CGI) applies to individuals who were tax residents outside France for the five calendar years preceding their appointment. It runs until December 31st of the eighth calendar year following their appointment. It exempts the additional remuneration related to work in France, with a flat-rate option of 30% of the remuneration, up to an overall limit of 50% of total remuneration. The tax authority's website uses "total remuneration" in its introduction and "net taxable remuneration" in the details: the exact tax base should be verified with the source. It also exempts certain foreign-source capital income up to 50%, subject to conditions. The French Wealth Tax (IFI) is limited to assets located in France until December 31st of the fifth year following the establishment of tax residence. An employee recalled after more than five years to a company within the same group abroad may benefit from this exemption. Check the version applicable to your appointment date.

Exit tax: securities still held upon return

If you left France with a deferral of payment, re-establishing your tax residence in France results in a tax relief on capital gains, provided you still hold the relevant securities on the date of your return. Without a deferral, it is a full refund. The 2074-ETS3 follow-up declaration must be filed the year following the event. The tax relief only applies to the securities still held. The specific procedures depend on the tax guidelines applicable to your year of departure.

Back to June 15, 2026: numerical example (fictitious profile)

Situation. A fictitious employee, residing in Thailand, returns to France on June 15, 2026 to take up his position in a French company. He stayed in Thailand from January 1 to June 14, 2026 (assumptions).

Issue. He wants to allocate his 2026 tax year between tax returns and find out the duration of the expatriate tax regime, if his conditions are met.

Strategy. He counts his days in each country, compares his stay in Thailand to the 180-day threshold, and applies the duration rules from the administration page.

Result. He spends 165 days in Thailand, below the 180-day threshold, and 200 days in France starting June 15th, for a total of 365 days. The 165 days are reported on form 2042-NR for any French-source income, and the 200 days on form 2042. If the provisions of Article 155 B apply, they would extend until December 31, 2034, and the limitation of the French wealth tax (IFI) to assets located in France would extend until December 31, 2031. Departing from Thailand on August 15th would have resulted in 226 days, above the threshold.

This profile is fictitious. These dates assume the start of employment in 2026 and that the five-year absence requirement has been met. The Thai days count provides no information regarding the taxation of Thai-sourced income.

What changes depending on your situation

• Your status at the time of taking up duties: employee of a group, manager, self-employed.
• The exact date on which one of the criteria in Article 4 B is met.
• The nature of your Thai income: dividends, rents, pensions, salaries.
• The presence of an exit tax deferral or a tax postponement.
• Accounts, contracts and digital assets opened in Thailand.

These points are examined on a case-by-case basis. No tax results can be announced without this review.