Must foreign pension tax refund be declared in French tax return?

Since moving to France in 2020 and obtaining French residency I have made an annual tax return. I have now successfully claimed a refund for tax that had been deducted at source from a foreign pension since my move to France. The pension is now being paid to me free of foreign tax. Do I have to declare this refund money to France? C.B.

Rules on taxation of foreign pensions for French residents depend on double tax treaties with the country issuing the pension. You can find these at impots.gouv.fr/les-conventions-internationales.

For example, the treaty with the US states that US retirement pensions are all taxable in the US, not France. The UK-France treaty, on the other hand, states that UK pensions of French residents are generally taxable in France, with the exception of ‘government’ pensions (eg. paid to former teachers or civil servants), which are taxable in the UK.

Read more: Partner article: What double tax treaty on inheritance means for Britons in France

The French tax authorities take the latter ‘into account’ in the tax assessment, but issue a tax credit for the French tax on these which cancels it out.

If you have received a refund from a foreign pension provider due to tax that was incorrectly deducted at source since your move to France then this is not ‘new income’ just a regularisation of your situation relating to the tax paid contrary to the double tax treaty arrangements.

As a result, there is no need to declare this to France as ‘income’ received, unless there was interest or compensation paid out in addition to paying back tax that was taken off incorrectly.

We assume that the pensions in question have been declared as part of your annual French return. If not, making corrective returns for the years affected would be advisable.