Income Tax in France

Most couples pay less income tax or “impôts sur le revenu” in France than they would as a resident of the UK. This is not an outrageous claim but a statement of fact. There is no “tax allowance” in the British sense; there is an amount of money that you may earn, which is assessed at 0.00%, so this is arguably a question of semantics. 

A substantial difference is the “Quotient Familial” (pronounced qwo-shon famil-ee-yal), better known as the “parts” system. In the UK, we are taxed as separate individuals. This means that if in a couple, one person earns £100,000, they receive just the one allowance on this income, resulting in the earner becoming a high-rate taxpayer. In the UK, this is where we commonly see self-employed people, for tax purposes, employing their spouse in order to make use of the nil-rate allowance and the lower tax bands.

However, this would be unnecessary in France because couples are taxed together. A couple where one person earns €100,000 would be “deemed” as though each person earned €50,000. This can result in considerable savings over the UK position. Moreover, if you have children, you can divide this income into even more “parts”, further reducing your tax liability.

Just to be clear, a “couple” in France is defined as two people who are either married or in a “Pacte Civil de Solidarité”, or PACSed.

What are the Income Tax Rates in France?

Income Tax Scale applicable to 2023 Income

Impôt sur le revenu (CGI 197 I-1)

Pensions and salaried income receive an allowance of 10% up to a maximum of €4,321 for pensions and €14,171 for salaried income. There is an age allowance for those over 65 with an income lower than €27,670. The above is then divided into the number of “parts” of the household, further reducing your tax liability.

How is French income tax collected?

French income tax is always applied in arrears, and thus if you move to France in January of any year, your first income tax return is to be completed in May the following year. Anyone deemed to be a fiscal resident of France must complete a tax return or “déclaration d’impôts”. It does not matter if you have no income, or if all your income is deemed “exempt”, or where in the world the income is paid; if you live in France, you must complete and file a return.

Another point is that it is unlikely that you will be sent a tax return in the first instance. French law obliges you to go and obtain one. The argument that you did not receive a return does not protect you from being fined or, even (in very extreme cases), receiving a custodial sentence.

There is so much more to know about the French income tax system than can be mentioned here; thus, it is always worthwhile engaging a tax professional such as Kentingtons.

The information on this page is intended only as an introduction only and is not designed to offer solutions or advice. Kentingtons can accept no responsibility whatsoever for losses incurred by acting on the information on this page.