Guide for buyers living in France
Buying property abroad from France
Rules last checked 30 October 2026 · 9 official sources · Education, not financial, tax, legal or immigration advice.
What a buyer living in France meets before and after buying a home abroad: sending the money out, tax at home on the rent and the sale, and the forms to file.
The three things to know
- Sending money abroad
Financial relations between France and other countries are free by law, and customs must be told only when cash, bearer instruments, gold or prepaid cards of EUR 10,000 or more cross a border.
- Tax at home
A person domiciled in France is taxed on worldwide income, so rent and gains from a home abroad are taxable unless the treaty with the property country exempts them, with a credit for foreign tax or an exemption that still sets the rate. A household with net real estate above EUR 1.3 million at 1 January also owes the IFI on a home abroad.
- Reporting at home
Foreign rent goes on form 2047, foreign bank accounts on form 3916 and real estate wealth on form 2042 IFI, all with the annual return, and a sale is declared on form 2048 IMM within one month.
Sending money abroad
No restriction found
- Rule
Financial relations between France and other countries are free (article L151 1 of the Monetary and Financial Code), exercised within the rules of that chapter and France's international commitments.
A report
- Rule
Cash, bearer instruments, gold and prepaid cards of EUR 10,000 or more carried across the border must be declared to customs by any person, resident or not; bank transfers and transfers through specialised money transfer firms are outside this declaration.
- Limit
10,000 EUR per per crossing
For buying a home abroad
- Rule
No rule read ties a transfer to the purpose of buying a home abroad; a bank account abroad used for the purchase or the proceeds is declared on form 3916 by its holder.
Tax at home
A person is domiciled in France for tax if the home or main place of stay is in France, if a professional activity is carried on there other than as a side activity, or if the centre of economic interests is there, subject to any treaty rule that places the person in another country (article 4 B of the General Tax Code).
Rent from a home abroad
- Rule
A person domiciled in France is taxed on worldwide income, including rent from a home abroad, which is declared on form 2047 (frame 4) and carried to the property income lines of form 2042 C. Under the treaty with the property country the rent is either taxable in France with a tax credit, or exempt in France but counted in setting the rate (taux effectif); where there is no treaty it is taxable in France, net of foreign tax withheld.
Gain on selling a home abroad
- Rule
A gain on selling a home abroad that a treaty does not exempt is taxed in France at the flat rate of 19 percent plus social contributions, declared on form 2048 IMM within one month of the sale, with a credit that the treaty sets equal to either the French tax on the gain or the foreign tax paid, capped at the French tax.
Wealth or property tax on foreign assets
- Rule
A household domiciled in France is liable to the annual real estate wealth tax (IFI) on net real estate worldwide above EUR 1.3 million at 1 January, so a home abroad counts; foreign tax of a similar kind on property abroad can be deducted up to the French tax on those assets.
Relief for tax paid abroad
- Rule
France relieves double tax by treaty either with a credit or with exemption that still sets the rate. The official notice for 2025 income lists 45 treaty partners and territories under exemption with rate effect and 75 under a credit equal to the French tax; a credit for foreign tax actually paid applies for other income, and the credit cannot exceed the French tax on that income.
Reporting at home
Form 2047 with form 2042 C (foreign source income)
- Who
Households domiciled in France with income from abroad
- Threshold
None
- Deadline
With the annual income tax return
- Covers a foreign home
Yes
Form 3916 (foreign bank accounts, life insurance contracts and digital asset accounts)
- Who
Individuals domiciled in France who hold, use, open or close an account abroad in the year
- Threshold
None; the form notice states EUR 1,500 per undeclared account, EUR 10,000 where the account is in a state without an administrative assistance treaty giving access to bank information
- Deadline
With the annual income tax return
- Covers a foreign home
only through accounts or entities
Form 2042 IFI (real estate wealth tax)
- Who
Households with net taxable real estate above the threshold at 1 January, including property abroad
- Threshold
EUR 1,300,000 net taxable real estate
- Deadline
With the annual income tax return
- Covers a foreign home
Yes
Form 2048 IMM (sale of property)
- Who
Owners who sell a property abroad whose gain is taxable in France
- Threshold
None
- Deadline
Within one month of the sale
- Covers a foreign home
Yes
Where to look
Choose a country to see what its rules say for a buyer with a France passport living in France.
Check a country for a passport
Australia
Depends on the propertyPassport: France. Buyer lives outside Australia. Reading for a home.
Different property types carry different readings. The country guide lists each one.
Australia requires a foreign person to obtain foreign investment approval before buying residential land, and from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029 buying an established dwelling is generally banned, while vacant land and new dwellings stay open with approval. Australian citizens, permanent residents and eligible New Zealand citizens are not caught.
Rules last checked 29 October 2026
Questions people ask
What if a person domiciled in France rents out a home abroad?
The rent is declared on form 2047 and carried to the property income lines of form 2042 C. The treaty with the property country decides whether it is taxable in France with a credit for foreign tax, or exempt in France but counted in setting the rate.
What if the country of the property has no tax treaty with France?
Income from a country without a treaty is declared as taxable in France, net of any foreign tax withheld, because no treaty credit is available.
What if the home abroad is sold at a gain?
Unless the treaty exempts it, the gain is taxed in France at 19 percent plus social contributions, declared on form 2048 IMM within one month of the sale. The treaty sets a credit equal to either the French tax on the gain or the foreign tax paid, capped at the French tax.
What if the household's real estate is worth more than EUR 1.3 million with the home abroad?
A household domiciled in France is liable to the IFI on net taxable real estate worldwide above EUR 1.3 million at 1 January. Foreign tax of a similar kind on the home abroad can be deducted up to the French tax on those assets.
What if a bank account is opened abroad to buy the home?
A person domiciled in France declares each account opened, held, used or closed abroad during the year on form 3916 with the annual return. The form notice states EUR 1,500 for each undeclared account, and EUR 10,000 where the account is in a state without an administrative assistance treaty giving access to bank information.
What if cash is carried abroad to pay for a home?
Cash, bearer instruments, gold or prepaid cards of EUR 10,000 or more crossing a border must be declared to customs. Bank transfers are outside that declaration.
How does exemption with rate effect work?
France exempts the foreign income but includes it in the total used to set the rate on the household's other taxable income, so the exempt rent can raise the tax on other income.
What if someone spends part of the year abroad?
Domicile in France follows the home or main place of stay, a main professional activity, or the centre of economic interests, subject to any treaty rule, so a person keeping the family home in France stays taxable on worldwide income.
What is still open
These points could not be confirmed from an official source yet, so they are not stated as rules.
- The rate of social contributions on foreign rent and foreign gains of a resident of France could not be confirmed from the pages read, which cover non residents.
- Whether a home abroad qualifies for the main residence exemption on sale could not be confirmed from an official source.
- The filing dates of the annual return for the current year were not read.
- The legal text of the penalty for failing to file the IFI return was not read.
- Treaty rules that place a person in another country as resident were not read for individual treaties.
Sources
Official pages these figures come from (9)
See what this does to your own numbers
Add a property abroad next to everything else you own, and see the income and net worth that follow after tax, year by year.
Free to start. No card. Rules checked 30 October 2026.
This is education, not financial, tax, legal or immigration advice. Rules change and depend on the buyer's own facts. Advice from a licensed professional in the country concerned is what settles a particular purchase.