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Tax Treaties & Your Income

UK Private Pension: How It's Taxed in France (2026)

A plain-English guide to how UK private pension income is treated in France. Covers which country taxes it, what rate applies, how social charges work depending on your S1 status, and the exact forms and boxes to use on your French return.

26 May 2026

If you receive a UK private pension and live in France, France taxes it — not the UK. Many people assume it stays taxed in the UK because it's paid from a UK scheme. Under the UK-France double tax treaty, that's not how it works.

This guide covers what counts as a UK private pension for treaty purposes, how France taxes it, whether social charges apply to you, and exactly how to declare it on your French tax return.

If you also receive a UK State Pension, see our guide to UK State Pension: How It's Taxed in France. If your pension comes from government employment — teaching, civil service, NHS, military — that is treated under entirely different treaty rules. See UK Government Service Pension: How It's Treated in France. For the full framework of how the UK-France treaty allocates taxing rights across income types, see How the France-UK Double Tax Treaty Works.

What Counts as a UK Private Pension

For the purposes of the UK-France double tax treaty, a private pension is any pension that is not a Government Service Pension. That includes:

• Workplace pensions from private sector employment — defined contribution and defined benefit schemes
• SIPPs (Self-Invested Personal Pensions)
• Personal pensions and stakeholder pensions
• Annuities purchased from a pension pot
• Drawdown income taken from a pension fund
• Occupational pensions from private sector employers

It also includes DWP invalidity pensions (non-military), though military invalidity pensions and pensions paid to victims of war are a separate category and are exempt from French tax entirely.

Whether your pension is a Government Service Pension comes down to who pays it — not who you worked for. If the pension comes from a private scheme, even if your employer was a charity, university, or housing association, it's a private pension for treaty purposes.

If you are unsure which category your pension falls into, see our UK Government Service Pension guide for the treaty definition in detail.

Which Country Has the Right to Tax It

Under Article 17 of the UK-France double tax treaty (2008), private pensions — including most occupational pensions — are taxable only in the country of residence of the recipient. If you are a French tax resident, that means France has sole taxing rights.

This means:

• You should not be paying UK income tax on your private pension once you are established as a French tax resident
• You need to notify HMRC of your French residency status so they remove UK tax from the payments — this is done via the France/Individual form (double taxation relief) submitted to HMRC
• If UK tax is still being deducted at source, you are being double-taxed in error. Declare the full gross amount on your French return and reclaim the UK tax from HMRC — there is no mechanism within the French return to offset or credit UK income tax wrongly withheld on pension income

Important: "Taxable only in France" does not mean it is tax-free. It means France is the country that taxes it — at French rates, under French rules, alongside your other income.

How France Taxes Your Private Pension

France treats UK private pension income as pension income (revenus de pension). It is added to your other income and taxed through the progressive income tax scale (barème progressif) after the standard 10% pension abatement.

The 10% abatement: France automatically applies a 10% deduction to pension income before calculating your tax. You don't need to claim it — the system does it for you.

The progressive scale: After the abatement, your pension income is added to your household's other taxable income and taxed at the applicable marginal rate. The French income tax brackets for 2026 (income earned in 2025) are — see the income tax brackets on the Taxpert reference data page →:

Your household's total income — pension, investment income, rental income, and any other sources — is pooled and divided by the number of parts (shares) in your foyer fiscal before the rates are applied. A married or PACS couple with no dependants has 2 parts, which roughly halves the effective rate on a given income level.

Currency conversion: If your pension is paid in sterling, you must convert it to euros for declaration purposes. Use the exchange rate applicable on the date of each payment — not a year-end rate or an annual average. For the conversion approach accepted by the French tax authority, see our exchange rate guide.

Social Charges: S1 Holders vs Non-S1 Holders

On top of income tax, France levies social charges (prélèvements sociaux) on pension income. Whether you pay these — and how much — depends entirely on your S1 certificate status.

If you hold a valid S1 certificate

An S1 certificate confirms that the UK is responsible for your healthcare costs. This exempts your pension income from French social charges. You pay French income tax on your pension, but the social charges element is zero.

You must still declare your S1 status on your return. On Form 2042 C, tick Box 8SH (Declarant 1) or Box 8SI (Declarant 2). No amount is entered — ticking the box is sufficient to trigger the exemption.

If you have not yet applied for an S1, or if your application is pending, see our guide to How to Stop Paying Social Charges on Your UK Pension in France.

If you do not hold an S1 certificate

Without an S1, your pension income is subject to social charges. The rate depends on your RFR (revenu fiscal de référence) from the previous year — the figure printed on your most recent Avis d'Impôt. There are four bands, and the thresholds vary by the number of household parts — see RFR thresholds on the Taxpert reference data page →:

A single person has 1 part. A married or PACS couple has 2 parts. Thresholds shown are for the 2025 tax season (2024 income) and update each year.

The CSG déductible reduction

If you paid social charges on your pension last year, you can reduce your gross pension figure before entering it for income tax purposes.

Step 1: Find the figure labelled CSG déductible de l'année N-1 on your previous year's Avis d'Impôt.

Step 2: Subtract it from your current year's gross pension income.

Step 3: Use this reduced figure in Box 1AM / 1BM on Form 2042 and on Line 12 of Form 2047.

Important: always use the full gross figure for the social charges declaration (Form 2042 C and Form 2047 Section 9). The reduced figure is for income tax only. Using the wrong figure in the wrong place results in either overpaying income tax or underdeclaring social charges.

For a full explanation of why the non-S1 social charges declaration requires active steps on your part — and what happens if you miss it — see our guide No S1 and Living in France? Here's the Social Charges Mistake That Catches Everyone Out.

How to Declare It: The Forms and Boxes

UK private pension income is declared across three forms. The same pathway applies whether you hold an S1 or not — the difference is in the additional social charges steps for non-S1 holders.

Form 2047 — Foreign Income Declaration

Line 12, Section 1 (Traitements, salaires, pensions et rentes hors de France)

Enter the pension amount in euros. Fill in:

• Country: Royaume-Uni
• Nature: Pension Privé
• Tick the Privé box

If you also have a UK State Pension, both go on Line 12 — add the two together and enter a single combined figure. If you also have a UK Government Service Pension, add all three together on Line 12 and tick both the Privé and Public boxes. You then separate out the Government Service Pension amount when completing the tax credit section.

Non-S1 holders: Section 9 (Pensions de retraite et d'invalidité)

Enter the full gross pension amount in the box matching your RFR band. This is separate from Line 12 and uses the full gross figure — not the CSG déductible-adjusted figure used in Section 1.

Form 2042 — Main Return

Box 1AM (Declarant 1) or Box 1BM (Declarant 2)

Enter the pension figure here. Non-S1 holders use the reduced gross figure (after the CSG déductible deduction). S1 holders use the full gross figure.

This box is under the menu path: Pensions, retraites, rentes, rentes viagères à titre onéreux → Salaires, pensions, rentes

Form 2042 C — Supplementary Return

S1 holders: Tick Box 8SH (D1) or Box 8SI (D2). No amount required.

Non-S1 holders: Enter the full gross pension amount in the box corresponding to your RFR band:

• Exempt band → relevant exempt box
• Reduced rate band → relevant reduced box
• Standard rate band → relevant standard box

This triggers the social charges calculation at the correct rate for your household.

Working out your RFR band, calculating the CSG déductible reduction, converting sterling pension payments at the correct exchange rate, and making sure the right figure goes in the right box on each form — this is exactly what Taxpert's filing assistant handles. Enter your pension details once and it identifies your band, calculates the adjusted figures, and tells you which boxes to complete.

Common Mistakes

1. Continuing to pay UK tax on the pension. Once you are a French resident, France has sole taxing rights on your private pension under the treaty. You need to notify HMRC and request that UK tax is no longer deducted. If this hasn't happened, you are overpaying. Reclaim the UK tax and declare the full gross amount in France.

2. Declaring the net amount after UK tax. Always declare the gross amount — before any UK deductions. The French tax calculation starts from the gross figure, and any UK tax wrongly deducted needs to be reclaimed from HMRC separately.

3. Confusing private pensions with Government Service Pensions. The treaty treatment is completely different. If any part of your pension comes from public sector employment, check the Government Service Pension guide before declaring — the forms, boxes, and tax credit mechanism are different.

4. Non-S1 holders entering the reduced figure in Section 9 of Form 2047. Section 9 always requires the full gross figure. The CSG déductible reduction only applies to the income tax entries on Line 12 of Form 2047 and Box 1AM/1BM of Form 2042. Using the reduced figure in Section 9 results in an underpayment of social charges.

5. S1 holders forgetting to tick Box 8SH/8SI. The S1 exemption from social charges is not automatic. If Box 8SH or 8SI is not ticked, the system may apply social charges. Ticking the box is a mandatory step — no amount is needed, just the tick.

6. Using the wrong exchange rate. Each pension payment must be converted to euros at the rate applicable on the date of that payment. A year-end rate or an annual average produces the wrong figure and can lead to under or over-declaration.

Frequently Asked Questions

My pension is paid in sterling directly into my UK bank account. Does that change anything?

No. The currency of payment and the country of the bank account do not affect the treaty treatment. You are a French tax resident, so France taxes the income regardless of where it is paid or held. Convert each payment to euros at the rate on the date of receipt and declare the total on your French return.

I'm still working out my S1 situation. What do I declare in the meantime?

Until your S1 is confirmed and registered, treat yourself as a non-S1 holder for declaration purposes. Declare the social charges as a non-S1 holder using your RFR band. Once your S1 is in place you can apply to recover any social charges paid during the waiting period — but you need to raise this with your tax office at the time, and keep records.

I receive both a private pension and a State Pension from the UK. How do I declare them together?

Both go on Line 12 of Form 2047, added together as a single figure. Both are declared in Box 1AM/1BM on Form 2042. The social charges treatment (S1 or non-S1) applies to both in the same way — there is no difference in how State Pension and private pension are treated for social charges purposes.

My pension provider is still deducting UK tax. What do I do?

You need to submit the France/Individual form (double taxation relief) to HMRC to claim exemption from UK tax as a French resident. HMRC will then instruct your pension provider to stop deducting tax. In the meantime, declare the full gross amount on your French return and reclaim the UK tax already deducted from HMRC. Do not declare the net figure — always use the gross.

Does the 10% abatement apply to all pension income?

The 10% abatement applies to pension income declared in Box 1AM/1BM. It is subject to a minimum and maximum cap per household — for most UK expats the abatement applies in full, but very high pension income may hit the cap. The French online filing system applies the abatement automatically.

I have a defined benefit pension — does anything change?

No. Defined benefit and defined contribution pensions are treated identically for French tax purposes. The source of the pension (employer scheme, SIPP, annuity, drawdown) does not affect the treaty treatment or the declaration process — all private pensions follow the same pathway.

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