French employees undertaking employment duties outside of France fall into one of two social tax categories for French social tax purposes: Expatriated or Detached.
Category | Social Security Position |
Detached | The employee remains covered by mandatory French social security, typically under an EU regulation or bilateral social security agreement. |
Expatriated | The employee ceases affiliation with mandatory French social security. However, if they continue to work a French employer, French unemployment insurance contributions still apply. |
Two tax positions are available to indicate to the tax engine whether the employee is classified as Detached or Expatriated for French social tax purposes:
Works for French Employer?
Employer social contributions calculate.
Employer social contributions only calculate if mandatory French social tax calculates (see below).
Worker Status
When set to Detached, mandatory French social taxes calculate. When set to Expatriated, mandatory French social taxes do not calculate. Note, if Works for French Employer is set to Yes, Unemployment Contributions continue to calculate. the employee is treated as Expatriated. When set to Automatic, the tax engine defaults to Expatriated status, unless the social security agreement is applicable. See table below which outlines expected behavior in conjunction with the social security setting.
Calculate Social Taxes? | Social Security Agreement In Force? | Works for French Employer? | Worker Status | Calculates Standard French Social & Payroll Taxes | Calculates French Unemployment Taxes |
Automatic | Yes | Yes | Automatic | Yes | Yes |
Automatic | Yes | Yes | Detached | Yes | Yes |
Automatic | Yes | Yes | Expatriated | No | Yes |
Automatic | Yes | No | Automatic | Yes | Yes |
Automatic | Yes | No | Detached | Yes | Yes |
Automatic | Yes | No | Expatriated | No | No |
Automatic | No | Yes | Automatic | Yes | Yes |
Automatic | No | Yes | Detached | Yes | Yes |
Automatic | No | Yes | Expatriated | No | Yes |
Automatic | No | No | Automatic | No | No |
Automatic | No | No | Detached | Yes | Yes |
Automatic | No | No | Expatriated | No | No |
Yes | N/a | N/a | N/a | Yes | Yes |
No | N/a | N/a | N/a | No | No |
Key Takeaways
“Automatic” worker status defaults to Expatriated unless a social security agreement drives Detached treatment.
Unemployment contributions depend on the employer relationship, not social security coverage.
Detached status always results in mandatory French social security, regardless of agreement status.
Expatriated status suppresses mandatory French social security, but unemployment may still apply if working for a French employer.