Have you moved from the United Kingdom to France, become French tax resident, and discovered that income tax is still being taken from your UK State Pension, workplace pension or personal pension? The deduction may look like a harmless payroll setting, but it can leave the same pension exposed to two administrative systems at once. French prélèvement à la source (income tax collected as income is received), UK PAYE, French social contributions and the France–UK tax treaty are different mechanisms. A refund is possible in the right case, but it depends first on identifying the pension and proving the residence position.

For most private pensions paid to a person who is resident in France, Article 18 of the UK–France Double Taxation Convention gives the taxing right to the state of residence. A public-service pension can fall under the narrower Article 19 exception. The date of the move, the type of pension, any government-service history, and the tax actually deducted all matter. The practical remedy is usually to have France certify residence on HMRC’s France Individual DT form, claim relief or repayment from HM Revenue and Customs, and report the pension correctly in France rather than simply cancelling a deduction.

This guide is for a British reader living, or preparing to live, in France. It explains the classification, the evidence file, the HMRC claim, French reporting, the difference between income tax and social charges, and the escalation route when one administration refuses to correct the position. The official materials and case law cited here were checked during this run on 29 August 2026. The answer can change for a government pension, a mixed residence year, a lump-sum withdrawal, or a pension connected with work performed for a public authority.

I. Why was UK pension tax withheld at source after you moved to France?

A. Is a British pension taxable in France or in the United Kingdom?

The first question is not “Which bank received the money?” It is “What is the legal character of the payment, and where was the recipient resident under the treaty when the payment arose?” A UK bank account, a UK pension provider, a French bank account, or a British passport does not answer that question on its own. The payer’s country is an important fact, but the allocation of taxing rights comes from the domestic rules read with the treaty.

French domestic law starts with tax residence. Article 4 A of the French General Tax Code says that people whose tax domicile is in France are liable to income tax on their entire income, while people whose domicile is outside France are liable on French-source income. “Tax domicile” is the French concept of domicile fiscal; it is not the same as nationality or the address printed on a pension statement.

Article 4 B of the General Tax Code looks at the home or principal stay, professional activity and centre of economic interests. Its wording includes people qui exercent en France une activité professionnelle. A retiree can be resident because of the household and principal stay even when no work is performed in France. A British owner who spends long periods at a French home should therefore keep a calendar, travel evidence and records showing where the household actually lived during the relevant year.

Domestic residence is then tested against the treaty. The official French text of the 2008 Convention uses the concept of a permanent home and the closer personal and economic relations. The English version describes the same tie-breaker by looking first at a permanent home and the centre of vital interests, then at habitual abode and nationality if necessary. A person may be resident under the domestic law of both countries, but the treaty can assign residence to one country for treaty purposes. That conclusion should be recorded in writing rather than assumed from the 183-day expression often used in informal advice.

The next step is to classify the pension. There is a material difference between:

• the UK State Pension, based on National Insurance contribution history;
• a workplace or occupational pension paid by a private employer or pension scheme;
• a personal pension or purchased annuity;
• a lump sum or drawdown from a pension arrangement; and
• a pension paid by, or out of funds created by, a government, local authority or qualifying statutory body for past public service.

For the first four categories, the starting point is Article 18 of the Convention. The official text states: Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 19, pensions and other similar remuneration paid in consideration of past employment to a resident of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that State. In a normal case, a British citizen who is treaty-resident in France and receives a private UK pension is taxed in France, not the United Kingdom, even though the pension provider is in the UK.

Article 19 must be checked before filing a refund. It covers government service. The Convention provides that pensions paid by, or out of funds created by, a Contracting State or local authority for services to that state or authority are taxable only in that state, subject to an exception where the recipient is resident and a national of the other state without also being a national of the first state. The official English wording is precise: Pensions and other similar remuneration paid by, or out of funds created by, a Contracting State or a local authority thereof … to an individual in respect of services rendered to that State, authority or statutory body shall be taxable only in that State. A former civil servant should not treat a government pension as an ordinary private pension merely because it is paid by a pension administrator.

“Government pension” is not a label that every public-sector workplace pension automatically receives. The funding source, the legal employer, the service performed and the scheme documentation need to be reviewed. A pension from a private contractor who supplied services to a public authority can raise different questions. A pension paid by a public body for work connected with a business may also be brought back under the ordinary pension rules by Article 19(3). Ask the payer for a written description of the scheme, the former employer, the service and the statutory basis before completing a treaty claim.

The UK side applies the same treaty logic. GOV.UK explains that tax may be due in the UK and the country where the pensioner lives, and that a double taxation agreement can change the outcome. HMRC’s specific France Individual DT guidance says that the form is used by a resident of France receiving UK pensions, purchased annuities, interest or royalties, to apply for relief at source and to claim repayment of UK Income Tax. That is the administrative route when the treaty assigns the pension to France.

Do not confuse the tax treaty with social-security coordination. A British resident may receive a UK State Pension, hold an S1 health-care document, or have a history of contributions in both countries. Those facts can affect health cover, CSG, CRDS, the French contribution for autonomy, or the calculation of pension rights, but they do not automatically decide which country may levy income tax. The treaty article and the French rules for social contributions must be applied separately.

Article L. 136-1 of the Social Security Code creates a social contribution on activity and replacement income for people who are both considered domiciled in France for income tax and covered by a compulsory French health-insurance scheme, subject to the detailed statutory rules and exceptions. The French term contributions sociales covers charges that are not the same as UK Income Tax. A line marked CSG, CRDS, CASA or health-insurance contribution cannot be claimed from HMRC through a UK income-tax repayment request.

This distinction was visible in the local Judilibre decision checked for this article. In Tribunal judiciaire de Paris, 3 July 2025, RG no. 23/03065, the court recorded the submission that l’impôt prélevé à la source ne saurait être confondu avec les prélèvements obligatoires. The decision is a protection-sociale case, not a ruling on Article 18 of the UK–France treaty, but the distinction is directly useful: read the wording on the pension statement before sending the claim to the wrong administration. The official record is available at Cour de cassation, decision record 6866cb3bd33109fd079ac9dc.

There is also a French withholding rule that is often mistaken for the French treatment of a UK pension. Article 182 A of the General Tax Code concerns French-source salaries, pensions and life annuities paid to people who are not fiscally domiciled in France. It is a non-resident French withholding rule. It does not mean that a UK pension paid to a person resident in France is subject to a French withholding simply because the payment is described as a pension. A French pension payer and a UK pension payer can therefore create two entirely different withholding questions.

French income-tax collection also has its own vocabulary. Article 204 A of the General Tax Code provides that taxable salaries, pensions and other categories are subject to a levy, in the form of withholding by the debtor for some income or an advance paid by the taxpayer for other income. The official French tax administration explains that foreign-source pensions taxable in France and not giving an equal French-tax credit generally lead to an advance, while foreign-source pensions within the equal-credit mechanism are outside the ordinary French advance system. This is not a reason to treat UK PAYE as French tax; it is a reason to identify the treaty credit or exemption mechanism before reporting the gross pension.

Finally, the fact that a pension was earned through work in the UK does not itself settle the tax result. The location of the past employment, the residence when the pension is paid, and whether the payment is public-service remuneration all need to be put together. A pensioner who moved to France in the middle of a year may have a part-year residence question, a UK statutory residence question and a treaty residence question. A pensioner who remains UK-resident while visiting France has a different starting point. The same payment may be reported differently for different years without either return being wrong.

B. What does a UK deduction mean, and what should you check first?

A deduction from a pension is not proof that the United Kingdom had the final taxing right. It may be an old PAYE code, a provider’s default treatment, a missing residence certificate, a payment made before HMRC updated its record, an emergency code, or a pension that genuinely falls within Article 19. The right response is a diagnosis of the deduction, not an immediate instruction to the provider to pay the gross amount.

Read the statement line by line. Identify the gross pension, the name of the payer, the nature of the scheme, the tax year, the label used for the deduction, the tax reference, and the net amount received. “UK tax”, “PAYE”, “Income Tax” or a tax code points towards HMRC. “CSG”, “CRDS”, “CASA”, “cotisation maladie” or another French social line points towards a French or social-security process. A currency-conversion charge, bank fee or pension-plan administration fee is neither UK tax nor French tax.

Then make a year-by-year residence chart. Mark the date you left the UK, the date you became settled in France, the days spent in each country, the availability of a home in each country, the location of your spouse or civil partner and dependants, and the date on which the French tax administration first accepted a return. If you claimed split-year treatment under the UK Statutory Residence Test, keep the claim and the supporting facts. The HMRC form itself asks about the date of French residence and the date from which tax is, or will be, paid in France on the income included in the claim.

A certificate of French tax residence is evidence, not a magic answer. It supports the treaty residence position for the relevant year, but it does not convert a government pension into a private pension or cure an incorrect description of the payer. Conversely, the absence of a French tax notice in the first year does not necessarily prove that France was not the treaty residence state. Explain the transition year clearly and attach the evidence that the two administrations can understand.

The payer may have deducted UK tax because it has not been told that you are resident in France. It may ask for a form certified by the French service des impôts des particuliers, or SIP, meaning the French personal tax office. It may also ask HMRC to issue a different code after the repayment claim. Keep the correspondence. A telephone assurance is difficult to prove if the question later becomes whether relief was requested for the correct pension and the correct year.

Do not set the UK deduction off against the French return without checking the treaty method. Under some treaty mechanisms, foreign income is disclosed and a credit is calculated; under others, the income is taxable only in France and the UK amount is repayable. Article 170 of the General Tax Code requires a detailed income declaration and also covers foreign income and certain treaty-exempt income that must still be taken into account for the rate applicable to other income. Disclosure and final taxation are separate questions.

If the French tax office has already reassessed your UK pension, keep that dispute separate from the source-withholding refund but connect the evidence. Our guide to challenging a French tax reassessment on UK pension income addresses the assessment-stage response; this article focuses on UK tax withheld before or during payment and the route to repayment.

The France–UK Convention lists French income tax and the CSG and CRDS among the taxes covered, but that does not mean that every social charge disappears when Article 18 assigns pension income to France. The legal basis, the person’s health-insurance affiliation and the particular charge must still be tested. A successful HMRC refund will not automatically produce a French social-contribution refund, and a French social-contribution correction will not automatically alter UK PAYE.

The recent case law reviewed during this run reinforces the need to keep the categories separate. In Tribunal judiciaire de Nanterre, 22 January 2025, RG no. 22/00992, the court considered a repayment claim for a contribution wrongly collected on a retirement pension and stated: C’est donc à tort que l’URSSAF a perçu cette contribution. The court also reproduced the rule that the request could cover only the period permitted by the applicable three-year prescription. This is not a UK income-tax decision, but it demonstrates why the payer and legal basis of the deduction must be identified before choosing the remedy. The official record is Cour de cassation, decision record 679157ded4c7e89d7fe2d5f2.

A second protection-sociale decision, Cour d’appel d’Amiens, 20 May 2025, no. 24/00702, ordered repayment of a defined-benefit retirement contribution after finding that the particular pension did not fall within the statutory contribution. The operative wording says: Ordonne à l’Urssaf Île-de-France de rembourser à M. [D] la somme de 11 214,90 euros. It shows the importance of identifying the legal levy and keeping the first repayment request, but it does not establish that a UK pension is exempt from UK Income Tax. The official decision is linked here.

There is one useful cross-border pension decision, but it must also be read within its limits. The Cour de cassation, Second Civil Division, 7 November 2019, no. 18-18.344, dealt with the aggregation of UK and French insurance periods for pension rights, not the allocation of pension income tax. Its motivation states: M. X… qui ne pouvait prétendre à davantage de droits qu’un ressortissant français, pouvait revendiquer la totalisation des périodes d’assurance acquises au Royaume-Uni et en France. The decision confirms that cross-border pension records can have legal consequences, but it is not authority for a tax refund. The official source is Cour de cassation, no. 18-18.344.

Use those distinctions to create a simple decision tree. If the deduction is UK Income Tax and the pension is a private or State Pension paid to a treaty-resident of France, prepare the HMRC treaty claim. If the deduction is French income tax, correct the French collection and return. If it is a social charge, address the body that collected that charge. If it is a government-service pension, pause and classify Article 19. If residence is disputed, assemble the residence file before making a broad claim. This sequence prevents an avoidable refusal.

II. How do you claim back UK pension tax and correct the French return?

A. What form and evidence should you send for a UK tax refund?

The main UK route for a French resident is the HMRC “France Individual DT” form. The official GOV.UK page describes it as an application for relief at source from UK Income Tax and repayment of UK Income Tax under the UK–France Convention, for a resident of France receiving pensions, purchased annuities, interest or royalties arising in the UK. The current official PDF identified for this guide is dated HMRC 01/20. Use the official page and the current version supplied by HMRC rather than an unofficial template copied from a forum.

The form has a practical two-authority design. You complete your personal details, the French address and tax reference, the UK National Insurance number where requested, the date of departure from the UK and the date French residence began. You describe the UK State Pension, incapacity benefit, workplace pension or purchased annuity, give the payer’s details and identify the payment start date. If the claim concerns tax already deducted, complete the repayment section and give the tax year and amount supported by the pension statements.

The form is sent first to the French SIP where you reside for certification. HMRC’s form says that the French tax authorities certify to HM Revenue and Customs that the applicant is resident in France for French-tax purposes. The French office stamps and returns the form; the applicant then sends it to HMRC at the address and by the method specified in the current form and notes. Keep a complete scan, the postal or electronic proof of submission and the date on which the form was certified. Do not send the only original document without keeping a copy.

The evidence file should be more than a single pension payslip. Assemble:

1. the pension statement showing the gross payment, the deduction, the payer, the tax code and the tax year;
2. the pension scheme description or letter confirming whether the payment is State, occupational, personal, annuity or public-service remuneration;
3. proof of the French address and the date the household moved;
4. French tax returns, notices or correspondence for the years claimed, including the 2047 foreign-income annex where relevant;
5. the French tax-residence certificate or the certified France Individual DT form;
6. the UK address history, departure date and any UK Statutory Residence Test or split-year material;
7. bank statements showing the gross and net payments, without hiding currency conversion or bank charges;
8. prior correspondence with the pension provider and HMRC, including any refusal or request for further information; and
9. a calculation by tax year separating UK Income Tax from CSG, CRDS, CASA, health charges and non-tax fees.

Give each document a clear filename and organise the pack by year. For example, a 2024 claim should not rely on a 2026 statement that merges several years. If a payment was a lump sum, identify the date it was made available, the part relating to contributions or growth if the scheme documents distinguish them, and the domestic rules applied by each country. A lump sum can be treated differently from a recurring pension and can require a separate analysis.

Before signing, compare the form with the treaty classification. If you worked for a UK department, local authority or other public body, add the appointment evidence and ask whether Article 19 applies. If you have dual British and French nationality, record it because the Article 19 exception is nationality-sensitive. If your former employer was a government-owned corporation, do not decide from its brand name; obtain the legal payer and funding information.

The claim should request two things when both are needed: relief for future payments and repayment of UK tax already deducted. A future relief instruction prevents the problem from repeating, while a repayment request deals with past deductions. The two requests depend on the same treaty residence and pension classification, but a future tax-code change is not itself a repayment of earlier tax. Check later statements to make sure the payer has actually stopped or reduced the UK deduction.

HMRC may ask whether France has taxed, or will tax, the pension. That question is designed to test the treaty facts, not to require a British resident to pay the same sum twice before seeking relief. Answer with the French reporting position, the relevant treaty article and the date from which French residence applies. If the pension is exempt in France under a different domestic provision, explain the reason in writing; do not leave the form blank and invite an assumption that the income was concealed.

Keep a payment ledger after submitting the claim. For each instalment, record the gross amount, the UK tax deducted, the net amount, the exchange rate used in the French return, and any repayment received. When HMRC pays a refund, match it to the tax year and the original deduction. A refund of tax previously withheld is not a new pension payment. If the French return included a foreign tax credit based on UK tax that was later repaid, ask the SIP how the French return should be corrected so that the same amount is not credited twice.

Do not wait for an informal promise from a pension provider before protecting the evidence. The first written claim date can matter for the years that remain recoverable under the applicable procedure. The France Individual DT form also asks for details of the French office to which the latest return was sent. If you have not yet filed a French return, state that fact and obtain instructions from the relevant French office instead of inventing a tax reference or using the wrong office.

The UK–France Convention includes a mutual-agreement mechanism for a resident who considers that the actions of one or both states produce taxation contrary to the Convention. Article 26 says that the case may be presented to the competent authority of the state of residence and provides a time limit tied to the first notification or the end of the taxable period. The official English text is available with the UK–France treaty and its Article 26 mutual-agreement procedure. That is an escalation route; it is not a substitute for the ordinary HMRC repayment form or a French claim.

A legal representative can help where the pension classification is disputed, several years are involved, the payer is a public body, or the two administrations give contradictory answers. The representative should receive the full evidence file and the statement-by-statement calculation. A bare assertion that “the treaty says France” is weaker than a file that identifies Article 18, excludes or explains Article 19, proves residence and reconciles every deduction.

B. How do you correct the French declaration or challenge a refusal?

Reporting the pension in France is part of the refund strategy. A French resident generally reports foreign income through the annual income declaration and, where required, the déclaration des revenus encaissés à l’étranger, Form 2047. The 2047 is an annex for foreign income; the 2042 is the principal income-tax return. The exact line and credit code depend on the year, the pension category and the treaty result. Use the current form and the guidance for the year concerned, not a screenshot from a previous campaign.

Article 170 of the General Tax Code requires a person liable to income tax to file a detailed declaration and expressly addresses income sent from, or collected in, a foreign country. It also requires certain treaty-exempt income to be declared where it must be considered for the rate applied to other income. Therefore, “taxable only in France” or “relief from UK tax” does not mean “leave the pension off the French return”. It means report it in the route that reflects the treaty and French rules.

Use the gross pension amount required by the French form, then apply the current French calculation and treaty mechanism. Do not automatically enter the net amount after UK PAYE as if it were the gross pension. Keep the provider’s annual statement and the exchange-rate method used. Where the form asks for foreign tax paid, distinguish tax that was actually and definitively borne from tax that is later repaid. The France–UK Convention’s double-tax provisions refer to tax paid and to the French calculation of income; a provisional UK deduction should not be treated as final without checking the repayment outcome.

French tax collection must also be checked. Article 182 A of the General Tax Code applies to French-source pensions paid to non-residents, while Article 204 A describes the French advance or withholding framework. A French resident with a UK pension may have a French advance, no French advance because of a treaty-credit method, or another result depending on the category. Look at the French tax account and the assessment notice rather than assuming that a deduction seen on a UK statement is the French prélèvement.

If France has collected too much income tax, send an amended return or a formal tax claim to the relevant SIP through the channel indicated by the administration. A formal réclamation contentieuse is a legal tax complaint; a simple request for information may not preserve the same procedural position. State the tax year, the assessment or payment, the pension category, the treaty article, the correction requested and the evidence attached. Ask for a written decision if the administration refuses.

Time limits must be calculated from the type of French collection involved. Article R*196-1 of the Book of Tax Procedures, in the current version checked for this guide, generally refers to 31 December of the second year following the year of the assessment, notice or payment, depending on the case. The code also contains special timing rules for complaints about the levy under Article 204 A. Do not use the general deadline mechanically when the disputed line is a monthly advance, a French-source withholding, a social charge or a treaty-credit calculation. File a protective written complaint while the position is analysed if a deadline is approaching.

The substantive basis for a tax complaint is found in the rules governing the assessment and collection. Article L. 190 of the Book of Tax Procedures frames the tax litigation route and the claims that challenge the establishment or collection of tax. The complaint should explain the arithmetic as well as the legal rule. A reviewer must be able to see the amount declared, the amount assessed, the amount paid, the treaty position and the amount for which relief is requested.

A refusal often falls into one of six categories:

• the administration says the applicant was not resident in France for the relevant period;
• the pension provider or scheme was not identified precisely enough;
• the payment is treated as government-service remuneration under Article 19;
• the claim covers a year or deduction that the domestic time limit does not allow;
• the applicant is asking HMRC to repay a French social charge or asking France to repay UK PAYE; or
• the income was reported in the wrong French category or the foreign tax credit was calculated on tax that was not ultimately borne.

Answer a refusal point by point. If residence is challenged, send the residence chart, French assessment, tenancy or ownership evidence, health cover, household records and treaty analysis. If the pension is challenged, obtain the scheme rules and payer confirmation. If a time limit is challenged, identify the payment date, the assessment date and the first written claim date. If the wrong levy was selected, withdraw that part of the claim and send it to the correct body instead of repeating the same request.

Social-contribution disputes follow their own route. If a French body has taken CSG, CRDS, CASA or another charge that you say was not due, identify the collector and the legal basis. Article L. 243-6 of the Social Security Code provides a three-year prescription for a request to repay social-security contributions wrongly paid, subject to the statutory details and exceptions. The Nanterre judgment cited above applied a three-year limit in a contribution-repayment context. It is not a shortcut for a UK Income Tax claim, but it is a warning not to leave a social-charge dispute unclassified.

The French Supreme Court decision of 7 November 2019, no. 18-18.344, is also a reminder that pension rights and pension taxation are separate legal subjects. The court dealt with UK and French insurance periods and the calculation of a retirement entitlement. It did not decide whether a pension payment was taxable under Article 18. A letter to HMRC should therefore cite the UK–France tax treaty and the residence evidence, while a pension-rights dispute should cite the applicable social-security coordination rules. Mixing the two makes the claim longer but not stronger.

If both states continue to tax the same pension after the ordinary claims, consider the Convention’s mutual-agreement procedure. The applicant should identify the first notification of the inconsistent taxation, list the steps already taken in France and the UK, attach the notices and statements, and explain the precise relief requested. The procedure is not an informal complaint and may take time. It should be prepared before the treaty time limit, not after a domestic claim has been rejected for delay.

There are practical safeguards for the next payment. Ask the UK payer to confirm the tax code or relief instruction in writing. Check the next two or three pension statements. Check the French tax account after the next tax calculation. Keep a reconciliation that shows whether the UK refund covered all deductions or only one tax year. If the payer changes the gross amount, inflation adjustment, arrears or payment frequency, ask whether the new amount has been processed under the same treaty classification.

For a couple, perform the analysis for each pension and each person. One spouse can be treaty-resident in France while the other has a different residence position in a transition year. A survivor’s pension, widow’s or widower’s pension, pension credit, incapacity benefit and a purchased annuity may not share the same domestic or treaty classification. Do not copy one spouse’s France Individual DT form for the other without checking the payer, scheme, dates and nationality.

For a British national living in Paris or elsewhere in Île-de-France, the relevant SIP, prefecture, pension payer and evidence may be spread across different offices. A Paris address does not change the treaty analysis, but it can make written routing and appointment records important. Keep the office address, submission receipt and any request for additional documents. The same approach applies to a resident in any French département.

The strongest file is chronological: move to France, residence evidence, pension classification, first deduction, French declaration, France Individual DT certification, HMRC submission, responses, repayment and corrected future statement. It lets each administration answer its own question without asking the other country to reconstruct the entire case. It also creates a defensible record if the question later becomes a formal tax appeal or mutual-agreement case.

Conclusion

When UK tax is withheld from a pension paid to a person living in France, begin with classification and treaty residence. A private or State Pension paid to a French treaty resident will commonly fall under Article 18, while a qualifying government-service pension may fall under Article 19. The deduction on the statement is only a starting fact. Separate UK Income Tax from French income tax and from CSG, CRDS, CASA or health charges before choosing the recipient of the claim.

The practical sequence is to build the year-by-year residence and pension file, complete the official France Individual DT form, have the French tax office certify residence, send the relief and repayment request to HMRC, and report the gross foreign pension through the correct French declaration. If France has assessed or collected the wrong amount, make a written French claim within the applicable deadline. If the issue is social rather than fiscal, use the social-security route. If both countries remain inconsistent, preserve the treaty time limit for mutual agreement.

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