Radiation fiscale from France and Spanish residency: the complete procedure 2026

Moving from France to Spain involves two parallel fiscal processes: severing the French fiscal tie (radiation fiscale) and establishing the Spanish fiscal residency. Many French nationals focus entirely on the Spanish side and forget that the French side requires active steps — and that failing to complete them can leave them tax-resident in two countries simultaneously for years.

Understanding French fiscal residence: Art. 4B CGI

French fiscal residence is defined by Article 4B of the Code Général des Impôts. Unlike the Spanish 183-day rule, France has four independent criteria, any one of which is sufficient to maintain French fiscal residence:

The four Art. 4B CGI criteria

Criterion 1 — Foyer (home) The foyer is the place where you normally live and to which you return habitually, even if professional obligations take you elsewhere temporarily. If your family (spouse, partner, dependent children) remains in France throughout the year, you have your foyer in France — regardless of where you spend the most time.

Criterion 2 — Lieu de séjour principal (principal place of stay) This is not a strict 183-day test. France evaluates where you spend the most time in the year compared to any other single country. You can spend 182 days in France and 183 days split between Spain and other countries, and still have your principal place of stay in France.

Criterion 3 — Professional activity Carrying out a professional activity in France (employment, self-employment, company directorship with active involvement) unless it is purely accessory (incidental). A French company director who regularly attends board meetings in Paris maintains this criterion even if resident in Spain.

Criterion 4 — Centre of economic interests Where your main investments, business interests, and financial assets are managed and concentrated. An investor who actively manages a French portfolio from Spain may still satisfy this criterion.

Practical implication: to sever French fiscal residence, you must eliminate all four criteria simultaneously, or ensure that the Convention 1995 tie-breaker rules favour Spain.

The radiation fiscale procedure: step by step

Step 1: Plan the departure date

The fiscal year in France runs from 1 January to 31 December. There is no “split year” mechanism. Convention 1995 determines your residence for the entire year based on the tie-breaker rules in Art. 4 §2.

Key considerations:

• Moving before 2 July → you are present ≤ 183 days in Spain → unlikely to meet Spanish 183-day threshold for that year → may remain French resident for the full year
• Moving after 2 July → 182+ days remaining in Spain → possible to exceed 183 days → may become Spanish resident for that year
• Families with children in school: the academic year often dictates the practical timing

Step 2: Sever French residential ties

Before the departure date:

• Terminate or sublet the French primary residence (an active lease in your name suggests continued foyer in France)
• Transfer your principal banking relationships to Spain
• Update your postal address for important correspondence to the Spanish address
• If you are a director of a French company: evaluate whether your involvement constitutes an active professional activity criterion

Step 3: File CERFA 2042 with departure information

In your French income tax return for the year of departure, complete:

• Address: your new Spanish address
• Departure date: the precise date you became a Spanish resident
• Country of new residence: Spain

For the year of departure, your French IR is calculated on:

• All worldwide income from 1 January to the departure date (as French resident)
• French-source income only from the departure date to 31 December (as non-resident)

Step 4: SIPNR takes over your file

After noting the departure in your return, the SIPNR (Service des impôts des particuliers non-résidents) becomes your French tax authority for:

• All subsequent returns for French-source income (real estate, dividends, French-source pensions)
• IFI on French real estate
• Any exit tax obligations
• Correspondence regarding any French tax enquiries

SIPNR contact:

• Postal: TSA 10010, 10 rue du Centre, 93465 Noisy-le-Grand Cedex
• Email: sip.non-residents@dgfip.finances.gouv.fr
• Online: your space particulier on impots.gouv.fr remains accessible

Convention 1995 Art. 4 tie-breaker rules

If both France and Spain claim your fiscal residence for the same year, Convention 1995 Art. 4 §2 provides five successive criteria (applied in order until one is determinative):

Practical application for common scenarios

Scenario A — Family stays in France: You move to Spain for work, but spouse and children remain in France for the school year. Permanent home: France (criterion 1, because your family home is in France and you return there). Result: French resident for the full year despite Spanish presence.

Scenario B — Complete relocation: You and your family move to Spain. You sell or terminate your French lease. You have a rental contract in Spain. Permanent home: Spain only. Centre of vital interests: Spain (family, professional activity). Result: Spanish resident from the date of move.

Scenario C — Homes in both countries: You keep a secondary home in France while living primarily in Spain. Permanent home criterion 1 is not decisive (home in both). Move to criterion 2: where is the centre of vital interests? Professional activity: Spain. Family: Spain (if family has moved). Result typically: Spain.

Exit tax: the full declaration procedure

Form 2074-ETD (initial declaration)

Filed with the French income tax return for the year of departure. Mandatory if on the departure date you hold:

• Securities with total unrealised gains > €800,000, OR
• Total portfolio value > €1.3M (including companies you control ≥ 50%)

Content of 2074-ETD:

• Listing of all securities covered by the exit tax
• Fair market value on departure date
• Acquisition cost
• Unrealised gain per line
• Election of automatic deferral (for EU/EEA moves: automatic, no additional form required)
• Designation of a fiscal representative in France (strongly recommended)

Form 2074-IFU (annual tracking)

Filed annually during the deferral period with your French non-resident return. Content:

• Status of each security under deferral (held, sold, donated, exchanged)
• Triggering events in the year: sales (exit tax on those securities becomes immediately due), gifts to non-EU residents, in-kind contributions to non-EU entities
• No payment due if all securities are still held under deferral

When the exit tax is cancelled

• 5-year holding (portfolio ≤ €2.57M): definitive cancellation; no further 2074-IFU required
• 10-year holding (portfolio > €2.57M): definitive cancellation
• Return to France: cancelled unconditionally upon resuming French fiscal residence
• Death of taxpayer: cancelled if heirs are French residents

De Ruyter: reducing French social levies from 17.2% to 7.5%

The legal basis

CJUE ruling C-623/13 (26 February 2015) held that French CSG/CRDS levies attached to the financing of French social security cannot be applied to EU/EEA residents who are affiliated to another Member State’s social security system. The reasoning: this would constitute double contribution to two social protection systems, contrary to EU Regulation 883/2004.

Practical scope

French property income of Spanish residents (rental income and gains on French real estate) is normally subject to 17.2% French social levies (Art. L136-8 IV of the French Social Security Code). Non-residents pay no French social levies on dividends, interest, gains on French securities or assurance-vie gains; a French resident pays 18.6% on dividends and securities gains since 1 January 2026 (Art. L136-8 I; impots.gouv.fr). Under De Ruyter:

• CSG (9.2%) and CRDS (0.5%): exempt for Spanish Social Security affiliates
• Prélèvement de Solidarité (7.5%): still applies (this levy is for solidarity purposes, not social security per se)

Net saving: 9.7 percentage points (17.2% → 7.5%) on French property income.

How to claim the De Ruyter reduction

1. Obtain proof of Spanish Social Security affiliation: a certificate from the TGSS (Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social) or your S1 form for healthcare
2. Present to your French financial institution: some French banks or custodians will apply the reduced rate prospectively if you provide the certificate
3. Claim refund via SIPNR: file a claim for reimbursement of excess social levies withheld, with a certified copy of the Spanish SS affiliation certificate
4. Annual renewal: may need to be renewed each year as affiliation must be current

(confirm the exact SIPNR administrative procedure for De Ruyter post-2019 (form numbers and specific requirements) with a qualified French tax specialist before advising)

Formulaire 5000/5001: reducing withholding on French income

To apply the correct withholding rates (dividends: the 12.8% domestic rate for individuals, below the 15% treaty cap; interest: up to 10% under the treaty, with no French levy on account interest of non-residents outside non-cooperative States; royalties: up to 5%), French companies and banks require proof of Spanish fiscal residence in the form of the DGFiP formulaire 5000 series:

• Formulaire 5000: general attestation of fiscal residence in Spain, validated by the AEAT
• Appendices 5001, 5002 and 5003: dividends, interest and royalties respectively

Process:

1. Download Form 5000/5001 from the DGFiP website
2. Complete the sections identifying the taxpayer and the French income source
3. Have the AEAT validate the form (AEAT stamp certifying Spanish fiscal residence)
4. Submit the validated form to the French company or bank before income is paid

The AEAT certificate of fiscal residence (Certificado de residencia fiscal) serves a similar purpose for institutions that accept Spanish administrative documents.

Coordinating the year-of-transition returns

French IR for the year of departure

The French return (CERFA 2042) for the year of departure includes:

• Part 1 (as resident): all worldwide income from 1 January to departure date
• Part 2 (as non-resident): French-source income from departure date to 31 December

Indicate on the first page: your new Spanish address and the departure date. The SIPNR will take over for Part 2 filings going forward.

Spanish IRPF for the year of installation

If you spent more than 183 days in Spain in the calendar year, you are likely a Spanish fiscal resident for the full year (absent decisive Convention tie-breaker rules favouring France). File IRPF for:

• Income from all sources after the date of installation in Spain
• Or your full year if Spanish residence applies from 1 January

In practice: most advisers recommend clearly establishing Spanish fiscal residence at the start of a calendar year to avoid the year-of-transition complexity. If planning allows, move in January rather than mid-year.

This document is for informational purposes only. The specific procedures for SIPNR notification, exit tax declarations and De Ruyter claims are subject to change and should be verified with a qualified French and Spanish tax adviser. (Confirm Art. 167 bis CGI thresholds under the current Finance Act and SIPNR De Ruyter procedure post-2019 with a qualified specialist).