Singapore treaty of 15 January 2015 · applied in France since 2017

France-Singapore tax treaty: executives, dividends, assets left in France

The 2015 treaty settles most questions faced by a French national living in Singapore: where salary, directors' fees, French dividends and the sale of shares are taxed. It covers neither the French real estate wealth tax nor inheritance: on those two subjects, French law alone applies.

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How does the France-Singapore tax treaty prevent double taxation?

Signed on 15 January 2015 and in force since 1 June 2016, the treaty applies in France to income from 2017 onwards and is supplemented by the OECD multilateral instrument. It determines the State of residence (Article 4) and then allocates taxing rights: salaries are taxed where the work is performed, dividends from French companies bear a French withholding tax capped at 15% (5% for a company holding at least 10% of the capital), real estate and real-estate-rich companies remain taxable in France, and other gains on shares are taxable only in Singapore.

For a French resident, income taxable in Singapore is included in the French tax base with a tax credit (Article 23): equal to the French tax for salaries, and equal to the Singapore tax, capped at the French tax, for dividends, directors' fees and real estate gains. The treaty covers income taxes only: the French real estate wealth tax (IFI) and inheritance tax are governed by French law alone.

France-Singapore tax treaty of 15 January 2015, Articles 2, 4, 10, 13 and 23, and consolidated version with the multilateral instrument published on impots.gouv.fr; BOI-INT-CVB-SGP.

— In brief
Text
Treaty of 15 January 2015, in force on 1 June 2016, amended by the OECD multilateral instrument (effective in France from 2020 for withholding taxes)
Taxes covered
French income tax, corporate tax, CSG and CRDS; Singapore income tax. Neither the IFI nor inheritance tax
Dividends
French withholding capped at 15%, or 5% for a company holding at least 10% of the capital; individuals bear the 12.8% domestic rate
Watch point
Treaty benefits limited to income remitted to or received in Singapore where Singapore only taxes amounts received there (Article 22)
— Executives and employees in Singapore

Salary, corporate office, directors' fees: three different rules

Residence first (Article 4). The treaty only protects a person who is resident in Singapore within its meaning and whom France no longer treats as domiciled under Article 4 B of the French tax code, or whom the tie-breaker rule allocates to Singapore: permanent home, then centre of vital interests, then habitual abode; failing that, the two administrations decide by mutual agreement, as the treaty does not use nationality. A spouse and children left in France, or a main professional activity carried on in France, are often enough to keep a French tax domicile. Executives of companies headquartered in France with a turnover above EUR 250 million are presumed to carry on their main activity there (Article 4 B, 1, b).

Salary (Article 14). It is taxable in the State where the work is physically performed. An executive resident in Singapore and paid by a French company is therefore taxable in France only on the portion relating to working days in France; the 183-day exception does not apply, since the employer is resident in France. That portion bears the withholding tax of Article 182 A of the French tax code (12% then 20%, under the annual thresholds of EUR 17,275 and EUR 50,112 applicable in 2026), final as to the fraction of salary not exceeding the limit of application of the 20% minimum rate (Article 197 B), and above that credited against the tax computed under Article 197 A, which sets a minimum rate of 20%, then 30%, for non-residents unless a lower worldwide average rate is shown.

Corporate office and directors' fees (Article 15). The remuneration of a chair of an SAS or a CEO for management duties in principle follows Article 14, like a salary; the characterisation is checked case by case (office only, separate employment contract, board seat). Payments received as a member of the board of directors or supervisory board of a French company fall under Article 15 instead: they are taxable in France wherever the office is exercised. French law subjects them to a 12.8% withholding tax for an individual (Articles 117 bis, 119 bis and 187 of the French tax code), except for the part paying for genuine employment.

Permanent establishment risk. A person who habitually concludes contracts in the name of an enterprise of the other State may create a permanent establishment there (Article 5, paragraph 5), and a company whose place of effective management is in France is resident there in a dual-residence case (Article 4, paragraph 3). We cover these risks on our page on tax domicile and permanent establishment.

— The treaty, article by article

The rules that come up in our files

  • Taxes covered (Article 2). In France, income tax, corporate tax and its contributions, CSG and CRDS, including withholding taxes; in Singapore, income tax. Neither the real estate wealth tax nor gift and inheritance taxes are covered.
  • Income from immovable property (Article 6). Rental income is taxable in the State where the property is located, including when received by an enterprise.
  • Permanent establishment (Articles 5 and 7). A building site only creates one after twelve months; services create one when they continue for more than 365 days within any fifteen-month period. Business profits are taxable in the other State only to the extent attributable to such an establishment.
  • Dividends (Article 10). The State of the paying company may levy no more than 5% of the gross amount where the beneficial owner is a company holding directly or indirectly at least 10% of the capital, and 15% in all other cases. The term covers income treated as a distribution. Distributions by tax-exempt real estate investment vehicles that distribute most of their income follow the dividend rules, except for holdings of 10% or more, taxed at the domestic rate (paragraph 4).
  • Interest (Article 11). Withholding capped at 10%, with exemption at source for interest paid by an enterprise of one State to an enterprise of the other, or involving a State or public body. Under domestic law, France levies no withholding tax on most interest paid to non-residents, except payments made in a non-cooperative State or territory (Article 125 A, III of the French tax code).
  • Royalties (Article 12). Taxable only in the State of residence of the beneficial owner, except copyright on literary and artistic works, films included, and information concerning commercial experience: these remain taxable in the source State under its law, which in France means the 25% withholding tax of Article 182 B of the French tax code.
  • Capital gains (Article 13). Gains on real estate are taxable in the State where the property is located; so are shares or rights in a company, trust or entity deriving more than 50% of its value, directly or indirectly, from real estate located in that State, excluding property used in its own business. All other gains, including the sale of shares in an operating French company, are taxable only in the seller's State of residence: the treaty contains no substantial shareholding clause.
  • Directors' fees (Article 15). Taxable in the State of residence of the paying company.
  • Entertainers and sportspersons (Article 16). Taxable in the State where they perform, unless the visit is substantially funded by public funds of the other State.
  • Pensions (Articles 17, 18 and 21). Pensions paid in respect of past employment are taxable only in the State of residence of the recipient. Government pensions remain taxable in the paying State, unless the recipient is resident in the other State and a national of that State only. Withdrawals from a supplementary savings plan whose contributions were deducted in one State remain taxable in that State (Article 21, paragraph 3).
  • Limitation of relief (Article 22). Where the treaty exempts French-source income or reduces its tax, and Singapore taxes that income only on the amount remitted to or received in Singapore, the French relief applies only to that portion. The rule applies neither to income received by the States themselves and their public bodies, nor where Singapore exempts the income to eliminate double taxation (Article 23, paragraph 1, a).
  • Anti-abuse clause (Article 28 as amended by the multilateral instrument). A treaty benefit is denied if it is reasonable to conclude that obtaining it was one of the principal purposes of an arrangement or transaction, unless granting it is shown to be in accordance with the object and purpose of the treaty.
  • Mutual agreement procedure (Article 25). The request must be filed within three years of the first notification of the disputed taxation. The multilateral instrument adds arbitration, on written request, where the two administrations have not reached agreement within three years, subject to each State's reservations.
  • Exchange of information (Article 26). Banking secrecy cannot be invoked against requests from the French tax authorities. Financial accounts are also subject, under a multilateral framework separate from the treaty, to automatic exchange of information, which we follow on our page on CRS 2.0 and crypto-assets.
— French real estate and IFI

Rents, gains, property-rich companies and IFI: French law applies

  • Rental income. Taxable in France (Article 6), at the progressive scale with the 20%, then 30%, minimum rate for non-residents, unless a lower average rate on worldwide income is shown (Article 197 A of the French tax code), and subject to 17.2% social levies absent affiliation to a European social security scheme.
  • Capital gain on sale. Taxable in France (Article 13): 19% levy for an individual (Article 244 bis A of the French tax code), 17.2% social levies and a 2% to 6% surtax on taxable gains above EUR 50,000 (Article 1609 nonies G). Holding-period allowances are those of residents: for income tax, 6% per year from the sixth to the twenty-first year and 4% for the twenty-second, hence exemption after twenty-two years (Article 150 VC); social levies follow a separate scale, with exemption after thirty years. An accredited tax representative must in principle be appointed.
  • The former main residence. Its exemption is reserved for moves to the European Union or to a State bound to France by administrative assistance and recovery assistance agreements; it also requires a sale by 31 December of the year following the move, a home not made available to third parties in the meantime, and no prior use of the non-resident exemption (Article 244 bis A, I, 1). The 2015 treaty contains no recovery assistance clause: for a move to Singapore, this exemption is not secured and must be checked before any sale.
  • Real-estate-rich companies. Shares in an SCI or in a company deriving more than 50% of its value from French real estate are treated as real estate: the gain on sale remains taxable in France (Article 13, paragraph 3, of the treaty; Article 244 bis A, I, 3 of the French tax code).
  • IFI. The treaty does not cover wealth tax. A Singapore resident is subject to the IFI, under domestic law alone, on real estate assets located in France and on the French real estate portion of shares in companies, French or foreign, where their net value exceeds EUR 1.3 million (Articles 964 and 965 of the French tax code), subject to the exclusions for operating companies, in particular holdings below 10% and property used in their business. Holding through a Singapore company does not take the property out of the tax base: see our page on the IFI of non-residents and foreign companies.
— Leaving and returning to France

The two moments that matter most

  • On departure, exit tax. A taxpayer domiciled in France for at least six of the previous ten years who moves to Singapore is taxed on unrealised gains on shares that represent at least 50% of a company's profits or exceed EUR 800,000 (Article 167 bis of the French tax code). Deferral of payment is automatic only for a move to an EU State or to a State bound to France by administrative assistance and recovery assistance agreements; the 2015 treaty provides no recovery assistance, and deferral must in practice be requested, with a representative appointed and guarantees provided. Our page on French exit tax explains the mechanism.
  • After departure, the sale. Article 13 gives Singapore the gain on the sale of shares in a non-real-estate French company. The exit tax assessed on departure follows its own rules: it is cancelled if the shares are kept for two years, or five years from EUR 2.57 million.
  • On return, the date of domicile. French tax domicile resumes as soon as one of the criteria of Article 4 B is met again. In the year of return, income received before that date is taxable in France only if it is French-source. A home kept in France during the expatriation weakens the evidence of both the departure and the return date.
  • On return, favourable regimes. An employee or executive recruited from abroad who was not domiciled in France during the five calendar years before taking up the position may, subject to conditions, benefit from the inbound expatriate regime until 31 December of the eighth following year, with a 50% exemption of certain foreign-source income (Article 155 B of the French tax code). The same five-year absence limits the IFI to real estate located in France, until 31 December of the fifth year following the year of return (Article 964 of the French tax code).
— Inheritance: no treaty

French law applies alone, and Singapore levies nothing

France and Singapore have signed no treaty on inheritance or gifts; the 2015 treaty only covers income taxes. Singapore abolished estate duty in 2008: as a rule, there is therefore no Singapore tax to credit, and France applies Article 750 ter of the French tax code in full.

Deceased domiciled in France (1°): all assets, in France or abroad. Deceased domiciled in Singapore (2°): French assets only, a broad notion covering real estate held directly or through companies more than 50% controlled by the deceased and family, shares in French companies, shares in unlisted foreign companies whose assets are mainly French real estate, and receivables on debtors established in France. Heir domiciled in France (3°) for at least six of the previous ten years: everything received, whatever the domicile of the deceased.

Duties are computed under the scale of Article 777 of the French tax code (5% to 45% in the direct line, the top band above EUR 1,805,677), after an allowance of EUR 100,000 per parent and per child (Article 779), with gifts made in the previous fifteen years added back (Article 784). Any foreign tax is creditable only in cases 1° and 3°, and only on assets located outside France (Article 784 A).

Life insurance. For premiums paid before age 70, the Article 990 I levy applies if the insured person is domiciled in France at death, or if the beneficiary is domiciled there at death and was for at least six of the previous ten years: EUR 152,500 allowance per beneficiary, then 20% up to EUR 700,000 of taxable share and 31.25% above. Premiums paid after age 70 are subject to inheritance tax, after a global allowance of EUR 30,500, the accumulated returns not being taxed on that basis (Article 757 B). See our page on life insurance and international succession.

Civil law. A French court applies the EU Succession Regulation (law of the last habitual residence, unless the national law is chosen by will); Singapore applies its own conflict-of-laws rules. Consistent wills in both countries avoid deadlocks in settling the estate. We organise these transfers as part of our estate planning work.

— Before the courts

Three decisions on residence and permanent establishment

A treaty is read together with the decisions that applied it. The first two concern the residence of a French national living in Singapore; they apply the treaty of 9 September 1974, whose Article 4(2) is carried over in substance into Article 4(2) of the 2015 treaty.

  • Housing in France is not a home without durable availability. An entrepreneur had contributed the shares of his French company to a Singapore company and later sold them. The Conseil d'État holds that any residence a person has at his durable disposal is a permanent home within the meaning of the treaty, and that staying with his sister, receiving mail at her address and giving a French address in a divorce petition do not prove durable availability of a home in France (Conseil d'État, 29 December 2020, no. 434257).
  • Resident of both States: the treaty prevails. On remand, the court finds that the taxpayer had his home in France under Article 4 B of the French tax code on the date of the share sale, but was also resident in Singapore: a lease signed in Singapore, pay from a Singapore company, assets managed by a local bank. Neither temporary lodging with his sister nor bank accounts kept in France amount to a permanent home in France: the treaty bars the French taxation and the assessment is discharged (Nancy Administrative Court of Appeal, 21 March 2024, no. 20NC03819).
  • Permanent establishment: the company that decides in France. A foreign company has a permanent establishment in France where the French group company habitually decides the transactions that the foreign company merely endorses. The decision concerns the 1968 France-Ireland treaty; it informs the reading of Article 5(5) of the 2015 treaty, which targets a person habitually holding authority to conclude contracts (Conseil d'État, 11 December 2020, no. 420174, Conversant International). See our commentary on the Conversant decision and the Ceremed case on hidden permanent establishments.
— Worked examples

Four worked examples

Example 1, executive based in Singapore. The chair of a French SAS, living in Singapore with family, receives EUR 180,000 for 220 working days, 22 of them spent in France. France taxes 180,000 × 22 / 220 = EUR 18,000, with withholding and then taxation under Article 197 A; the remaining EUR 162,000 falls to Singapore only. The EUR 20,000 received as a director of a French société anonyme bears a 12.8% French withholding tax, i.e. EUR 2,560.

Example 2, dividends from a French company. A Singapore resident receives EUR 100,000 of dividends. The 12.8% domestic withholding tax, i.e. EUR 12,800, is below the 15% treaty cap: it applies as such. If the shares are held by a Singapore company owning at least 10% of the capital, the 25% domestic rate is reduced to 5%, i.e. EUR 5,000 instead of EUR 25,000, provided the company is the beneficial owner, the benefit is not one of the principal purposes of the arrangement (Article 28) and, where relevant, the dividends are actually received in Singapore (Article 22).

Example 3, sale of a Paris apartment. A Singapore resident sells an apartment bought four years earlier, with a capital gain of EUR 300,000. No holding-period allowance applies before the sixth year: France levies 19%, i.e. EUR 57,000, 17.2% social levies, i.e. EUR 51,600, and the 6% surtax on high gains, i.e. EUR 18,000. Total: EUR 126,600.

Example 4, estate of a mother living in Singapore. A mother domiciled in Singapore for ten years leaves EUR 2,000,000 of investments to her only son, domiciled in Paris for fifteen years. The son is taxed in France on the whole amount under Article 750 ter, 3°: after the EUR 100,000 allowance, duties amount to EUR 617,394, with no Singapore tax to credit. Had the son been domiciled in France for fewer than six of the last ten years, only French assets would have been taxable in France.

— What you need to know

Capital gains in Singapore; real estate, IFI and inheritance in France

Singapore in principle taxes neither capital gains nor estates, and as a rule does not tax foreign-sourced income received by resident individuals. The 2015 treaty reflects this system: it gives Singapore the exclusive right to tax its residents' gains on shares, but leaves to France real estate, real-estate-rich companies, directors' fees paid by a French company and a withholding tax on dividends. It also provides that a French treaty benefit may be limited to income actually remitted to or received in Singapore (Article 22).

It leaves two decisive subjects outside its scope for assets that remain in France: the real estate wealth tax (IFI), due on French property above EUR 1.3 million of net real estate assets, and inheritance tax, which no treaty between France and Singapore limits. A move to Singapore must therefore be prepared on three levels: residence, income and succession.

— Who is concerned

Six situations where the treaty changes the outcome

Expatriate executives

Chair or CEO of a French company living in Singapore: salary, days worked in France, directors' fees.

Founders who sell

Sale of shares in a French company after the move: exclusive Singapore taxing right, unless real-estate-rich, and exit tax assessed on departure.

Shareholders of French companies

Dividends: 12.8% withholding for an individual, caps of 15% or 5% for a company.

Owners of French property

Rental income, capital gains and IFI remain French, under rules specific to non-residents.

Families across two continents

Parent in Singapore, children in France: the estate is taxed in France with no treaty and no local tax to credit.

Returns to France

Date of return, inbound expatriate regime, IFI limited to French assets for five years.

— Frequently asked questions

What clients ask us about the France-Singapore treaty

Does an expatriate in Singapore still pay tax in France?

Yes, on French-source income that the treaty leaves to France: rental income and gains on French property, salary for days worked in France, directors' fees from a French company, withholding tax on dividends. A non-resident tax return is then filed. The IFI also remains due on French property whose net value exceeds EUR 1.3 million.

What withholding tax applies to French dividends paid to a Singapore resident?

12.8% for an individual, the domestic rate being below the 15% treaty cap. For a Singapore company, the 25% domestic rate is reduced to 15%, or 5% if it holds directly or indirectly at least 10% of the capital, subject to Articles 22 and 28 of the treaty. Relief is obtained at source, with the relevant forms, or by refund claim: see our page on withholding tax on dividends.

I sell the shares of my French company after moving to Singapore: where am I taxed?

In principle only in Singapore, which generally does not tax gains on shares unless the gain is recharacterised there as trading income: the treaty reserves nothing to France, unless the company derives more than 50% of its value from French real estate. But if you were domiciled in France for six of the ten years before leaving and your shares exceeded EUR 800,000 or 50% of a company's profits, exit tax was assessed on departure and follows its own rules.

Must a Singapore resident pay the IFI in France?

Yes, if real estate assets located in France, held directly or through companies, exceed EUR 1.3 million in net value on 1 January. The treaty does not cover wealth tax: only domestic law applies. Financial investments and assets located outside France are not taxable.

My father lived in Singapore and I live in France: will I pay inheritance tax?

Yes, if you have been domiciled in France for at least six of the ten years before the death: you are taxed in France on everything you receive, under the French scale, after a EUR 100,000 allowance. No treaty limits this taxation and Singapore has levied no estate duty since 2008: there is no foreign tax to credit.

Is my French pension taxable in France if I live in Singapore?

A private pension paid in respect of past work is taxable only in Singapore if you reside there (Article 17); the French fund stops withholding on proof of your tax residence. A civil service pension remains taxable in France, unless you are a Singapore national only. If Singapore taxes the pension only in proportion to amounts received there, the French exemption is limited to that portion (Article 22).

What happens when I move back to France after several years in Singapore?

You become taxable in France on worldwide income from the date of return. If you were not domiciled in France during the previous five calendar years, the IFI only covers your French real estate until 31 December of the fifth year following your return, and the inbound expatriate regime of Article 155 B of the French tax code may, subject to conditions, apply to a position taken up in France.

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© BENSAID Avocats, The information on this site does not constitute legal advice. Source: France-Singapore tax treaty of 15 January 2015 and consolidated version with the multilateral instrument published on impots.gouv.fr; BOI-INT-CVB-SGP; French tax code.