Crypto: where to declare capital gains after leaving France

A capital gain is in principle taxable in the state where the seller is tax resident in the year of the sale. This is the basic rule, and it explains the common intuition: leave before selling.

The departure must still be genuine. In France, Article 4 B of the General Tax Code (code général des impôts) sets out four alternative criteria: the household, the main place of stay, professional activity and the centre of economic interests. Any one of them is enough to maintain domicile.

A taxpayer who kept their family household in France would therefore remain taxable there on their gain, whatever the date of the sale and whatever their new country of residence.

In the event of dual residency, the applicable tax treaty decides according to a ranked series of criteria: permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality.

One clarification is needed on digital assets in particular: they have no geographical location. Unlike real estate, which a tax treaty attaches to the country where it is located, a crypto-asset follows the person who holds it. It is therefore the seller's residency, and that alone, that governs.

Departure can trigger immediate taxation of unrealised gains. The exit tax covers shares with a total value of at least more than €800,000¹, or representing at least more than 50%² of a company's profits.

It applies to people who have been French tax residents for at least from 6 years³ during the ten years preceding the transfer.

We do not publish the French tax authorities' position on whether digital assets are included in the exit tax base: it does not appear in the extracts we were able to verify. The scope of the scheme is defined by reference to categories of securities and corporate rights, and its application to crypto-assets must be established with an adviser.

This uncertainty is significant and must be dealt with before departure, not after. It determines whether a declaration is needed and, where applicable, a deferral request.

Deferral is automatic for moves to the European Union and the European Economic Area. Elsewhere, it requires guarantees and a tax representative, with a request filed at least from 90 days⁴ before the transfer.

Regardless of taxation, holding digital asset accounts with institutions established abroad gives rise to an annual reporting obligation for as long as one is a French resident.

This obligation is separate from the declaration of capital gains, and failure to comply is penalised by a fine per undeclared account. It is frequently overlooked, including by taxpayers who have made no sales.

Automatic exchange of information is also gradually being extended to crypto-asset service providers, which reduces the sector's practical opacity. A European framework has been adopted to this end.

We do not publish the amount of this fine or the timetable for the automatic exchange framework taking effect: we were unable to verify them in an up-to-date official source.

1. Document the severing of ties with France before any sale: that is what decides, not the date.
2. Have your digital assets assessed with regard to the exit tax, with an adviser, before departure.
3. If the destination is outside the European Economic Area, file the deferral request at least from 90 days⁴ before the transfer.
4. Declare digital asset accounts opened abroad for as long as you are a French resident.
5. Check the rule in the host country: Singapore and Hong Kong do not tax capital gains, at 0%⁵ and 0%⁶, but their residency criteria are demanding.

The last point calls for a caveat. The absence of capital gains tax in these jurisdictions does not apply to repeated trading activity, which their tax authorities reclassify as business income. The line is drawn on a body of evidence — frequency, holding period, financing — and it is precisely where most active holders of digital assets find themselves.