The short version
- You still file a US return from France; the income thresholds are low, so assume yes
- Living abroad moves your filing deadline to June 15 automatically, October 15 on request
- The FEIE (Form 2555) or Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116) means most expats in France owe the IRS little or nothing
- FBAR: if your non-US accounts together top 10,000 dollars at any moment, file FinCEN 114 online, free and separate
The United States taxes its citizens wherever they live. Move to Toulouse, Tokyo or the moon: if your income clears the normal filing thresholds, and they are low, the IRS still expects a return. So yes, assume you file from France.
The good news: filing rarely means paying. Between two generous tools and a friendly tax treaty, most Americans in France send the IRS paperwork, not money.
This guide is general information, not personal tax advice: a map of the system, plus the moments when a professional is worth every euro.
The deadlines are kinder abroad
Living outside the US earns you an automatic extension: your federal return is due June 15 instead of the usual April date. A simple request pushes it to October 15.
One catch: extensions move the filing date, not the payment date, and interest on any tax owed runs from the regular April deadline. Most people in France owe nothing, so this stays pleasantly theoretical.
Two tools, one goal: owing nothing
The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE), claimed on Form 2555, simply excludes your foreign salary from US tax up to an inflation-adjusted six-figure cap. Earn under the cap, exclude it all.
The Foreign Tax Credit (FTC), claimed on Form 1116, credits the income tax you paid to France against your US bill on the same income. France is a high-tax country, so the credit routinely covers the whole liability, which is why many expats here prefer it. The treaty adds special rules on top, notably friendly treatment of US retirement accounts, covered in the investing guide.
Pick your tool with care: once you claim the FEIE, dropping it and coming back later is restricted. Run the numbers both ways, or have a professional do it, in year one.
The reporting stack: return, FBAR, Form 8938
Alongside the return, the US wants to know about your accounts. The FBAR (foreign bank account report) is the one to remember: if all your non-US accounts together top 10,000 dollars at any moment of the year, even briefly mid-transfer, you file FinCEN Form 114. It is free, filed online, and separate from your tax return; nothing gets taxed, it is a disclosure. Skipping it carries outsized penalties for such an easy form.
Form 8938, the FATCA form, covers similar ground for larger balances and travels with your return. Its thresholds are higher abroad, and plenty of expats never cross them.
| Filing | Who files it | Where and when |
|---|---|---|
| Federal return, Form 1040 | Almost everyone above the low income thresholds | To the IRS, by June 15 from abroad, October 15 on request |
| FBAR, FinCEN Form 114 | Anyone whose non-US accounts together topped 10,000 dollars at any point | Online with FinCEN, free, separate from the return |
| Form 8938, FATCA | Larger balances; thresholds are higher when you live abroad | Attached to the federal return |
The official rules live on the IRS international taxpayers pages.
Payroll, paid once: a US-France totalization agreement decides which country's social security system your salaried work pays into, so the same paycheck is never charged twice. With a French employer you pay French cotisations, the payslip social charges, not US payroll tax.
The traps: PFICs and sticky states
One paragraph of danger, because it saves real money: French mutual funds and most non-US ETFs are PFICs, passive foreign investment companies, taxed punitively by US law with brutal paperwork. Do not buy pooled investments in France before reading the investing guide.
State taxes are the other loose end. Your federal filing duty follows you forever; your state one should end when you leave. Break ties deliberately: a final part-year return where required, updated registrations, evidence that you moved. A few states, California most famously, are sticky about letting residents go, so check your state's own rules.
Your US tax season from France
The annual rhythm, once you are settled: most years an evening or two, or one email to your preparer.
Checklist
When to hire help
Plenty of people self-file with expat software once life is stable. The years to pay a professional: your first year abroad, when the FEIE-versus-credit decision sets the pattern; any year with self-employment; and any year your money goes beyond cash into investments.
Will I be double taxed?
Rarely. The FEIE, the Foreign Tax Credit and the treaty exist precisely to prevent it, and French tax rates are high enough that the credit usually covers the entire US bill. The real cost of the US system from France is time and paperwork, not a second tax bill.
I have not filed US returns for years abroad. How bad is it?
Better than you fear. The IRS streamlined procedures exist for exactly this: an honest catch-up path for people whose failure to file was not willful. This is the one situation in this guide where hiring a specialist before doing anything is clearly the move.
Do I report my French accounts to anyone?
Yes, on both sides. To the US: the FBAR once your combined non-US accounts top 10,000 dollars, and possibly Form 8938 with your return. To France: your French return asks you to list foreign accounts too, including US ones; see the first French tax return guide.