Who Taxes Your US Pension, 401(k), IRA and Social Security in France? What Article 18 of the Treaty Says and How the French Return Handles It (2026)

The treaty text is clear on the main case. A pension or a Social Security payment that comes from the United States to someone living in France is taxable only in the United States. France does not ignore it, though: it counts the income and gives a credit. What the text does not settle is where an American’s own retirement accounts fit, the IRA and the Roth above all. This guide sets out what Articles 18, 19, 24 and 29 of the consolidated treaty say, what France’s tax office tells residents to do on the return, and the places where you need a professional.

The Short Answer

Source: consolidated France-US convention (impots.gouv.fr), Articles 18 and 19.

This reads the treaty as an official document and is not tax advice. For the wider picture, see the guide to US taxes when you live in France, and for the French return, the guide to the French income tax return.

What Article 18 Says

The consolidated text of Article 18(1), in my translation, has two parts joined in one sentence. First, sums paid under the social security legislation, or similar legislation, of one State to a resident of the other State, or to a citizen of the United States. Second, sums paid under a retirement scheme and similar remuneration that arise in one of the two States in respect of past employment, to a resident of the other State, in periodic payments or as a lump sum. Both are taxable only in the first State, the one they come from.

The same paragraph adds a definition: sums paid under a retirement scheme are considered to arise in a State only when they are paid by a pension scheme or other retirement plan established in that State. A pension paid by a US plan arises in the United States. That is what makes the United States the only taxing State for a 401(k) or other US plan payment to a French resident.

Two details deserve attention:

• “Or to a citizen of the United States.” The Social Security part names US citizens as well as residents. So a French social security pension paid to an American citizen living in France is also taxable only in France.
• “Periodic payments or a lump sum.” The text covers both, so a lump-sum distribution from a US plan is not treated differently from a monthly payment.

What the 1994 Text Said, and Why Older Sources Disagree

The convention as signed on 31 August 1994, which the IRS publishes, had a different rule for private pensions. Article 18(1)(a) made pensions and similar remuneration, including distributions from retirement arrangements, taxable only in the State of residence of the recipient. Only social security payments went to the paying State.

Two later texts changed it. The protocol signed in Washington on 8 December 2004, which the U.S. Treasury publishes, says in its Article III that Article 18 is deleted and replaced. Its new paragraph 1 makes payments under the social security legislation of one State to a resident of the other, and pension distributions arising in one State in consideration of past employment and paid to a resident of the other, whether periodic or in a lump sum, taxable only in the first-mentioned State, and deems pension distributions to arise in a State only if paid by a pension or other retirement arrangement established there. The amendment signed in Paris on 13 January 2009, published in France by decree no. 2010-28 of 8 January 2010, says in its Article VI that the first sentence of paragraph 1 is replaced by the sentence translated above, which adds citizens of the United States to the social security part. The 2004 protocol enters into force when both States have notified each other, and I did not find the date, so I do not give the year from which the new rule applies. If you find an article that says a US pension is taxed in France because you live there, check whether it relies on the 1994 wording.

Where the Income Is Reported in France

Article 24(1)(a) covers income that arises in the United States and is taxable, or taxable only, in the United States under the treaty. For a French resident, it says:

• the income is taken into account to compute French tax;
• the US tax is not deductible from that income;
• the recipient gets a tax credit against French tax, equal for income of this kind to the amount of French tax corresponding to it.

Article 24(1)(d) defines that amount. For income taxed under a progressive scale, it is the net income multiplied by the rate that comes from the ratio between the French tax due on your total net taxable income and that total income. In plain terms, France computes the tax on everything you earn, including the US pension, then removes the share attributable to the pension at your average rate. The consequence of that definition is that your other income is taxed at the average rate computed with the pension included.

The French tax office’s page on pensions, modified on 8 April 2026, gives the practical side for people who are tax residents of France:

• foreign-source pensions that give the right to a tax credit equal to the French tax go on lines 1AL to 1DL of the return, and are also reported on line 8TK and on the foreign income form 2047;
• foreign-source pensions that do not give that credit go on lines 1AM to 1DM and also on form 2047;
• a pension that gives a credit equal to the French tax is outside the scope of French withholding at source;
• the page says a 10% allowance applies to the amounts on lines 1AL to 1DL and 1AM to 1DM, with a minimum of €454 for each pension holder and a ceiling of €4,439 per household.

I did not read the form 2047 instructions themselves, so check them for how to complete the form, and note that these figures are the ones on the page at the date above.

The U.S. Side: the Saving Clause

Article 29(2) lets the United States tax its residents and its citizens as if the convention did not exist. Article 29(3)(a) then lists what that paragraph does not affect, which includes the benefits of paragraph 1 of Article 18, and of Articles 24, 25 and 26. So the saving clause does not remove the treaty’s Article 18(1) rule or the Article 24 credit mechanism.

Article 24(2) then covers the American side of the credit for a person who is both a French resident and a US citizen, in terms that depend on the French credit mechanism above. I do not set out how that works in a return. How much of a Social Security benefit is taxable under US law, and how the foreign tax credit is computed, are US rules outside this text. The guide to the foreign tax credit covers that credit, and the guide to US Social Security in France covers the benefit itself.

What the Text Does Not Settle

• The Roth IRA. The consolidated text I read never mentions the Roth or section 408A. Whether a qualified Roth distribution is a payment for past employment under Article 18(1), and how the French tax office treats it, is not answered there. The guide to 401(k) and IRA accounts in France discusses the disagreement among professionals.
• IRA distributions in general. Article 18(1) speaks of retirement scheme payments “in respect of past employment”. Article 18(2)(c)(i) names individual retirement plans among the US arrangements treated as corresponding to a recognised French scheme, but that is in the paragraph on contributions. Whether an IRA that holds rolled-over money fits the wording of paragraph 1 is a question for a cross-border professional.
• Government pensions. Article 19(1) concerns remuneration “other than pensions” paid for government service, and Article 19(2) sends pensions for a government’s commercial or industrial activity to other articles. The text does not state how a federal civil-service or military pension is treated.
• Social contributions and health charges. The treaty is a tax convention on income and wealth. Whether French social contributions apply to a US pension is a separate question that I did not read on an official page, and the PUMa contribution guide covers the visitor-visa contribution.

What to Keep and Whom to Ask

Keep the annual statement from each payer, and the amounts converted into euros as you report them. Ask a professional who handles both returns to confirm, in writing, how each of your payments is classified under Article 18, which line it goes on, and how the US return claims the credit. If you hold a Roth, ask about it by name.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does France tax my US Social Security?

The consolidated treaty says Social Security payments are taxable only in the State that pays them, here the United States. France still takes the income into account and gives a credit equal to the French tax on it, and the French tax office tells residents to report foreign-source pensions on lines 1AL to 1DL and on form 2047.

Does the treaty cover a 401(k) lump sum?

Article 18(1) covers sums paid under a retirement scheme in respect of past employment, in periodic payments or as a lump sum, taxable only in the State they arise from. A payment from a US plan arises in the United States.

Is my IRA covered the same way?

The text does not say so in terms. Article 18(1) speaks of payments for past employment, and individual retirement plans appear in Article 18(2)(c) in a list on contributions. Ask a professional.

What about a Roth IRA?

The text I read does not mention the Roth. I do not state a rule for it.

Why do some articles say France taxes US pensions?

The 1994 text as signed made private pensions taxable only in the State of residence. The protocol of 8 December 2004 replaced Article 18 in full, the amendment of 13 January 2009 replaced the first sentence of paragraph 1, and the rule is now that they are taxable only in the State they come from.

Where do I report a US pension on the French return?

The French tax office says foreign-source pensions that give a credit equal to the French tax go on lines 1AL to 1DL, line 8TK and form 2047, and those that do not give that credit go on lines 1AM to 1DM and form 2047.

Does the US still tax me if the treaty gives the tax to the other country?

Article 29(2) lets the United States tax its citizens as if the treaty did not exist, with exceptions in Article 29(3) that include Article 18(1) and Article 24. How that works on a return depends on US rules I did not read.

Conclusion

For an American in France, the consolidated treaty puts the tax on a US pension or Social Security payment in the United States, and France counts the income and credits the French tax on it. That is the opposite of what the 1994 text said for private pensions, until the protocol of 8 December 2004 replaced Article 18, and the amendment of 13 January 2009 then replaced the first sentence of paragraph 1, which is why older sources disagree. The text leaves the Roth IRA, IRAs in general and government pensions without a clear answer, so confirm your own classification with a professional who files both returns before you report anything.