Christian Clavier affair and tax residency: should you sell your primary residence before or after relocating to Dubai?
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For taxpayers considering expatriation to Dubai or, more broadly, settling in the United Arab Emirates, while planning to sell their primary residence in France, the timing of the sale deserves careful attention. Indeed, depending on whether the property sale occurs before or after the transfer of tax residence outside of France, the taxation of the real estate capital gain and the applicable exemptions can differ significantly.
Should you sell your primary residence before becoming a non-French tax resident? Can you still benefit from a total exemption from real estate capital gains tax after leaving France? Is there a specific exemption for non-residents settled in Dubai?
The recent Christian Clavier case precisely recalls this prerequisite: before examining the capital gains exemption applicable to a property sale, the seller's actual tax residence on the day of the sale must be determined.
In other words, even before determining which real estate capital gains exemption may apply, one must first know whether, on the day of the sale, the seller had already actually become a non-French tax resident.
The transfer of tax residence abroad is not the result of a simple move, nor the acquisition of accommodation in Dubai or another country, nor a declaration of departure: it depends on the personal, professional, and financial reality of the taxpayer.
The Christian Clavier Affair: tax residency, expatriation, and real estate capital gains
In a ruling on June 18, 2026, the Paris Administrative Court of Appeal examined the situation of Christian Clavier, who had sold a villa in Corsica on September 28, 2012, after claiming to have transferred his tax residence to the United Kingdom on June 18, 2012. The property was a secondary residence, but the dispute is directly instructive: the claimed exemption required him to actually have the status of non-resident on the day of the sale.
The stakes were considerable: Christian Clavier wanted to benefit from the exemption scheme then provided for by article 150 U, II-2° of the General Tax Code, which, in its wording applicable in 2012, could lead to a total exemption from the capital gain, subject to meeting the conditions set for non-residents.
However, for the tax administration, the departure for London announced a few months earlier did not yet correspond to a real transfer of the tax domicile. An analysis confirmed by the Court, which focused not solely on the departure date claimed by the actor, but on the reality of his personal, professional, and financial situation between June 18 and September 28, 2012.
On the personal front, the Court notably observed that an English company managed by the actor had leased a 168 m² apartment in the center of Paris for three years, that a significant portion of his furniture had been moved there, and that substantial energy consumption had been recorded. Added to this were the forwarding of mail to Neuilly-sur-Seine, the maintenance of certain French administrative affiliations within the household, and the presence of several family members in France.
On the professional front, Christian Clavier had participated in a shoot in France for 25 days and received 67,400 euros. The Court did not consider that these 25 days were sufficient, on their own, to characterize a main activity in France; it compared them to a British activity that was still poorly established, for which the English company had paid him only 5,615 pounds sterling and whose other alleged income was not sufficiently proven. It concluded that his main professional activity remained in France.
On the financial front, the taxpayer claimed to have foreign assets generating around 600,000 euros in annual income, without succeeding in sufficiently proving their location or earnings. Conversely, the Corsican villa had generated 41,859.65 euros in rental income in August 2012, and its sale a net capital gain of 4,104,073 euros. The Court therefore also placed the center of his economic interests in France.
Ultimately, the judges considered that all three criteria examined pointed to France. Yet these criteria are alternative, not cumulative: just one of them is in principle sufficient to characterize the tax domicile in France, before applying the tax treaty. The fact that all three converged here made the taxpayer's position particularly difficult to defend.
The Franco-British tax treaty did not overturn this conclusion either. Christian Clavier had a permanent home available to him in both countries and, in light of all the circumstances, his closest personal and economic ties remained, according to the Court, located in France.
Sale of real estate in France by a French tax resident: what is the tax treatment?
When a French tax resident sells real estate located in France and realizes a real estate capital gain, this gain is, in principle, taxable in France.
The real estate capital gain is currently subject to income tax at a rate of 19% and to social security contributions at a rate of 17.2%, making a combined rate of 36.2%. In addition, when the net taxable capital gain exceeds 50,000 euros, a tax on high real estate capital gains is applied, with rates ranging from 2% to 6%. The derogation regime limiting social security contributions to the 7.5% solidarity levy applies to individuals covered by a compulsory social security system of the EEA or Switzerland (as well as, under certain conditions, the United Kingdom): it is not applicable to a resident of the Emirates solely by virtue of their residence in the UAE.
Allowances for the holding period progressively reduce the taxable capital gain: the exemption becomes total after 22 years of ownership for income tax and after 30 years for social security contributions.
Sale of the primary residence in France: a total exemption from capital gains tax
Article 150 U, II-1° of the General Tax Code exempts the capital gain realized upon the sale of the seller's primary residence. The exemption is total: it is limited neither by the price of the property nor by the amount of the capital gain realized.
To qualify as a primary residence, the dwelling must constitute the taxpayer's habitual and effective residence. In principle, this status is assessed on the day of the sale.
However, the tax administration allows that a taxpayer may have left their dwelling before the final signing of the deed of sale without automatically losing the exemption, provided in particular that they occupied the property until it was put up for sale, that it remains unoccupied, and therefore not rented, and that the sale takes place within a normal timeframe. No absolute deadline is fixed, but the administration considers that in a normal situation, a period of about one year constitutes in principle the maximum delay, subject to specific market circumstances and the efforts made to sell.
Tax resident in Dubai: can France tax the sale of French real estate?
Yes.
Becoming a tax resident of the United Arab Emirates does not deprive France of its right to tax a capital gain resulting from the sale of real estate located on its territory. The tax treaty between France and the UAE expressly provides for this: gains realized by a resident of one State from the sale of real estate located in the other State are taxable in the State where the property is located.
Thus, when a tax resident of the UAE sells an apartment or a house located in France, France retains its right to tax the real estate capital gain.
An important practical point should also be anticipated: an individual seller domiciled outside the European Union, Iceland, and Norway must, in principle, appoint an accredited tax representative. An automatic exemption exists in particular when the sale price is less than or equal to 150,000 euros, when the capital gain is fully exempt due to the holding period, or when the sale benefits from the exemption of the former primary residence provided for by Article 244 bis A of the CGI. A resident of the UAE is therefore affected when none of these exemptions apply.
The real difficulty, however, concerns the former primary residence.
Selling your primary residence after expatriating to Dubai: is the tax exemption still possible?
This is probably the most important question for a person organizing their departure from France.
Since 2019, the General Tax Code (Code général des impôts) has provided a scheme allowing certain taxpayers who have become non-residents to sell, after their departure, the property that constituted their primary residence in France. Article 244 bis A of the General Tax Code thus provides for a total exemption from capital gains tax when the property constituted the taxpayer's primary residence on the date of the transfer of their tax domicile outside France.
Three conditions must be met:
the property must have constituted the taxpayer's primary residence on the date of the transfer of their tax domicile outside France;
the sale must take place no later than December 31 of the year following that of the transfer;
the property must not have been rented out or made available free of charge to a third party between the date of the transfer of tax domicile and the date of the sale.
However, this scheme does not include any condition of occupying the property "until it is put up for sale", nor any condition of selling "within a normal timeframe": these two requirements stem from the administrative tolerance applicable to the common law exemption for the primary residence, when the seller is still a French tax resident on the day of the sale. Confusion is common, even though the two schemes do not overlap.
Thus, a person who leaves France for tax purposes in September 2026 should in principle sell by December 31, 2027 at the latest. But another condition, often less well known, is essential.
The destination country must allow the recovery of French tax debts. Indeed, when the taxpayer expatriates outside the European Union, the exemption is only available if their new State of residence has concluded with France:
an administrative assistance agreement designed to combat tax fraud and evasion, and
a mutual assistance agreement in matters of recovery with a scope similar to that applicable within the European Union.
This is a cumulative condition. It is therefore not enough for tax administrations to be able to exchange information: the foreign State must also be able to assist France in recovering its tax debts.
As of the date of publication of this article, this condition is not met in Franco-Emirati relations.
France and the UAE do have tax information exchange mechanisms in place, with the Franco-Emirati convention notably including a clause allowing administrations to exchange information necessary for assessing or recovering taxes. But the exchange of information should not be confused with assistance in recovery itself.
The Official Gazette of Public Finances (Bulletin officiel des finances publiques) publishes a table identifying, for each State, the existence of an information exchange clause and an international administrative assistance clause for recovery. For the United Arab Emirates, this table mentions "Yes" for the exchange of information on personal income tax and corporate tax, and "No" for international administrative assistance for recovery in respect of personal/corporate income tax.
The United Arab Emirates are also parties to the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. However, under Article 30, paragraph 1.b of the CGI, they entered a reservation excluding assistance in the recovery of any tax claim or administrative fine, for all taxes. This instrument therefore does not make it possible to satisfy the condition set by Article 244 bis A of the CGI.
Under the current state of the legislation, the total exemption provided for by Article 244 bis A of the General Tax Code for the former primary residence is therefore not applicable to a person who has transferred their tax residence from France to the United Arab Emirates. This is a major difference compared to a departure to a European Union State or to certain States that have the required cooperation instruments in place with France.
Real estate capital gains of a non-resident in Dubai: what exemption is available up to 150,000 euros?
Yes. For a French expatriate in Dubai selling a property in France, a second real estate capital gains tax exemption scheme may apply. It should not be confused with the total exemption of the former primary residence.
Article 150 U, II-2° of the General Tax Code provides a specific exemption for the sale of a property located in France by certain non-residents. This scheme is notably open to non-resident natural persons who are nationals of a Member State of the European Union, or of another State party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area that has concluded an administrative assistance agreement with France with a view to combating tax fraud and evasion, provided they have been tax residents in France for a continuous period of at least two years at any time prior to the sale.
Essential point for a French national settled in Dubai: this exemption is not subject to the existence, with the seller's state of residence, of a recovery assistance agreement. The absence of French-Emirati recovery assistance, which prevents the total exemption of Article 244 bis A, therefore does not deprive the seller of the benefit of Article 150 U, II-2°.
The administration also gives the example of a Belgian national living in Australia who can benefit from the scheme. A French national who has become a tax resident of the United Arab Emirates therefore also falls within its scope of application, subject to meeting the other conditions.
On the other hand, a taxpayer who is neither a national of a Member State of the European Union nor of a State party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area referred to in the text, remains in principle outside the scope of this scheme, subject in particular to the potential application of a non-discrimination treaty clause.
Non-resident real estate capital gains tax exemption capped at 150,000 euros
Unlike the primary residence scheme, this exemption is not total. It is capped at 150,000 euros of taxable net capital gain per seller, for a single property. This cap constitutes the general rule of the scheme: it does not depend on the country in which the seller has settled.
The sale must take place :
either no later than December 31 of the tenth year following that of the transfer of tax residence outside of France ;
or without any time limit if the seller has retained free disposal of the property at least since January 1 of the year preceding that of the sale.
The 150,000 euro cap is assessed individually for each seller. The administration notably allows, for a married couple jointly selling the property, that the cap be assessed at the level of the share of capital gain belonging to each spouse. The fraction of taxable net capital gain exceeding this cap remains subject to French taxation under common law conditions.
Primary residence and expatriation: which tax regime applies depending on the sale date?
Situation on the day of sale | Scheme | Exemption | Main conditions and tolerances |
|---|---|---|---|
The seller is still a French tax resident and still occupies the property as their primary residence | Art. 150 U, II-1° CGI | Total | The property must constitute the seller's habitual and actual residence on the day of the transfer. No price or capital gains cap. |
The seller has already physically moved out of the property, but remains a French tax resident on the day of the sale | Art. 150 U, II-1° CGI + administrative tolerance | Total | The exemption may be maintained if the property was occupied until it was put up for sale, remains vacant (meaning neither rented out nor occupied free of charge) and is sold within a normal timeframe. No absolute deadline, but the administration indicates that under normal circumstances one year in principle constitutes the maximum period. |
The seller became a non-resident before the sale and the property constituted their primary residence on the day of the tax transfer | Art. 244 bis A CGI | Total, if all conditions are met | Sale at the latest on December 31 of the year following the tax transfer; property neither rented out nor made available free of charge between departure and sale; destination State eligible under exchange of information and assistance in tax collection treaties. |
Tax departure to the United Arab Emirates | Art. 244 bis A CGI | Not accessible under current legislation | The BOFiP lists an exchange of information with the United Arab Emirates, but not the assistance in tax collection required for personal and corporate income tax (IR/IS). |
The seller is a non-resident and cannot benefit from the total exemption for the former primary residence | Art. 150 U, II-2° CGI | Partial: up to €150,000 of net taxable capital gains | Must be a national of a European Union or EEA State covered by the text and have been tax domiciled in France continuously for at least two years. Sale at the latest on December 31 of the 10th year following departure, or without time limit if the seller retains free disposition of the property. This scheme does not depend on the existence of assistance in tax collection with the State of residence. |
Selling your primary residence before or after relocating to Dubai: a numerical example
Let's take the example of a French taxpayer who owns their main residence in Paris. They acquired their home for 800,000 euros and can now sell it for 1,300,000 euros. At the same time, they are considering transferring their tax residence to the United Arab Emirates.
Scenario 1: They sell while still a French tax resident
If the property still constitutes their main residence, the capital gain can benefit from the full exemption provided for by Article 150 U, II-1° of the French General Tax Code (CGI).
The taxpayer may even have physically left the property before the sale, provided in particular that they occupied it until it was put up for sale, that it remained vacant, and that the sale takes place within a reasonable timeframe, generally considered to be around one year. However, this tolerance only applies if they are still a French tax resident on the day of the sale.
Scenario 2: They first transfer their tax residence to the UAE, then sell
The common law exemption for the main residence is then no longer applicable. One must first examine the full exemption of the former main residence provided for by Article 244 bis A of the CGI, which allows, under certain conditions, a sale up to December 31 of the year following the departure. In the event of a transfer to the UAE, however, this scheme is not accessible in the current state of the regulations, due to a lack of assistance in recovery that meets legal requirements.
The taxpayer may nevertheless benefit, if they meet the conditions, from the exemption provided for by Article 150 U, II-2° of the CGI, up to a limit of 150,000 euros of net taxable capital gain per transferor. This exemption can apply during the ten years following departure, even if the property has been rented out. Beyond that, it remains possible if the seller has retained free disposal of it since at least January 1 of the year preceding the sale.
For purely illustrative purposes, assuming recent ownership and ignoring, for simplicity, costs and works likely to increase the acquisition price as well as any allowances, the net taxable capital gain would be 500,000 euros here. The 150,000 euro exemption would then leave 350,000 euros taxable. At constant rates, this would represent 126,700 euros in income tax and social security contributions (36.2%), excluding the tax on high real estate capital gains. Selling a few weeks earlier, under the conditions of the common law exemption, would have avoided this taxation.
Expatriation to Dubai and real estate sales in France: anticipating the tax calendar
For a person preparing for an expatriation to Dubai or settling elsewhere in the United Arab Emirates while considering selling their primary residence in France, the timeline is crucial. As long as the seller remains a French tax resident, the total exemption from real estate capital gains tax provided for by Article 150 U, II-1° of the CGI may apply, even if they have already physically vacated the accommodation under conditions accepted by the tax administration. If the actual transfer of tax residence occurs before the sale, this exemption disappears; the total exemption of the former primary residence under Article 244 bis A of the CGI is not accessible in the Franco-Emirati context, and one must then examine, in particular, the exemption capped at 150,000 euros under Article 150 U, II-2° of the CGI.
In practice, selling a few weeks before or a few weeks after transferring tax residence can therefore lead to very different taxation on the real estate capital gain. For a taxpayer considering both their tax expatriation to Dubai and the sale of their home in France, the timing of the sale must not be left to chance: it must be anticipated.
This article reflects the state of the law as of September 17, 2026, and does not constitute a consultation or personalized advice. For an examination of your situation, our Conseil-Avocate team remains at your disposal.
Sources and legal references
CAA Paris, 7th ch., 18 June 2026, No. 23PA05246, rendered on referral after CE, 29 November 2023, No. 466283.
CGI, art. 4 B, 1. The criteria are alternative; within a), however, the primary place of residence is only examined in the absence of a home in France.
BOFiP, BOI-RFPI-PVI-10-40-10, § 190.
France-UAE Tax Treaty, Article 11, § 1, a) : " Gains derived by a resident of a State from the alienation of immovable property referred to in Article 5 and situated in the other State may be taxed in that other State ".
CGI, art. 244 bis A, IV and IV bis ; BOFiP, BOI-RFPI-PVINR-30-20, § 30, 110 and 170 to 225.
BOFiP, BOI-ANNX-000508.
Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, United Arab Emirates reservation under Article 30, § 1, b), in force since September 1, 2018
BOFiP, BOI-RFPI-PVINR-10-20, § 260 : the exemption applies to a Belgian national residing in Australia.
BOFiP, BOI-RFPI-PVINR-10-20, § 270 : admission, under conditions, for nationals of third States who can benefit from a non-discrimination treaty clause.
