The expatriate regime in practice
Themes
Date of update
A special expatriate exemption scheme exists to help attract company directors and employees to France by providing partial income tax exemption, subject to certain conditions and for a period of up to eight years.
For employees and eligible directors
The special expatriate exemption scheme applies statutorily to all eligible employees and directors and does not therefore involve any preliminary procedures with the French tax authorities.
Eligible beneficiaries should indicate the amount of their remuneration which is exempt from income tax in their Income Declaration Form no. 2042C.
Their preferred capping option should also be indicated in the “autres renseignements” (“Other information”) section of the same Income Declaration Form no. 2042.
For persons recruited abroad by a French company, the option whereby the expatriation bonus undergoes a flat-rate assessment must be expressly selected in the declaration.
For employers
When completing their annual employment declaration (DADS), employers should provide:
- The amount of payroll subject to income tax.
- The amount of payroll exempted in the box marked “somme exonérées au titre du régime des impatriés” (“sums exempted under the special expatriate exemption scheme”), by indicating the total amount corresponding to the sum of all expatriation bonuses and fractions of remuneration received for work performed abroad
Further information
Tax hotline
The tax authorities have set up a “Tax hotline” (“Impôts Services”) for all personal tax matters: 0 810 467 687 (premium rate number).
Foreign investors office – Tax4Business
The Tax4Business help desk service, run by the French government’s Public Finances Directorate (DGFiP), is a single contact point for all tax queries involving foreign nationals.
The help desk can be contacted by email at the following address: