Retirement · Life between places
Retiring in France as a US citizen: your tax questions
Retirement might mean a new routine in France while pensions, savings and family remain in the US. Start with the life you are planning: where you expect to live, how you will fund it, and which arrangements you intend to keep. Give each pension or account its own place in your research instead of treating everything as one retirement pot.
Begin researchingA preparation page, not a residence or filing determination. Filing is not currently available.
Start here
Your cross-border tax questions.
Build a payment-by-payment picture of retirement income. Keep US citizenship, your home in France and the questions about each account separate in your notes.
- What should I check about US citizenship and filing while living abroad?
- How should I review French residence and each retirement payment with a qualified adviser?
- What should I understand before changing, transferring or drawing down an account?
Make the next conversation easier
Records for your tax review.
Keep these in your own records. You do not need to send Treaty documents, amounts or personal details.
- Pension and retirement-account plan descriptions
- Payment statements identifying the payer and payment type
- Planned housing dates and a list of accounts you intend to retain
Your next step in tax research.
Prepare a one-page inventory of income sources and planned withdrawals for a US–France adviser. Review the plan before making irreversible account or pension changes.
Official tax guidance
Use the tax authorities’ guidance for the period and circumstances you are reviewing. These links are starting points, not an answer about your own position.
Treaty offers this preparation page for these countries. A diagnostic, tax calculation and filing service for this pair are not available.