France's impatriés regime: what it is worth
If you are recruited from abroad to work in France, you can exempt an impatriation bonus, or a flat 30% of your net pay, from income tax until the end of the 8th year after you start. Here is what that means for your take-home pay.
Take-home pay with and without the regime
| Gross a year | Standard, single | Impatriés, single | Gain a year | Gain, married with 2 children |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €50,000 | €35,112 | €37,899 | +€2,787 | +€0 |
| €60,000 | €40,890 | €44,880 | +€3,990 | +€38 |
| €80,000 | €52,447 | €57,782 | +€5,335 | +€2,427 |
| €100,000 | €64,004 | €70,684 | +€6,680 | +€3,603 |
| €150,000 | €89,922 | €102,939 | +€13,017 | +€10,044 |
| €200,000 | €113,875 | €133,017 | +€19,142 | +€14,006 |
Take-home pay after social contributions and income tax, 2026 rules, using the 30% flat-rate option on net pay (after contributions and deductible CSG). Try your own salary.
How the regime works
- Who: people recruited directly from abroad, or sent to France by a foreign company in the same group, who were not tax resident in France in the previous 5 calendar years.
- What is exempt: the impatriation bonus in your contract, or, if there is none, a flat 30% of your net pay; plus pay for days worked abroad in the interest of your employer.
- Limits: the pay that stays taxable must not be lower than that of comparable jobs, and the total exemption is capped at 50% of your pay (or the work-abroad part at 20%, whichever option you choose each year).
- Social contributions are still charged on your full salary. The exempt amount still counts in your reference tax income, which matters for some benefits and the high income contribution.
- How long: until 31 December of the 8th calendar year after the year you started.
Frequently asked questions
How much does the impatriés regime save?
On a €100,000 gross salary, a single employee keeps €70,684 a year with the 30% flat-rate exemption instead of €64,004, €6,680 more. Social contributions are unchanged; only income tax falls.
Who qualifies for the impatriés regime?
Employees and executives recruited from abroad by a French company, or sent to France by a foreign group company, who were not tax resident in France in the 5 calendar years before they started. People who moved to France on their own initiative and were then hired locally do not qualify; applying from abroad to a job offer counts as being recruited abroad.
How long does it last?
Until 31 December of the 8th calendar year after the year you started the job.
What if my contract has an explicit impatriation bonus?
Then the bonus written in the contract is exempt instead of the flat 30%. Either way, the pay that stays taxable must be at least what people in similar jobs in the company earn, and the total exemption, including pay for work done abroad, is capped at 50% of total pay (or, as an alternative, the work-abroad part at 20%).
Sources: BOFiP BOI-RSA-GEO-40-10-10: impatriés, who qualifies and for how long, BOFiP BOI-RSA-GEO-40-10-20: exempt pay, the 30% flat rate and the caps, impots.gouv.fr: the impatriés regime.