I read this as meaning that if I paid no US tax on the dividends (due to tax deductions elsewhere on the return) I would pay French tax, which I could then deduct as a credit to my 2026 US tax return (since the tax would be paid in 2026). Yes? No?
NO. Because you are an American citizen resident in France you are entitled to a French tax credit equal to the amount of French tax normally payable under Article 24.1.b.i
The scenario you have chosen is for a French resident with US sourced income who is NOT an American citizen.
The dividends and interest you receive from the US are entered as a separate line entry in Section 6 of the 2047.
Clearly the negotiators of the Treaty obtained a very good result for Americans resident in France. It’s one of those rare situations where something that seems too good to be true is actually true.
I will see if I can attach the Bercy letter to a PM to you.
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Another way of looking at this is that you haven’t paid or suffered ANY French taxes on the US dividends. The French tax credit you’ve received courtesy of the French government is purely notional, in order to eliminate any French tax liability raising on those dividends. No money has actually changed hands. Without getting into technicalities about ‘sourcing tax credits’, you basically do not have a (French) foreign tax credit to offset (against your US federal liability).
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Wow ok that is a very good deal. Hopefully the current US government won’t piss off France enough to screw that up!
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Makes sense. Thank you!
Hey everyone - I have a related question. As a US citizen resident in France I have filled in part 2 and 6 with my US dividend and interest income in 2DC and 2TR attempting to get a credit equal to the amount of French tax. However, when I reach the end of my tax return I can see that I haven’t been attributed any credits for this. Any suggestions on where I need to fix? Thank you
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You are using the wrong boxes. Do not use 2TR.
Enter the US dividend and interest income in Section 6 of Form 2047 and then enter the total for all Section 6 entries at item 8TK on the form 2042.
Additionally, the amount for Dividends and Interest only in Section 6 should be entered at 2DC on page 3 of the 2042 form.There is a reduction of 40% for this if you elect to use the Bareme option by checking Box 2OP at the bottom of that page.
If you still can’t get the online system to work for you just send in the tax return on paper forms and explain why.
Don’t forget that having income from Dividends and Interest tends to indicate that you hold an investment account somewhere, and so unless there were no trades at all in that account during 2025, the fisc will be looking for some entries at 3VG, 3SG, and 3VH on form 2042C concerning Capital Gains / Losses.
You will also need to check Box 8UU at the bottom of Page 4 of the 2042 form to indicate that you hold at least 1 foreign financial account, and then submit Form 3916 in relation to each foreign account with your completed tax return.
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Thank you Robert - No trades in FY25 and I have removed the dividends and interest from Section 2 and just added them to section 6. However I can only total them into one line on the impot.gov software ugh in which I titled Interest and Dividend Income.
I have also gone back and manually entered them into the line 2dc.
This still does not seem to be giving me a credit. (I do see the value in 8tk but it doesn’t seem to actually be reducing my tax - inversely my us interest and dividend income is being added to the revenue fiscal reference per usual but the figures would suggest I am being taxed on it, not having a credit applied).
Thanks for the info regarding the paper return, but I hope to find a way digitally so I can make sure it eventually spits out the correct figures. Any other thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.
I have the same issue and it has been widely reported on forums such as the France Fiscal Support on Facebook. We assume it is a software error on the fisc’s part. I am going to add a note to the end of my 2042 where I cite the tax treaty identifying the error and also probably send them a PM in my private online account.
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At it’s inception I tried to use the online tax reporting and found it impossible to use as Section 6 of the 2047 equivalent only allows 2 separate line entries. In our case, the system cannot cope with having income from more than one foreign country to which a French tax credit applies. I took the problem to the tax office and was instructed to submit a paper return, so that is what I have done ever since.
French computerised systems are notoriously crap in the same way as a lot of French websites. They can only cope with the basics.
I find that it is actually quicker to do the tax return on paper forms, and anyway, it keeps the people at the Hotel des Impots in work.
If you wish to pursue the digital road then the only thing I can suggest is to delete the whole thing and start again.
Honestly though, my advice is to download the form-fillable pdf versions of the forms from the gov.fr website, type in the figures at your leisure, print the amended forms, and send them to the Hotel des Impots by means of Lettre Suivi.
Just put in a note that you have used paper forms due to a ‘probleme informatique’ and all will be well. It’s sort of code for (the digital system is crap but here is the info you need). 
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Thank you for this update!
Hi, French citizen here currently filling paper tax forms as I got married to a US citizen last year, and for the first time in my adult life I’m filling utterly defeated by said forms, ha (note: I previously only felt moderately to very defeated by the forms). I have two questions at this stage:
- about form 2047, do you confirm that salaries, dividends and interests sourced in the US have to be filled in sections 6 and 7 only, or also in sections 1 and 2? sorry if this was answered or elaborated on in this thread previously but my brain is FRIED.
- @Robert_Hodge would you kindly share that letter from Bercy with me as well?
Courage to all those still filing and thanks in advance
Hello han,
Firstly, welcome to the Survive France (SF) community. I often think that we could do with some more active French members here.
Secondly, congratulations on your recent marriage.
I will happily send you a copy of the Bercy letter as an attachment to a Private Message (PM) on this website.
Before I can respond appropriately to your other query one needs some more information as follows;
- Subsequent to your marriage, has your wife retained her American citizenship ?
- Has your wife submitted an American Federal tax return to the IRS in respect of 2025, and has the bill in respect of that been paid ?
- Can you confirm that your wife is now full time resident here in France with you ?
- You mentioned US sourced salaries. Are you saying that your wife received salary income from a US source for work that she did AFTER the date that she became full time resident in France ?
- In relation to the US sourced Dividends and Interest income, was that income received from an investment account that is solely in your wife’s name, and were those proceeds received into a bank account that is also solely in your wife’s name ?
- Is the US sourced investment income generated from investments managed by a US company, and are the investments held within the account predominantly in US based companies ?
Sorry to be inquisitive, but the answers to the above questions have a considerable effect upon whether the provisions of the Franco / American tax treaty apply, and thus upon how to fill out the French tax forms.
I can understand that you may not wish to answer these questions in this public area of the forum, in which case please answer them in response to the PM which I am about to send you with the Bercy letter attached.
Robert.
Thank you very much for your kind words and detailed message. Answers to your questions are in your inbox!
May I have a copy of the Bercy letter, please.
Hi Jeff. Welcome to our discussion forum.
I will send you a PM (Private Message) to which I can attach the Bercy letter.
The letter is very relevant to Americans resident in France as it sets out quite clearly that French Social Charges are in fact classified as ‘Income Tax’.
So if you have income that is effectively tax exempt in France, such as a UK ‘Government’ service pension, then it is also exempt from French Social Charges.
So do you live in France, and if so, how long have you been here.
Hey everyone,
Following the thread, from what I understand that the tax treaty is very generous to Americans and avoids double taxation of US citizens living in France. My question is about the taxation of dividends and capital gains. If I did not have to pay tax on dividends and capital gains in 2025 because my income was below the $48,000 threshold, will France still give me a tax credit if I didn’t actually pay any tax? In the instructions of Form 2047, in the section relating to “b : crédit d’impôt égal au montant de l’impôt français (8tk),” it says, “ Dans le cas général, le crédit d’impôt est accordé à la condition qu’un impôt ait été effectivement acquitté à l’étranger..” This seems to say that if I didn’t actually pay a tax, I wouldn’t get the tax credit. I am afraid that the French tax office will try to tax me on my dividends and capital gains. Thanks in advance!
One of the conditions for obtaining the French Tax Credit equal to the amount of French Tax payable is that the American citizen resident in France has submitted a US Federal Tax filing and has paid whatever bill was adjudged to be due. (I should mention that there are also other conditions applicable.)
From your mention of the $48,000 threshold I assume that we are talking about ‘qualified’ dividends which were taxed at the Federal 0% rate.
I presume that you did have other income on which you paid some Federal Income Tax. Therefore, provided that all of your income was declared to the Feds, then the fact that part of it was assigned a 0% rate is purely a matter for them. Even though it was at 0%, the income was declared and taxed in the US, so that makes you entitled to the French tax credit under the terms of the Franco / American Treaty.
The relevant part of the Treaty is Article 24.2 (a) where it speaks of “Income arising in the United States that may be taxed or shall be taxable only in the United States …” The operative word is MAY. Whether the income is actually taxed, or allotted a 0% band is not relevant.
Moving along to Article 24.2 (b) we find that due to you being an American citizen the provisions of 24.2 (a) (i) apply and you receive the French tax credit provided that the dividends and interest come from US sources.
Incidentally, as and when you sell the holdings that produce said income, any Capital Gain you may make is also granted a French tax credit under Article 24.2 (b) (ii).
Yes, the Treaty negotiators did a darn good job on behalf of Americans resident in France regarding French Tax, but then in fairness there is always the Federal Tax that is, or may become, payable.
Oh yes, nearly forgot, as far as the Treaty is concerned French Social Charges are accepted as being Income Tax so you get a credit in respect of those as well.
Just put the Dividends and Interest into Section 6 of the 2047 form, with a second line entry for the Capital Gains, and all should be well.
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Did I read somewhere in the tax treaty that it’s a 15% rate for dividends for US people resident abroad?
Dividends…dividends from where? a US company?
US People…US Citizens?
It really matters.