Tax on departure
You do not stop paying tax in France or Belgium by moving house: you stop when you are no longer a tax resident there. It is the point expatriates most often misunderstand, and the most costly.
Tax residence, not nationality
Leaving France
You remain a French tax resident if just one of these criteria is met (article 4 B of the French general tax code, CGI):
- your household (spouse, children) or your main place of stay is in France;
- you carry out your main professional activity there;
- the centre of your economic interests (assets, income) is located there.
Leaving Belgium
You are presumed to be resident if you are listed in the national register. The tax authority then looks at where your actual home or the seat of your wealth is. Reporting your departure to your municipality is therefore the first step, but not the only one.
If you are resident in two countries, the tax treaty between them decides (permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality).
A residence card in Dubai, Asunción or Montevideo does not make you non-resident if your family, your home or your income remain in France or Belgium. Tax reassessments on this point are frequent.
The French exit tax
If you have been a French tax resident for at least 6 of the last 10 years, your unrealised capital gains on securities are taxed when you leave if (article 167 bis of the CGI):
- your holdings are worth more than €800,000 in total, or
- you hold at least 50% of the profits of a company.
Payment is automatically deferred if you move within the EU or the European Economic Area (and elsewhere on request, with guarantees). The tax is cancelled if you keep the securities for 2 years after leaving, or 5 years when the gains exceed €2.57m.
Belgium and capital gains
Belgium had no general exit tax for individuals. The tax on capital gains from financial assets introduced in 2026 changes the picture for large investment portfolios: have the consequences of leaving checked with the SPF Finances (the Belgian Federal Public Service Finance) or an adviser before you go.
What you keep back home
- Property in France: rental income remains taxed in France (minimum rate of 20%). If you are covered by the social security system of an EU or EEA country or Switzerland, you pay the 7.5% solidarity levy (prélèvement de solidarité) instead of the 17.2% social levies (prélèvements sociaux). The IFI (French wealth tax on real estate) remains due on French property above €1.3m.
- Property in Belgium: the cadastral income and rents remain subject to the impôt des non-résidents (non-resident income tax).
- Pensions: depending on the tax treaty, a public pension often remains taxed in the country that pays it.
- Inheritance: assets located in France or Belgium remain taxable there, and so do your resident heirs.
The year you leave
- France: a single return the following year, with the income received up to departure and the French-source income received afterwards. Also declare accounts opened abroad (form 3916).
- Belgium: impôt des personnes physiques (personal income tax) up to departure, then impôt des non-résidents for Belgian-source income.
These rules are summarised and were checked in October 2026. If you have substantial assets or run a business, consult a tax lawyer before you leave: many solutions are no longer available afterwards.