UK and US pensions: which country taxes them, and how France counts them

Under the tax treaties (convention fiscale), a private UK pension paid to a French resident is taxed only in France. A UK government pension is taxed only in the UK, unless the recipient lives in France and is French but not British. US pensions and social security are taxed only in the US. France still counts a pension taxed elsewhere and grants a tax credit (crédit d'impôt).

Who taxes the pension

Pension	Taxed, for a French resident, by	Article	Source
UK private pension for past employment (pension au titre d'un emploi antérieur)	France only	Art. 18	France–UK treaty
UK government pension for service to the State or a local authority (fonctions publiques)	UK only; France only if the recipient is a French resident and a French national without British nationality	Art. 19(2)	France–UK treaty
US social security (sécurité sociale)	US only	Art. 18(1)	France–US treaty
US retirement plan (régime de retraite), periodic payments or a lump sum	US only	Art. 18(1)	France–US treaty
A pension taxed only by the other country	Counted in the French tax calculation, with a credit equal to the French tax on that income	Art. 24 of both treaties	Treaties; BOFiP BOI-INT-DG-20-20-100

United Kingdom

Private pensions (Article 18)

Under Article 18, pensions and similar remuneration (rémunérations similaires) paid to a resident of one State for past employment are taxable only in that State — for a French resident, France. The article begins "subject to paragraph 2 of Article 19", because government pensions have a rule of their own.

Government pensions (Article 19, paragraph 2)

A pension paid by a State, one of its local authorities (collectivité locale) or, on the French side, a public-law body, for service rendered to it, is taxable only in the paying State. There is one exception: the pension is taxable only in the other State if the recipient is both a resident and a national of that State and is not a national of the paying State. Applied to a UK government pension, this means France taxes it only where the recipient lives in France, holds French nationality and does not hold British nationality.

Paragraph 3 of the same article sends pensions for service in a business carried on by the State (activité d'entreprise) back to the general articles, including Article 18. Paragraph 4 sets out specific exemptions for certain pensions named in French and UK law, including military pensions.

United States

Social security and retirement plans (Article 18, paragraph 1)

Two kinds of payment are taxable only in the State they come from: amounts paid under one State's social security legislation (sécurité sociale) to a resident of the other State or to a US citizen; and payments from a retirement plan for past employment to a resident of the other State, whether periodic or as a lump sum (somme globale). A plan payment comes from a given State only if the plan was set up there. So for a French resident drawing on a US plan or on US social security, the taxing State is the US.

How France counts a pension taxed by the other country

Article 24 of both treaties sets the same rule: income that is taxable, or taxable only, in the other State is included when the French tax is calculated (pris en compte pour le calcul de l'impôt français). The foreign tax is not deducted from that income; instead, the French resident receives a credit that is set against the French tax.

Treaty	Credit for a pension	Condition	Source
United Kingdom	The French tax on that income	The French resident is liable to UK tax on that income	Art. 24(3)(a)(i)
United States	The French tax on that income	—	Art. 24(1)(a)(i)

Where the progressive scale (barème progressif) applies, both treaties define "the French tax on that income" in the same way: the net income multiplied by a rate equal to the tax actually payable on total net taxable income divided by that total.

BOFiP calls this "method 2" (méthode 2): the credit equals the French tax on the foreign income, which "leads to the exemption of the foreign-source income" (§ 43). The credit is worked out as tax on worldwide income × (net foreign income in the category ÷ net taxable income) (§ 45). BOFiP itself notes that its commentary is only a guide and is always to be read together with the text of the treaty in question (§ 1).

How it is declared

The impots.gouv page on income from abroad points to annex 2047 (annexe 2047) for income received outside France, pensions included. Pensions go in section 1 (cadre 1), and the totals are then carried over to the main return, form 2042. Where the credit equals the French tax, the gross income is entered on the 2047 and carried over to the 2042. Pensions that are exempt but count towards the effective rate (taux effectif) do not go on the 2047; they are reported only on the supplementary return, 2042-C. None of these sources gives the specific box for a UK or US pension.

What can change the answer

• Nationality, for a UK government pension. The Article 19(2) rule turns on nationality: being French and not British moves the right to tax to France.
• US citizenship. Under Article 29(2), the US may tax its citizens as if the treaty did not exist; paragraph 3(a) of the same article preserves Article 18(1) and Article 24.
• Tax residence. Everything here assumes residence in France. For someone resident in both countries, the treaties settle the question under Article 4.

About Fiscly

A UK or US pension raises two questions at the same time: which country taxes it, and where it goes on the French return. We went through this ourselves and built Fiscly for ourselves and for others who have moved here.

A questionnaire in six languages that ends with a step-by-step guide to the declaration.

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This material is for general information and does not replace individual advice.