Taxes and Property in France in 2026 for New Residents: the Impatriate Regime, Income Tax, the 31.4% Flat Tax, the Real Estate Wealth Tax and Purchase Costs

France is not a low tax country, and I never present it as one. But the system has real tools for newcomers, and the purchase costs of property are predictable. Here is what I go through with clients before a move, checked on 5 November 2026 against impots.gouv.fr and Service Public.

Tax residence

You are a French tax resident if your home or main place of stay is in France, if your main professional activity is in France, or if the centre of your economic interests is there. Residents are taxed on worldwide income, subject to tax treaties.

The impatriate regime

This is the main incentive, set out in article 155 B of the tax code:

Element	Rule
Who	employees and corporate officers called from abroad to work for a company established in France
Condition	no French tax residence in the 5 calendar years before taking up the job
Duration	until 31 December of the 8th calendar year after taking up the job
Salary	the impatriation bonus is exempt, or by option a flat 30% of net taxable pay
Foreign income	50% of certain foreign dividends, interest, securities gains and royalties exempt
Cap	by option, total exemption up to 50% of pay, or the foreign work share up to 20%

The pay that remains taxable must be at least the pay for similar jobs in France. The 50% exemption on investment income applies only to income from countries with a tax treaty containing an administrative assistance clause, and social charges remain due. The regime does not cover visitors or passive investors.

Investment income in 2026

The social security financing law for 2026 raised the CSG on most investment income, so the flat tax (PFU) rose from 30% to 31.4%: 12.8% income tax plus 18.6% social charges, according to Service Public Entreprendre.

Real estate wealth tax (IFI)

You pay IFI if your net taxable real estate exceeds €1,300,000 on 1 January. Once over the threshold, the scale starts at €800,000: 0.5% up to €1.3 million, then 0.7%, 1%, 1.25% and 1.5% above €10 million, with a relief between €1.3 and €1.4 million, according to Service Public. Financial assets are not included.

Buying property: the costs

There are no restrictions on foreign buyers. The costs collected by the notary are set by law, according to impots.gouv.fr:

• on an existing home, transfer taxes of up to 6.32% in departments that voted the 5% rate (allowed from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2028), with 4.5% kept for a first purchase of a main home;
• on a new build, a reduced rate of about 0.71%;
• a property security contribution of 0.1%;
• the notary’s own fee on a regulated sliding scale, 0.799% above €60,000.

Cost of living

Costs vary greatly between Paris, the Riviera and the regions, so I build a budget for each family rather than quote averages. As a benchmark, the French minimum wage is €1,867.02 gross a month from 1 June 2026, and the visitor resources test is built on it.

My view

For a salaried executive the impatriate regime can make France competitive for 8 years. For a wealthy family living on investments, model the PFU, IFI and the treaty position with a tax adviser before choosing France over a lower tax country.