How your US retirement income is taxed here.
These come straight from the same country data the Glidepath engine uses to calculate your tax. Not a marketing summary.
Your US pensions, IRA or 401(k) withdrawals, and investment income are taxed by the US. France credits its own tax on them down to about €0, then still counts that income when it sets the rate on anything France does tax. This is its effective-rate rule, called taux effectif (US-France treaty, Article 24).
US Social Security is taxed only by the US, and France leaves it alone (US-France treaty, Article 18(1)(b)).
Roth withdrawals are modeled as untaxed in France. The treaty (Article 18(1)) reserves US retirement-plan distributions to the US, and a 2020 French government answer confirms that reading for lump sums and periodic payments alike. Since the US charges nothing on a qualified Roth withdrawal, the combined bill is zero. But French guidance never names Roth accounts, so a reclassification as investment income on audit cannot be ruled out (see the risks).
Income you earn in France or other countries is taxed by France. It falls under France's normal income-tax scale, called the barème. Investment income from 2026 can instead use the PFU, a 31.4% flat tax (12.8% income tax plus 18.6% social charges). The US gives a credit for the French tax, so you pay the higher of the two totals.
The real-estate wealth tax (IFI) applies to net property above €1.3M. A discount near the threshold, called the décote, softens the entry. New residents pay none of it on property outside France for their first 5 years.
France adds a high-income surtax (CEHR) of an extra 3% to 4%, but only when your French reference income is very high.
The contested 3.8% US investment tax (the NIIT): whether French tax can offset it is still being fought in court, in the Christensen and Bruyea cases. You can toggle this assumption in the cross-border settings. Currency-shock sensitivity lives in the Resilience room.
What could change this.
If the government wins the appeal, you would pay the 3.8% US NIIT out of pocket on investment income, on top of your French tax.
When: Federal Circuit ruling expected 2026
The plan treats Roth withdrawals as tax-free in France, but French guidance never names Roth accounts, so an audit could read them differently.
When: No French ruling; audit-position dependent
A 2026 reform replaces the CSM health charge of about 6.5% with a new capped charge, likely much lower, but the amount is not set yet.
When: Rate set by decree, 2026
Once you pass your fifth year in France, the IFI wealth tax starts to count worldwide real estate above €1.3M, not just French property.
When: Year 6 after you move (already modeled)
Compliance traps that catch US retirees here.
Investment products that look ordinary to locals can be tax traps for US citizens. These are the ones specific to France.
Assurance-vie is a PFIC (and maybe a foreign trust), not insurance
For a US owner, this popular French wrapper is usually a costly tax trap. A US tax specialist can explain how it would be treated before you open one.
PEA and French/EU mutual funds are PFIC traps
French and EU funds count as PFICs for a US owner, which brings high US tax and heavy paperwork. Many US residents keep their money in US-based accounts and funds instead.
French social charges (CSG/CRDS, 17.2–18.6%) are generally creditable since 2019
Since 2019 the IRS generally lets you claim a foreign tax credit for French CSG and CRDS social charges, so they rarely cost you extra.
Whether French tax offsets the US NIIT is contested and on appeal
Whether French tax can offset the 3.8% US NIIT is an aggressive, unsettled position while the courts weigh it.
US Social Security is exempt in France but still raises your effective tax rate
Your US Social Security is not taxed in France, but France still counts it when setting the tax rate on income it does tax.
Healthcare as a retiree.
Legal residents on a VLS-TS visa can join the public health system, PUMa, after about three months of stable residence. PUMa reimburses about 70% of your costs, and most retirees add a private top-up policy, called a mutuelle, for the remaining 30%. Retirees with no French earned income or qualifying pension used to fall into the CSM health charge of about 6.5%. A December 2025 reform (Article 53 of the 2026 Social Security finance law) replaces that charge with a capped health contribution for non-active, non-EU residents. The new amount is still to be set by decree. For your first visa year, you must hold comprehensive private insurance with at least €30,000 of cover.
The estimate combines a private top-up premium (a mutuelle, about $1,500–2,500 per person) plus the new public contribution. The mandatory first-year private policy is a separate cost. These figures are approximate until the 2026 contribution decree is issued.
The retirement visa route.
The VLS-TS 'visiteur' long-stay visa is France's de facto retirement route. It suits retirees who can live on passive income and agree not to work. It renews as a residence permit (carte de séjour) and can lead to longer-term residency.
- Stable passive income at or above France's minimum wage, called the SMIC (roughly €17,000–22,000 net per year for a single person).
- For a couple, roughly €20,000–25,000 per year; the exact floor is set by your local prefecture.
- Private health insurance covering at least €30,000, required for your first year.
- Proof of accommodation in France.
- A signed statement promising not to work in France.
What could this cost you?
A fast, illustrative estimate for France - no login, nothing stored. Every country page carries its own, tuned to that country's tax treatment.
Your monthly spending power in France on about $1M
These odds are about a withdrawal this size holding up over time - not about how far that amount goes here.
A lean lifestyle in France
Day to day, that looks like a small apartment in a lower-cost town, transit or one older economy car, cooking at home with the odd cheap meal out. For health, the public health system, with out-of-pocket costs a real worry.
As a US citizen, you keep filing US taxes wherever you live.
France: US treaty: exemption method (US retirement income taxed by the US only)
This is a fast estimate, not the full simulation, and not financial advice. It only flags the tax question. The full plan works out what you'd actually owe on each side of the border. It also models real balances, every account type, and healthcare, year by year.
The terms you'll run into.
- Taux effectif (effective-rate method)
- France's treaty relief method. Income the treaty lets the US tax is still counted to set your average rate, which France applies only to income it can tax.
- VLS-TS 'visiteur'
- France's long-stay visitor visa, which doubles as its de facto retirement visa. It requires stable passive income and private health insurance, and it bars you from working in France.
- PUMa / Carte Vitale
- France’s public health system, called Protection Universelle Maladie and used through the Carte Vitale (health card). It reimburses about 70% of your costs, and legal residents can join after roughly three months of stable residence.
- CSM (cotisation subsidiaire maladie)
- A means-tested health charge of about 6.5% on passive and investment income, such as rental income. It is billed by URSSAF (France’s social-security collection agency) to residents on public health cover who lack French earned income or a qualifying pension.
- IFI (impôt sur la fortune immobilière)
- France's wealth tax on real estate, charged on net property worth more than €1.3M. New residents get a five-year exemption on real estate outside France.
- Assurance-vie
- France's most popular tax-favored investment-insurance wrapper. The French treat it as ordinary life insurance, but the IRS treats it as a PFIC, and sometimes a foreign trust, for US owners.
- PFU (prélèvement forfaitaire unique)
- France's flat tax on investment income. From 2026 it totals 31.4%: 12.8% income tax plus 18.6% social charges.
- PEA (plan d'épargne en actions)
- A French tax-favored stock savings account. It gives a US owner no US tax break, and the funds inside it are PFICs.
- CSG/CRDS (French social charges)
- Two French social charges on income, on top of regular income tax. Since 2019 the IRS generally lets US taxpayers claim a foreign tax credit for them.
- NIIT (US Net Investment Income Tax)
- A 3.8% US tax on investment income for higher earners. Whether French tax can offset it is being fought in US courts.
US terms that follow you to every country
- PFIC
- Passive Foreign Investment Company - the IRS label for almost any non-US fund, ETF, or pooled investment. Owning one triggers punitive US tax rates and Form 8621 paperwork. The single most common trap for Americans investing abroad.
- FBAR
- Foreign Bank Account Report (FinCEN Form 114). A yearly online filing that lists your non-US accounts once they total over $10,000. Not a tax - just a report - but penalties for skipping it are severe.
- FATCA
- A US law that makes foreign banks report American customers to the IRS. It is why some foreign banks refuse US clients, and why you may also file Form 8938 with your return.
- Form 8621
- The IRS form you must file for each PFIC you own. Complex enough that most preparers charge per form, per year.
- Form 8938
- The FATCA companion form filed with your US return, listing foreign financial assets above a threshold. Overlaps with, but does not replace, the FBAR.
- Forms 3520/3520-A
- US reporting forms for foreign trusts. Some foreign retirement and insurance wrappers count as trusts, dragging their owners into this heavy annual paperwork.
- UCITS
- The standard European fund format (an EU regulatory label). Fine for Europeans - but to the IRS, a UCITS fund is a PFIC.
- Totalization agreement
- A US bilateral deal that stops you paying Social Security tax to two countries on the same work, and lets work credits in each country count toward one benefit.
- Foreign tax credit
- The US mechanism that stops double taxation: tax you pay to your residence country offsets your US bill on the same income, dollar for dollar. You effectively pay the higher of the two totals - not both.
- Saving clause
- The clause in every US tax treaty that lets the US keep taxing its own citizens as if the treaty did not exist. It is why moving abroad never ends US filing.
- Foreign grantor trust
- The IRS classification some foreign pension and insurance wrappers fall into. It means the owner reports the trust personally, on Forms 3520/3520-A, every year.
Nothing on this page is invented.
Confidence: verified. Last verified July 17, 2026. Every figure above comes from one of the sources below - the same country data the full plan uses to compute your projection.
See the full country-by-country build sheet on the coverage page.