Income from movable capital (RCM) in France: definition, tax and return boxes

• Two main families: distributed income (dividends, box 2DC) and fixed-income investment products (interest, box 2TR), plus assurance vie gains.
• 31.4% by default in 2026: 12.8% income tax and 18.6% social charges; assurance vie and home savings plans stay at 17.2% social charges.
• Exempt: Livret A, LDDS, LEP, livret jeune, CEL and PEL opened before 2018 (the PEL up to 12 years), dividends received inside a PEA.
• Pre-filled by French banks, to be checked against the IFU tax statement; income from an account abroad must be reported by hand.

The term comes from French tax law. Movable capital is money invested in securities, such as shares, bonds or fund units, or lent, through a deposit account, a term deposit or a loan, as opposed to real estate, whose rents are taxed as property income. The official income tax guide devotes a whole chapter to it, “Revenus des valeurs et capitaux mobiliers”, and the tax return a whole section, section 2.

This guide explains what RCM are, which are taxable and which are exempt, how they are taxed in 2026, in which boxes they are reported, how to read the “Revenus au taux forfaitaire” line of the tax notice, and what changes when the bank or broker is abroad. The rules quoted come from the official 2026 income tax guide (in French), chapter on income from movable capital.

Income from movable capital: definition

Income from movable capital is income drawn from a financial investment without selling it: the dividend a company pays its shareholders, the interest a bank pays on a term deposit, a bond coupon. The capital stays in place and produces an income, year after year.

Capital gains are not RCM in the strict sense: the profit made by selling a share for more than you paid for it is a gain on the disposal of securities, reported separately, in box 3VG. Both have nevertheless followed the same tax since 2018, the PFU or the scale on option, and box 2OP covers them together. Its wording says so: “Vous optez pour l'imposition au barème de vos revenus de capitaux mobiliers et gains de cession de valeurs mobilières”, you opt for the scale for your income from movable capital and gains on securities.

You will also come across “revenus des valeurs et capitaux mobiliers”, the title of the chapter in the tax guide: it means the same thing. RCM is the abbreviation the French tax administration uses, on the return as in its official doctrine.

Which income from movable capital is taxable?

The 2026 guide sorts it into several families, each with its own boxes on return no. 2042:

Dividends are reported at their gross amount, before the advance payment and social charges withheld by the bank; foreign dividends at their gross amount plus the tax credit provided by the tax treaty. Interest on a PEL follows its own rule: for a plan opened since 1 January 2018 it is taxable from the first year; for an older plan, only after twelve years. The PEL guide details this timetable, and the guide to assurance vie taxation the boxes specific to contracts.

Income from movable capital: worked examples

A household received during the year €300 of share dividends on a securities account, €150 of interest on a term deposit, €50 of interest on a taxable bank savings account and €200 of interest on its Livret A. It has €500 of taxable RCM: €300 in box 2DC and €200 in box 2TR. The €200 from the Livret A is exempt and not reported. Under the PFU, the total tax on these €500 is €157: €64 of income tax, at 12.8%, and €93 of social charges, at 18.6%.

Another household only holds funds in a PEA and an assurance vie contract from which it withdrew nothing during the year. It has no RCM to report, even though its savings earned money: dividends stay inside the PEA, and assurance vie gains are only taxed on withdrawal, the social charges on the euro fund being withheld each year by the insurer.

Exempt income from movable capital

Some investments pay interest that is not reported at all. The 2026 guide lists in particular:

• The Livret A, the LDDS and the LEP;
• the livret jeune and the plan d'épargne populaire (PEP);
• the CEL opened before 1 January 2018;
• the PEL opened before 1 January 2018, as long as it is less than twelve years old.

Dividends received inside a PEA are also exempt from income tax and not reported; after five years, the gain withdrawn from the plan remains free of income tax but bears social charges. One exception: dividends from unlisted securities held in a PEA or PEA-PME are only exempt up to 10% of the value at which the securities were entered in the plan, and the excess is reported in box 2FU. The guides to the PEA and to French savings accounts give the ceilings and rates of these products.

How is income from movable capital taxed in 2026?

Since 1 January 2018, RCM have been taxed by default at the flat rate of 12.8%, plus social charges: this is the prélèvement forfaitaire unique, or flat tax. Social charges rose to 18.6% in the general case in 2026, with the CSG increase, which brings the PFU to 31.4% on dividends, interest and coupons. Assurance vie, the PEL and the CEL keep 17.2% social charges.

The household can choose the progressive income tax scale instead by ticking box 2OP. The option is global: it covers all of its RCM and all of its gains on securities for the year. It brings three benefits reserved for the scale: a 40% allowance on dividends (boxes 2DC and 2FU), the deduction of custody fees and other costs (box 2CA) and of RCM losses from the previous six years, and 6.8% of CSG deductible from the income of the year it is paid. It generally pays off in the 0% and 11% bands: the guide to the PFU and box 2OP shows it with a worked example. Since the 2026 Finance Act, it is no longer irrevocable.

The 12.8% advance payment and box 2CK

In the year they are paid, dividends and interest bear a first 12.8% levy, withheld by the French bank: the prélèvement forfaitaire non libératoire. It is an advance on income tax, calculated on the gross amount, before the 40% allowance. It is pre-filled the following year in box 2CK, deducted from the tax due, and refunded if it exceeds it.

A household can be exempted if its reference taxable income (revenu fiscal de référence) for the year before last is below €50,000 for a single person or €75,000 for a couple taxed jointly, for dividends, and below €25,000 or €50,000 for interest. It hands its bank a sworn statement no later than 30 November of the year before the payment: for 2027 income, before 30 November 2026. The exemption does not cover social charges, which are still withheld.

Where to report income from movable capital: the boxes of the return

RCM are reported in section 2 of the income tax return, “Revenus de capitaux mobiliers”. They are usually pre-filled: every bank, broker or insurer established in France sends the amounts to the tax administration and gives its client a single tax statement, the IFU (imprimé fiscal unique), that details them. Compare the IFU with the return, and correct a wrong box by entering the right amount in the white box to its right.

Why boxes 2BH and 2CG?

Most RCM have already borne social charges at source, when they were paid. So as not to tax them twice, the administration needs to know which ones: that is the role of boxes 2BH and 2CG, also pre-filled. An amount in 2BH leaves the social charges base and is used to compute deductible CSG if box 2OP is ticked. An amount in 2CG leaves the base without ever giving deductible CSG: for example, euro fund gains in an assurance vie that already bore CSG in previous years.

On the tax notice: “revenus au taux forfaitaire”

On the tax notice (avis d'impôt), RCM taxed under the PFU are not mixed with salaries: they appear on a separate line, “Revenus au taux forfaitaire” (income at the flat rate), and the 12.8% tax on them on the next line, “Impôt proportionnel”, as shown on the model notice published by the French tax administration (DGFiP). This income does not go through the scale, but it counts in the reference taxable income, the figure that gives access to the LEP and sets the thresholds for the advance-payment exemption.

If the household ticked box 2OP, its RCM are instead added to the income taxed at the scale, after the 40% allowance on dividends and the deduction of the costs reported in box 2CA.

Income from movable capital paid from abroad

With a broker, bank or platform established outside France, nobody withholds the 12.8% advance or the social charges, and nothing is pre-filled. If their reference taxable income exceeds the exemption thresholds, taxpayers declare and pay the advance and the social charges themselves, on form 2778-DIV for dividends or 2778 for interest, within the first fifteen days of the month following receipt; an institution in the European Economic Area can do it for them if mandated. The following year, the income is reported on form 2047, then carried over to the boxes of section 2 at its gross amount.

Tax withheld abroad, on US dividends for example, gives a tax credit within the limit of the rate set by the tax treaty: in box 2AB if the bank is in France, in box 8VL of form 2042 C if the income is received abroad. The account itself must be declared every year on form 3916, or a fine of €1,500 applies per undeclared account.

Cross-border workers and people insured abroad

A person covered by the health insurance of another European Economic Area state, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, and not covered by a compulsory French scheme, pays neither CSG nor CRDS on their RCM. They only owe the 7.5% solidarity levy, instead of 18.6% in the general case. This is the case of a cross-border worker employed in Switzerland who chose Swiss health insurance. The condition is assessed on the date the income is paid, and these amounts are reported in box 2DG. A cross-border worker affiliated with French health insurance stays at the general rate.

Income from movable capital: the key points

1. RCM are dividends, interest, coupons and assurance vie gains; capital gains follow the same tax but are reported separately.
2. By default, they are taxed at 31.4% in 2026, 30% for home savings plans, 24.7% for an assurance vie over eight years: there is nothing to do.
3. Check section 2 as pre-filled against each institution's IFU, and add by hand anything that comes from abroad.
4. Before 30 November, request the advance-payment exemption for the following year if your reference taxable income allows it.
5. In the 0% and 11% bands, compare with the scale and tick box 2OP if it is cheaper.

To reduce the share of your savings that produces taxable income, tax wrappers remain the simplest tool: the guide on where to put your money in France compares them by taxation and horizon.

This guide is educational and is not personalised tax advice. The rules quoted are those of the 2026 income tax guide, for 2025 income, and of the texts in force in November 2026; box numbers can change with the following year's forms.

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