French tax residency, explained

France looks like a 183-day country and isn't. The statute — Article 4B of the Code général des impôts — decides residency through four independent criteria, only one of which has a day figure attached, and even that one is rebuttable.

The four criteria

You are French tax resident if any of these applies: your foyer (household — spouse, partner, dependent children) is in France; your lieu de séjour principal (principal place of stay) is in France; you exercise your main professional activity in France; or your centre of economic interests is in France.

The 183-day figure enters through administrative doctrine (BOFiP) on the second criterion: more than 183 days in France during the year is taken to indicate that France is your principal place of stay. Doctrine also treats 150 days as a secondary reference point in some guidance — which tells you the figure is evidence, not law.

What this means in practice

• Family decides. A foyer in France — a spouse and children living there — generally makes you French-resident however few days you spend.
• Absences need proof. French practice counts unproven absences as presence; keep boarding passes, stamps and records.
• The indicator cuts both ways. Under 183 days with no foyer and no economic centre keeps you non-resident — but the administration can still weigh your overall pattern.

Treaties and the exit question

When France and another country both claim you, the France–X treaty tie-breaker runs: permanent home → centre of vital interests → habitual abode → nationality (walk it in our tie-breaker wizard). Wealth (IFI), inheritance and social-security coverage follow their own residence concepts.

Run your own pattern through the France tax residency calculator — and see the 183-day rule across Europe for the comparison.