Expatriate tax reform postponed for a year

The tax reform for non-resident French citizens, which was due to come into force in effective January 2020 is postponed to January 1, 2021.

Government backtracking

The government has finally decided to postpone by one year the tax reform for non-resident French citizens. This reform, which was supposed to bring the taxation of residents closer into line with that of non-residents, rightly aroused a great deal of concern among French expatriates.

This decision was adopted on October 15, via an amendment to the 2020 Finance Bill currently before the French National Assembly. This postponement will allow Parliament and the government to clarify the consequences of the reform on the diversity of situations of non-residents, a explained the Ministry of Action and Public Accounts in a press release on October 17..

At present, certain French-source income of non-residents (salaries, wages, pensions) is subject to a special withholding tax (with three brackets: at 0 %, 12 % and 20 %).

Last year's reform stipulated that such income would be taxed at 20 % from the first euro, then at 30 % above 27,520 euros.