France’s annual tax declaration season is open, and you need to report all income when you fill in the form – but remembering to tell the taxman about your French savings could earn you a nice little tax break.
When filling out the annual French déclaration des revenus (income tax declaration), most of the questions concern your various sources of income.
However, there are certain expenses that, if declared, can get you a tax break – these include expenses for childcare or a cleaner or charitable donations.
READ ALSO: 10 tax breaks you could benefit from in France✎
There is also a savings plan that you should definitely remember to declare; Plan d’épargne retraite, known as a PER.
The PER is, essentially, a private pension plan that you can set up with your bank or another financial provider and use as a savings vehicle for your retirement (although you can also use it to save up to buy a home).
The set-up is a private deal entirely separate from the state pension system that you will automatically be paying into if you are working in France.
But PERs are tax-deductible – meaning the money you put into a PER can be deducted from your taxable income for that year – this is usually within a minimum of €4,399 and a maximum of €37,094 per year, depending on your personal circumstances.
When filing out your tax declaration, immediately under the box where you declare your French income is one for Cotisations versées plan épargne retraite (box 6NS).
Here you declare how much you paid into your Plan épargne retrait in the tax year in question (so for the 2026 declaration that covers January 1st 2025, to December 31st 2025).
This total – within the minimum and maximum limits – will be deducted from your total taxable income, earning you either a deduction in your tax bill or, if you have already had your income tax deducted from your monthly salary, a tax refund.
Americans
A word of warning for Americans in France – depending on the PER, if it involves any ‘bundled’ investments, then it could be considered a Passive Foreign Investment Company (PFIC) by the IRS, which means considerable complications with American tax authorities for people who invest in one.
Americans are therefore generally advised not to use this savings vehicle – although, as ever, check with an accountant first. The same applies to the French Assurance Vie savings vehicle.
For everyone else, find out more about the PER HERE.
Find the complete Tax Guides for the 2026 tax declaration season HERE.
