Leaving without mistakes: the checklist for the six months before departure

The first decision is the destination, because it governs everything else. A move within the European Union and a move to a destination outside Europe do not follow the same rules on deferral, social security or recognition of rights.

The second is schooling, for a family with children. The availability of a place in a suitable school cannot be negotiated, and consulates' school grant campaigns follow a timetable that starts well before the start of the school year.

The third is health cover. Pre-existing conditions and the guarantee of renewal must be checked before leaving: afterwards, changing insurer becomes difficult, then impossible.

The fourth is the valuation of securities holdings, which determines whether the exit tax will apply: it covers securities 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.

If the destination is outside the European Economic Area, the application for deferral of payment of the exit tax must be filed no later than from 90 days⁴ before the transfer of tax domicile.

This application requires the appointment of a tax representative in France and the provision of guarantees. Once the deadline has passed, the tax becomes immediately payable on capital gains that have not been realised.

This is the deadline most often missed, because it is counted from the actual transfer of tax domicile, a concept that does not always coincide with the date of the move.

Three months before, you should also start obtaining apostilled and translated civil status documents and criminal record certificates, which most residence procedures require. The apostille is a lengthy French formality that is very difficult to obtain from abroad.

Finally, this is the time to put together the source-of-funds file that will be required when opening a local account, and whose documentary continuity is the most frequent sticking point.

Article 4 B of the French General Tax Code sets out four alternative criteria: home, principal place of stay, professional activity and centre of economic interests. Any one of them is enough to keep a person domiciled in France for tax purposes.

You therefore need to document, in this order of importance: the French home sold or let on a long-term basis, the relocation of your spouse and the schooling of your children, the place where your activity is actually carried out, and the location of your assets and income.

Notifying the tax office of your departure and providing your new address are simple but necessary formalities.

Finally, be aware that foreign thresholds offer no protection: more than 183 days⁵ in Portugal, 180 days⁶ in Thailand, 90 days⁷ in Switzerland without gainful activity. Crossing them creates dual residence; it does not remove French residence.

1. Obtain a tax residency certificate from the host country: without it, no treaty can be invoked.
2. File the declaration of unrealised capital gains in the year of departure, then the annual follow-up declarations for as long as the deferral runs.
3. Do not sell the securities before the end of the relief period, which is 2 years⁸ or 5 years⁹ depending on whether the value is below or above €2,570,000¹⁰.
4. Declare accounts held abroad for as long as French tax domicile continues.
5. Plan ahead for the year of return, which can re-establish French tax domicile from its very start.

The second point is the one that causes the most late regularisations. The deferral is not acquired once and for all: its reporting obligations stretch over several years after a departure you have stopped thinking about, and overlooking them can make the tax immediately payable even when all the substantive conditions are met.