Technical article
Who Taxes a French Pension if You Live in Tunisia or Senegal?
Who taxes the pension that arrives each month?
Picture a couple named Marc and Hélène. He is 66 and worked for a private company in Lyon. She is 64 and worked for the city. They are thinking about Tunis or Dakar. Their first question is simple. Who taxes the pension that arrives each month?
The answer starts with one idea. A pension is French-source if the body that pays it is based in France. The French tax site says so in these words: "Ces revenus sont de source française si l'organisme qui les verse est établi en France." Then the tax treaty decides who gets to tax it.
What the treaties say
| Tunisia | Senegal | |
|---|---|---|
| Treaty | Signed 28 May 1973, in force 1 April 1975 | France-Senegal convention, as read in the French tax administration's published commentary |
| Private pensions | Article 25: taxable only in the country where the person lives | Article 21: "L'imposition des pensions et rentes viagères est réservée à l'État du domicile du bénéficiaire." |
| French tax taken at source | Not stated on the pages I read | The commentary says French-source pensions paid to people living in Senegal are not subject to French withholding |
| Public-service pensions | Unclear. Article 26 covers pay from a state or public body, and the page I read says it does not expressly mention pensions | Not covered on the page I read. The public-pay article leaves pensions out |
In plain terms, the treaties point to the country of residence. If Marc lives in Tunisia, the treaty text says his private pension is taxed there and only there. If he lives in Senegal, the same idea holds.
Hélène is the harder case. A pension from a city or the state is public. For Tunisia, the text does not settle it. For Senegal, the page I read does not address it. An accountant or lawyer who works with French retirees abroad could confirm which article applies to her.
How the French pension system sees it
France's pension body lists both countries among the countries with a social security agreement. For people who worked as employees, both fall under an agreement type where each country calculates its own pension separately. Tunisia is also covered for self-employed work. Senegal is not.
The same body warns that in countries with no agreement a pension "n'est pas forcément versée en dehors de cet État". Tunisia and Senegal both have agreements, so that warning does not apply to them.
What is left open
- What Tunisia and Senegal charge on a foreign pension. These are local tax rates and no official figure was found.
- Whether a French public pension follows Article 26 for Tunisia.
- Whether the Senegal commentary I read (dated 2012) matches the latest amended convention. An amended text exists on the French tax site that is not among the sources.
- French social charges on pensions of non-residents, and health cover abroad.
- How a pension is paid abroad, in which currency, and how proof of life works.
You could…
- Check whether your pension is private, social security or public. The French tax site names those three groups.
- Ask the tax office in the country you are considering how it treats a foreign pension.
- Ask an accountant or lawyer who works with French retirees abroad to read the treaty article for your case.
Which part of your pension would you most want a clear answer on?
Figures are estimates for planning, based on public data. Date read: 10 October 2026.
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