Can I retire early in France?

Yes, and more comfortably than its reputation suggests: the default flat tax takes 31.4% of gains, with the progressive scale as an option, the wealth tax reaches only property, and the PEA and assurance-vie improve with every year you leave them alone. Budget about €2,760 a month for the €2,500 reference life, and re-read the rules each autumn.

Is there an exit tax when leaving France?

Yes, after long residence: for someone who's been French tax resident for at least six of the previous ten years, France taxes big portfolios on the way out (broadly €800,000+ in securities, or a 50% company stake), with relief if you keep the assets for years after leaving.

How long until a France passport?

5 years of legal residence is the general naturalisation rule, with French at B2 + a civic exam (both since January 2026). Dual citizenship is allowed. Permanent residency usually comes at 5 years.

The Europe atlas

France.

A flat 31.4% by default, and wrappers that reward patience.

France treats a patient investor better than its reputation says. The default flat tax takes 31.4% of your gains, with the progressive scale there as an option, the wealth tax stops at property (a fund portfolio sits outside it), and the PEA and assurance-vie reward the years you leave them alone. The ground runs about 10% over the EU average, about €2,760 a month for the €2,500 reference life. My read: friendlier than the headlines, rewritten every budget, so leave slack in the plan.

Price it in your money

Tell me where you live now and what you spend a month, and every cost here becomes your number: the same life, priced country by country, in your own currency.

Where you live now

You spend, per month

Shown in

A guide, not a quote. I move your monthly spend by each country’s official price level (Eurostat and the World Bank, whole-economy, EU-27 = 100). No exchange rates, so it stays in your own currency. But averages hide rent and the city you pick, and changing country is rarely a straight swap. Read these as the right ballpark, then price the real thing.

Cost of living

110

EU-27 = 100 · 2025. Living in France runs about 10% pricier than the EU average.

63EU 100174

Eurostat (prc_ppp_ind) / World Bank, 2025, CC BY 4.0. Whole-economy price level. Country averages hide big regional and rent spread.

Exit taxNo wealth taxPassive-income visaPassport in ≤5 years

The same life, priced here

A €2,500 a month reference life runs about €2,760 a month here, roughly €33,120 a year, and a ×30 number near €994,000.

Price your own exit

The reference life the calculators use, scaled by the index above: the same whole-economy figure, a guide not a quote.

Where in Europe

The country, in one line

Verified 20 July 2026

Where it stands

EU · Schengen · the euro

The money

The euro

no FX risk on a euro budget

Language

French

Capital

Paris

Oceanic in the north, Mediterranean on the south coast: several climates in one country.

Housing

To buy

€3,332/m²

resale basis

To rent

€32.0/m²

in Paris, about €2,240/mo for 70 m²

Vs the EU

+23%

a roof here, against the EU-27 average

In France, buy prices are up 27% since 2015 (+0.7% last year); rents up 10% since 2015.

Read these as the shape, not the price. Housing is the most divergent cost in Europe, and a national average buries the thing that actually decides it: the city, the street, new-build against old. Treat it as a ballpark, then price the real place. Not property or mortgage advice.

One home, two paths

Price buying against renting in France.

Bring the purchase price and rent for one genuinely comparable home. I will not carry the Atlas averages into the calculator.

The calculator has structured, source-checked purchase-cost rules here. It applies them only while the evidence is current and the transaction fits a supported branch. Anything else stays manual.

Open Buy or Rent?

Compare housing across the map

Buy price and rent: Deloitte Property Index 2025 (14th ed., 2024 data). Level vs the EU: Eurostat comparative price level for housing (prc_ppp_ind, EU-27 = 100, 2024). Trend: Eurostat house price index and actual-rentals index (2015 = 100, 2025).

What prices did here

Prices here rose 2.0% in the year to June 2026, slower than the euro area’s 2.8%. Since 2020 they’re up 21% in total, about 3.2% a year.

The €33,120 reference life this page prices today took about €27,432 in 2020 money.

Eurostat’s HICP, data through June 2026.

Your own number, restated at today’s prices in France

How the money you live on is taxed

France does not give every payment the same tax answer. Start with the asset or income source, then add the arrival-year and treaty rules.

The full income picture

These are the usual rules for a resident unless a case says otherwise. A new-resident rule, tax wrapper or treaty may change one case without changing the others.

Securities and funds

31.4% flat (12.8% income tax plus 18.6% social)

A listed-share or fund-unit gain carries the 31.4% flat investment charge from 2026. Original purchase cost continues after a move to France.

Listed shares 31.4% flat (12.8% income tax plus 18.6% social): Gain on realisation carries tax at the flat investment charge of 31.4% from 1 Jan 2026. For this case, same treatment for French and foreign directly held shares held by a resident.
Fund and ETF units 31.4% flat: The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the asset is sold or otherwise disposed of.
Holding period and allowances Taxable under the ordinary rule: The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the asset is sold or otherwise disposed of.
Losses Taxable under the ordinary rule: This applies if unused, carry forward for 10 years against future securities gains.
Foreign and US listings 31.4% on gain: A resident's gain on a foreign or US-listed share/ETF carries tax at the 31.4% flat investment charge just like a French holding. Most treaties leave a listed-share gain taxable only in France (residence). Check the treaty for source tax and France's relief.
Accumulating funds and annual tax No separate rule: An accumulating EU-regulated retail fund is not taxed on retained income. The individual is taxed only when units are sold (or a distribution is received), at the 31.4% flat investment charge.

Worth checking

The flat investment charge rate is a live budget lever. It jumped from 30% to 31.4% on 1 Jan 2026 via a 1.4-point social charges rise, and further social-contribution changes are a recurring loi-de-finances theme.

Dividends

31.4% flat investment charge

A listed-share dividend normally carries the 31.4% flat investment charge from 2026. A household can instead choose the progressive calculation for all qualifying investment income.

French company dividend Taxable under the ordinary rule: The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the income is received.
Foreign listed-share dividend 31.4% flat investment charge: The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the income is received. The treaty can change source-country tax and relief.
EU or EEA company dividend No safe answer yet: No safe answer is shown for this exact case yet. Check the facts and treaty before relying on a result.
Third-country company dividend No safe answer yet: No safe answer is shown for this exact case yet. Check the facts and treaty before relying on a result.
Passive or substantial holding 31.4% at any holding size: France has no minority-vs-substantial split for an individual's dividend rate: the flat investment charge (or income-tax bands option) applies at 31.4% no matter the stake held. Holding size instead matters elsewhere.
Fund or ETF distribution 31.4% flat investment charge: A distributing fund/ETF payment is taxed as investment income at the 31.4% flat investment charge (or income-tax bands). Accumulating funds defer tax until the units are sold.
New-resident treatment 50% exemption of foreign dividends (impatriate workers, 8 yrs): The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the income is received.

Worth checking

The 40% dividend abatement is only available if the whole household forgoes the flat investment charge for the income-tax bands. An all-or-nothing yearly choice across every line of financial income. That choice also makes part of the social charges deductible.

Crypto

31.4% flat investment charge (income-tax bands option via box 3CN)

A private sale of crypto for money, or a spend, carries the 31.4% flat investment charge. Crypto-to-crypto exchanges without a cash payment are deferred, and annual sale proceeds of no more than €305 are exempt.

Sale for money 31.4% flat investment charge (income-tax bands option via box 3CN): A sale of a digital asset to fiat within private wealth management carries tax at the 31.4% flat investment charge. This taxable gain is computed on a total-portfolio pro-rata basis at each cash-out.
Crypto-to-crypto exchange Sursis (not taxed in the year of exchange): An exchange of one digital asset for another without cash out (échange sans soulte) benefits from a sursis d'imposition. It is not a taxable event in the year of the swap.
Spending crypto 31.4% flat investment charge: Using crypto to pay for goods or services is a disposal against a good (with soulte). It is a taxable realisation at the 31.4% flat investment charge, unlike a pure crypto-to-crypto swap which is deferred.
Holding relief and losses Taxable under the ordinary rule: The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the asset is sold or otherwise disposed of.
Staking and lending Taxable under the ordinary rule: Staking and lending rewards fall outside the private-crypto rule (which covers disposals). They are treated as income, generally bénéfices non commerciaux (non-commercial income), taxed at progressive rates on receipt at market value.
Mining, validation and airdrops Taxable under the ordinary rule: Mining/validation rewards are taxable as non-commercial income on receipt at market value (with a micro-non-commercial income or régime réel expense route). Airdrops are income on receipt.
Private investor or business 150 the private-crypto rule 31.4% (private) vs non-commercial income progressive (professional): The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the relevant tax event occurs.
Wealth tax and departure tax Outside real-estate wealth tax and outside bis: Crypto is not in the real-estate wealth tax base, real-estate wealth tax reaches biens et droits immobiliers only. A large crypto holding carries no annual wealth tax (a different treatment, where crypto sits in the wealth base at full value).
New-resident treatment No safe answer yet: No safe answer is shown for this exact case yet. Check the facts and treaty before relying on a result.

Worth checking

France reports crypto under EU and international information exchange. A crypto-to-crypto swap is tax-deferred rather than taxed at the exchange.

All 34 crypto rules, side by side

Pensions

Income-tax bands

A foreign occupational or private pension enters the progressive income-tax bands after the pension allowance. The treaty decides which country may tax it.

France pension Progressive income-tax bands after 10% abatement: A domestic pension is taxed as pension income at the household's progressive income-tax bands after a 10% abatement (capped per household, roughly €4,300–4,400/yr). Collected via the monthly withholding (payroll withholding).
Foreign state or social-security pension Income-tax bands: A foreign state or social-security pension is, absent a treaty override, taxable in France as pension income (income-tax bands after 10%). This treaty decides whether France must exempt it (often with progression) or give a credit.
Foreign occupational or private pension Income-tax bands: There is no reduced rate for being foreign, and no French special-regime for foreign pensions. Check the treaty for source tax and France's relief.
Foreign government or civil-service pension Usually source-state taxed: The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the income is received. The treaty can change source-country tax and relief.
Foreign pension lump sum Special rule: For a French-plan lump sum, bis allows an option for a 7.5% libératoire rate (after a 10% abatement) instead of the income-tax bands, subject to conditions. Some treaties have a specific lump-sum clause.
Special foreign-pension rule No separate rule: France has no special or reduced regime for foreign pension income. The impatriate regime is a worker perk covering employment income and foreign passive investment income, not pensions.

Worth checking

A French-source pension paid abroad can keep French withholding at 0%, 12% or 20% after a 10% deduction. The treaty with the new home can reduce or remove it.

If you own a company

31.4% plus tax taken abroad

A French company pays 25% company tax, with a 15% first band for qualifying small companies. A dividend to the owner then normally carries the 31.4% flat investment charge.

Company profit Taxable under the ordinary rule: A French company pays 25% company tax. A qualifying small company pays 15% on its first €42,500 of profit.
Distribution from a French company 31.4% flat investment charge (integrated about 48% with company tax): The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the income is received.
Distribution from a foreign company 31.4% plus tax taken abroad: A dividend from the owner's foreign company carries tax at the 31.4% flat investment charge for the individual (no individual participation exemption, even EEA). A treaty credit for tax taken in the source country.
Foreign entity type Special rule: France can look through a foreign partnership-type entity and tax its partners directly. Anti-abuse and controlled-foreign-company rules can produce a different result for other structures.
Ownership threshold Special rule: The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the relevant tax event occurs.
Sale of your company stake Taxable under the ordinary rule: The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the asset is sold or otherwise disposed of.
Salary or director fee Income-tax bands: Salary or managing-director remuneration uses the progressive income-tax bands, after a 10% work-expense deduction or actual expenses. Social contributions apply separately.
Social contributions and remuneration risk Special rule: A majority managing director of a private company is normally within the self-employed social-insurance system. Mandatory contributions apply to remuneration, and some dividends can also enter that base.
Running the company from France Special rule: Running a foreign company day to day from France can make it French tax-resident through its place of effective management.
Controlled foreign company rules Special rule: Two controlled foreign companies layers. A French company holding more than 50% of a foreign entity under a privileged tax regime (taxed at least 40% below French tax) is taxed on that entity's profits.
New-resident treatment Impatriate 50% foreign-dividend exemption (worker-gated): The impatriate regime can exempt 50% of foreign-source dividends for a qualifying inbound worker for 8 years. This rule could touch distributions from the owner's own foreign company.

Worth checking

Effective management can bring a foreign company into French tax. The individual controlled-company rule can start at 10% ownership, and some dividends to a majority manager can enter the social-contribution base.

Review the company and your personal position together before the move.

Interest and cash

31.4% flat investment charge

Bank and bond interest received by a resident carries tax at the flat investment charge of 31.4% (12.8% income tax plus 18.6% social). Regulated savings (Livret A, regulated savings account) are separately exempt by statute.

France bank or bond interest 31.4% flat investment charge: Interest on bank deposits, bonds and debt securities is a produit de placement à revenu fixe taxed at the 31.4% flat investment charge. A 12.8% acompte is withheld and reconciled on the return.
Foreign bank or bond interest Taxable under the ordinary rule: Foreign interest carries tax at the 31.4% flat investment charge in France with a credit for any tax taken in the source country. Many treaties reduce source interest withholding tax to zero, but that is pair-specific. Check the treaty for source tax and France's relief.
Allowances and extra charges 31.4% flat investment charge: The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the income is received.
New-resident treatment 50% exemption of foreign interest (impatriate workers, 8 yrs): Impatriate workers can exempt 50% of foreign-source interest for up to 8 years. Irrelevant to a passive new resident, whose baseline is the 31.4% flat investment charge on worldwide interest from the start of residence.

Rent

Progressive plus 17.2% social charges

A resident's rental income uses the progressive income-tax bands plus 17.2% social charges. Gross rent below €15,000 can use a simplified 30% expense deduction.

Property in France Progressive plus 17.2% social charges: French rental income uses the household's progressive bands plus 17.2% social charges. Gross rent below €15,000 can use a flat 30% expense deduction.
Property abroad Income-tax bands: The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the income is received. The treaty can change source-country tax and relief.
EU or EEA property branch No safe answer yet: No safe answer is shown for this exact case yet. Check the facts and treaty before relying on a result.
Rental deductions Micro 30% flat vs réel actual plus déficit foncier: A landlord chooses between the 30% standard deduction and actual expenses. The actual-expense route can offset up to €10,700 against other income. Furnished letting (lmnp) allows depreciation (amortissement), which unfurnished bare letting does not.

Property gains

Fully exempt

A qualifying main-home gain is exempt. Another property gain carries 19% income tax plus social charges, with holding relief reaching full exemption at different dates.

France main home Fully exempt: This gain on the seller's résidence principale at the date of sale is totally exempt from both income tax and social contributions, with no holding condition.
France investment or second property Taxable under the ordinary rule: A second home or investment property gain carries tax at 19% income tax plus 17.2% social contributions. A durée-de-détention abatement runs from year 6.
Foreign property Taxable under the ordinary rule: The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the asset is sold or otherwise disposed of. The treaty can change source-country tax and relief.
Foreign EU or EEA property branch No safe answer yet: No safe answer is shown for this exact case yet. Check the facts and treaty before relying on a result.
Foreign third-country property branch No safe answer yet: No safe answer is shown for this exact case yet. Check the facts and treaty before relying on a result.
Main-home conditions Full exemption if résidence principale at sale: This exemption requires the property to be the seller's actual résidence principale at the date of sale (a normal sale delay after moving out is tolerated). The specific carve also exempts a first non-principal-home sale under conditions of reinvestment/not owning the principal home.
Starting value after a move Historic acquisition cost (no arrival step-up): The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the asset is sold or otherwise disposed of.

Worth checking

Two separate real-estate layers to keep distinct: (1) the plus-value on sale (19% plus 17.2% plus surtaxe, abatement to 22/30 yrs). (2) the annual real-estate wealth tax on net real estate over €1,300,000.

Royalties

Income-tax bands

Royalties/intellectual property income (droits d'auteur, brevets, licences) received by a resident carry tax at the progressive income-tax bands. Authors have a specific regime (a 34% micro-non-commercial income deduction or the special author-income rules) and pay artist-author social contributions.

France royalties Income-tax bands: Royalties are generally bénéfices non commerciaux taxed at the progressive income-tax bands. An author's droits d'auteur can use micro-non-commercial income (34% deduction) or the déclaration contrôlée.
Foreign royalties Income-tax bands: Foreign royalties are taxed in France at the income-tax bands (as non-commercial income) with a treaty credit for tax taken in the source country. Many treaties cap royalty withholding tax (often 0–10%).
Which rights qualify Income-tax bands: For this case, scope spans droits d'auteur (copyright/literary/artistic), brevets (patents) and marques/licences. Author copyright income has its own assessment path and social scheme.
Passive or active Non-commercial income passive vs professional author plus social: A passive royalty (for example inherited copyright, occasional licence) is non-commercial income without professional social charges. An active/professional author or licensor is a self-employed person owing artist-author or self-employed social contributions on top of income tax.
Social contributions and value-added tax Special rule: The ordinary resident rule applies when the taxable event occurs. Check the stated conditions before using the rate line.

If you still work

Income-tax bands

French-source employment carries tax at the progressive income-tax bands (10% deduction) with heavy social charges and monthly withholding. Self-employment (trading income/non-commercial income) carries large mandatory social contributions.

Employment in France Income-tax bands: Salary for work physically performed in France carries tax at the progressive income-tax bands after a 10% professional deduction (or actual expenses), collected monthly via the monthly withholding. Employee social contributions of roughly 20–23% are withheld before income tax.
Remote work for a foreign employer Income-tax bands: A French resident working remotely for a foreign employer is taxed in France on that employment income (worldwide basis). Treaty relief for any tax in the work state.
Self-employment and consulting Income-tax bands: Self-employment/consulting carries tax at the progressive income-tax bands as trading income or non-commercial income. A micro regime (34% non-commercial income / 50% trading income-services deduction under turnover thresholds) or régime réel.
Director fees Income-tax bands: Jetons de présence / directors' fees are a separate treaty category, generally taxable in the company's state. Domestically they carry tax at the income-tax bands.
New-resident worker rule Prime exemption plus 50% foreign passive income, 8 yrs: The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the income is received.

One layer stays off this page: the tax taken inside a fund before its dividend ever reaches you. Everything above is the tax after it.

The withholding guide explains that layer The Domicile Tax prices it on your pot

Two terms that matter in France

PFU

France's default flat charge on many investment gains, dividends and interest. It combines personal income tax with social charges.

Social charges

Levies collected beside personal income tax on investment and property income. They are part of the headline French burden.

Your first tax year and starting values

Two dates matter: when your new country starts taxing you, and which value it uses to work out a later gain. Check both before you move.

When residence starts: Residence begins when France becomes the person's main home, main place of stay, main professional activity or centre of economic interests. Meeting one test can be enough.
The arrival year: France has no statutory 'split-year' election. In the year of arrival the administrative practice/case law taxes worldwide income only from the date the domicile is established in France.
Dual residence: If the former country still claims residence for the arrival year, the applicable treaty tie-breaker decides the single residence for treaty purposes.

Shares, funds, crypto, an owner-company stake and property: Original purchase cost
The original purchase cost continues after the move. A later taxable gain can therefore include growth from before residence began.

These answers carry dates because the rules move.

See what changed in the atlas changelog Look up a term in the glossary

Plain-language key

Withholding tax: Tax taken before the money reaches you, usually in the country where the payment comes from.
Tax credit: Tax already paid abroad can reduce the bill where you live. The reduction is usually capped at the local tax on that same income.
Original purchase cost: What you paid for the asset. A market-value reset replaces that figure with the asset's value when you move.
Income-tax bands: The income is added to your other taxable income. Higher total income can push part of it into a higher band.
Permanent establishment: A taxable business presence. Running a foreign company from your new home can create one even if the company remains registered abroad.

This gives you the starting rule, not your final bill. The country paying the money, your treaty, account, holding period, residence dates and activity can change the result.

The system around it

Wrappers

The PEA and assurance-vie both reward you for holding for years, and assurance-vie keeps its lighter social-charge treatment. Know your wrapper before you optimise anything else.

Exit tax

France taxes big portfolios on the way out, but only for someone who's been French tax resident for at least six of the previous ten years: broadly, €800,000+ in securities or a 50% company stake, with relief if you keep the assets for years after leaving.

Wealth tax

None on financial assets. France's wealth tax (the IFI) covers non-professional real estate only, above €1.3 million: a portfolio of funds sits outside it.

Inheritance & gifts

The surviving spouse or PACS partner is fully exempt; each child gets €100,000 tax-free, then the direct-line scale runs 5–45%. The 20% band is the broad one: it's the marginal rate on a child's share between roughly €15,932 and €552,324 above that allowance, not a rate on the whole inheritance.

Worth watching

The flat rate just moved. Assume it can move again, every budget.

Same pattern elsewhere

The terms, defined

Compare head-to-head

France vs Spain

Entry rules

Your passport

Can you actually move here?

Hold an EU or EEA passport and the door isn't the question: freedom of movement covers the move itself. The clocks and the tax-residency rules below still run for you.

With your passport, skip the doors: the clocks and the tax-residency rules are what matter for you.

No EU passport means one of the doors on the left: each checked against the authority that issues it.

The route in

The 'visiteur' visa

resources at least equal to the net minimum wage: about €1,478/mo (SMIC, 2026), pensions, rents and savings all counting

Golden visa

Never had one

Never sold residence: the investor 'talent' card wants an active €300,000 project plus French jobs, not a purchase.

The passport

5 yrs

permanent residency at 5 yrs · dual allowed · French at B2 + a civic exam (both since January 2026)

When you become tax-resident

No fixed day-count: your household, main stay, main work or economic centre in France is enough

France's visitor route is real and modest (prove the minimum wage in passive income, promise not to work, renew yearly), and time on it counts toward the five-year clocks. The bar moved elsewhere: since January 2026 a passport takes B2 French plus a civic exam, and the ten-year card B1. Dual citizenship is no issue.

Worth watching

The 2026 language ratchet is in force (B2 for nationality, B1 for the resident card); a decree adding a contribution for some non-working public-health members is pending.

Check it yourself: Service-public: the visitor card · PwC: France tax residence

Getting-in rules checked July 2026. They move faster than tax law: confirm the current rule with the authority before you plan a move around it. Education, not immigration advice.

Health

Residence-based (PUMa): a legally resident non-worker joins the public system after three months in France, then must actually live there six-plus months a year to stay covered.

Private cover: private cover for the whole stay is required for the visitor visa and card; a decree adding a PUMa contribution for some non-working members is pending in 2026.

Healthcare access checked July 2026. Systems are stable but details shift: confirm before you rely on them. Education, not health-insurance advice.

Your pension, the official number

This country’s official, free place to check where your pension stands: Info-Retraite .

What it’s worth to an early exit: The Pension Bridge

Common questions

Can I retire early in France?: Yes, and more comfortably than its reputation suggests: the default flat tax takes 31.4% of gains, with the progressive scale as an option, the wealth tax reaches only property, and the PEA and assurance-vie improve with every year you leave them alone. Budget about €2,760 a month for the €2,500 reference life, and re-read the rules each autumn.
Is there a wealth tax on my investment portfolio in France?: No. France's wealth tax (the IFI) covers non-professional real estate only, above €1.3 million, so a portfolio of funds sits outside it.
Is there an exit tax when leaving France?: Yes, after long residence: for someone who's been French tax resident for at least six of the previous ten years, France taxes big portfolios on the way out (broadly €800,000+ in securities, or a 50% company stake), with relief if you keep the assets for years after leaving.
Are there tax-advantaged accounts in France?: Yes. The PEA and assurance-vie both reward you for holding for years, and assurance-vie keeps its lighter social-charge treatment.
How does France tax a foreign listed-share dividend?: A listed-share dividend normally carries the 31.4% flat investment charge from 2026. A household can instead choose the progressive calculation for all qualifying investment income.
Can an American or a Brit retire early in France?: Yes. The door is the 'visiteur' visa: a long-stay visa for living on your own means, with a sworn undertaking not to work in France. The bar is resources at least equal to the net minimum wage: about €1,478/mo (SMIC, 2026), pensions, rents and savings all counting. An EU or EEA passport skips the visa question entirely: freedom of movement covers the move itself. Rules like these move. Confirm with the immigration authority before planning around them.
How long until a France passport?: 5 years of legal residence is the general naturalisation rule, with French at B2 + a civic exam (both since January 2026). Dual citizenship is allowed. Permanent residency usually comes at 5 years.

Run your own numbers.

The Exit Calculator

Years to your number, at your savings rate.

Open

Where You Live

What an annual wealth tax does to the maths, deliberately simplified.

Open

The Geoarbitrage Map

The same life, priced across 58 countries.

Open

The brokers

All nine brokers on the broker guide advertise accounts here.

Native tax paperwork here: Saxo.

This country runs the PEA, offered here by Trade Republic · XTB. The tax it saves is usually worth more than any fee difference.

The broker guide: all nine, and your bank The Broker Bill: your yearly bill, filtered to this country

The whole system (wrappers, funds, withdrawal, the blank page) is in the guide: The European FIRE guide

None of this is tax or investment advice: it's education, kept deliberately at the level that survives fact-checking. Rules shift with every budget round; the specifics of your situation belong with a licensed adviser in your country. I'm happily not one.

This page was last verified against official sources on 20 July 2026. What's changed on the map

Sources: check it yourself

Income and cross-border tax (14)

Open the sources behind each topic

How the money you live on is taxed

Your first tax year and starting values

Keep it honest

Know a figure here that’s wrong or out of date? Point me to the line and a source: every correction gets checked, and it’s how the map stays right.

Report a correction

Bring me a challenge.

The Exit Audit, then ninety minutes: a straight verdict, real alternatives with their pros and cons, and your first move. If you want someone to nod along, I’m the wrong person to pay.

See how it works →

Ninety minutes, online, €600. The Exit Audit included.