France · Module 1 · about 5 minutes

F1 France's four residence tests

Any one of four tests makes you French tax resident. How each works, how the treaty breaks a tie with the US, and how Track A students stay on the US side.

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Concept

French law (article 4 B of the tax code) makes you a French tax resident if any one of these is true:

Your household (foyer) is in France. Where your spouse and dependent children normally live, even if you travel a lot.
France is your main place of stay. In practice, more than 183 days in the year, but it's a test of where you mostly are, not a strict count.
Your main work is in France. Rarely relevant to retirees.
The centre of your economic interests is in France. Where your main investments, business or income are managed from.

Because it's "any one", France can claim people with far fewer than 183 days: a retiree whose spouse lives in Nice full time is French resident through the household test.

When France and the US both claim you, the treaty's tie-breaker decides which country is your residence for treaty purposes: permanent home, then centre of vital interests, then habitual abode, then citizenship. Being a US citizen, the US taxes you anyway (lesson B5); the tie-breaker settles whether France treats you as resident and taxes your worldwide income.

Becoming resident. For Track B students, France residence starts when you move your home there (lesson B1): you're resident from that date, and your first French return covers the rest of that year.

What people miss

The household test is about the couple. If one spouse stays in France most of the year and the other mostly in the US, France may treat the household as French.
A home kept available all year in France is a "permanent home" for the treaty. Track A students who keep a year-round French lease while also keeping their US home have a home in both; then the centre of vital interests decides.
Days are cautious here too. The counter below counts arrival and departure days, as France and the Schengen rules do.

Worked example

Track A: the Ortizes spend four months in Nice and eight near Chicago, keep their house, doctors, accounts and car in Illinois, and have no French income. None of the four tests points to France: their household, main stay and economic interests are all in the US. They are not French tax residents, even with a year-round lease in Nice, because the US has their permanent home and centre of vital interests too.

Track B: Carol moves to Bordeaux in October with her furniture, a three-year lease and a visitor visa. Her household and main stay are now in France: she's French tax resident from her arrival.

Your numbers

Log your planned year. If you'll hold a French long-stay visa or card, choose France so its days don't count toward the Schengen limit.

Your trips

One row per stay outside the US: where, the day you arrived and the day you left. Both days count. Days with no trip are counted as days in the US.

Where	Arrived	Left

To remove a trip, clear both its dates.

Year to check

Residence permit or long-stay visa

Days in the country that issued it don't count toward 90/180.

Planning date

See your Schengen days on this date, and how long you could stay from it.

Schengen 90/180 in 2026

Within the limit. Your busiest 180 days held 80 of 90 allowed days (on 28 Mar).

On 26 Oct 2026 you have used 36 days of the last 180, with 54 left. Arriving that day and staying in a country that counts, you could stay until 18 Dec 2026.

Tax-residence day tests

Country	Days counted	Line	Status
Spain	80	over 183	Under More than 183 days in Spain in the calendar year (sporadic absences can count as days in Spain).
Portugal	36	over 183	Under More than 183 days in Portugal in any 12-month period that starts or ends in the tax year. Busiest 12 months: 21 Oct 2025 to 20 Oct 2026 (36 days in 2026).
France	0	over 183	Under Your main place of stay is France. More than 183 days in France in the calendar year is the usual sign of that, but it is an indicator rather than a strict count.

241 of 365 days in the US, 8 outside Schengen.

Days in each place, month by month. A travel day between two places counts in both.

Days are only part of the test

Staying under 183 days does not on its own keep you out of a country's tax system. Each country also looks at where your life is centred:

Spain: Your main base of business or economic interests is in Spain. Presumed resident if your spouse (not legally separated) and dependent minor children live in Spain.
Portugal: Having a home in Portugal on any day of that period, in conditions suggesting you intend to keep it as your habitual residence.
France: Your household (foyer) lives in France, even if you spend less time there. Your main professional activity is in France. The centre of your economic interests is in France. Any one of these tests on its own makes you resident.

And the US taxes its citizens wherever they live, so US tax returns continue either way.

Create a free account to keep your trip log. Without one, nothing you type is saved.

Check with an adviser

How the French tax office would weigh your own facts, especially if your spouse spends more time in France than you do.
Whether keeping a year-round French lease makes France your permanent home under the treaty.

Sources

Worked examples use 1 EUR = 1.12 USD so the numbers stay fixed; the calculators use today's rate (1.1193).