Monaco tax 2026: no personal income tax, unless you are French, and only if you really live there

Monaco's official service portal puts the rule plainly: the absence of all income tax results from an ordinance taken in 1869 by Prince Charles III. On the same page, last updated on 27 August 2026, it qualifies this in two ways. French nationals are excepted, because the Franco-Monegasque convention of 1963 governs them. And the absence of tax on individuals' income concerns only activities or people established effectively and genuinely in the territory, without calling into question the rules of other states. So a Monaco address does not, in itself, settle what your own country will claim. In all the official pages we read, we found no threshold such as 183 days, no count for losing or keeping tax residence, and no definition of "usual residence" in terms of days. This page therefore gives you the rule, the exception and the paperwork. It does not give you a number, because none is published in what we read, and we are not going to supply one.

What is taxed in the Principality, and what is not

The portal says the only direct tax collected is the tax on the profits of industrial and commercial activities. There is no wealth tax, property tax or residence tax. The taxes that do exist fall on transactions and on business:

Stamp duties, excise on alcohol, and taxes on drinks, insurance contracts and precious metals also exist. Note how inheritance duty is framed: it follows the asset's location and ignores where you live, the reverse of how income is treated. We did not go through its rate table, so read it on the portal if an estate is your concern.

The French exception, article by article

Article 7 of the convention of 18 May 1963, on Légimonaco, says that French nationals who move their domicile or residence to Monaco, or who cannot prove five years of habitual residence there as of 13 October 1962, remain subject to French income tax as if they lived in France. In practice, that covers almost any French person who arrives today.

The exclusions are narrow. Members of, or people attached to, the Sovereign Household are outside it, and so are civil servants and employees of Monaco's public services who set up their habitual residence before 13 October 1962. Article 7, paragraph 3, as amended on 26 May 2003, adds that French nationals who moved to Monaco from 1 January 1989 are liable to the French wealth tax from 1 January 2002, as if they lived in France. The text names the "impôt sur la fortune". We did not read an official text tying that wording to today's French taxes, so we leave that point open.

The certificate of domicile and who can get one

The portal describes a certificate of domicile for tax purposes under article 7. It is for French nationals who have the historic position: habitual residence for at least five years before 13 October 1962 and continuously since, or continuous residence since birth. Members of or people attached to the Princely Household qualify, as do Monegasque public servants who moved before 13 October 1962. A separate declaration of usual residence covers the spouse of a holder who has lived in Monaco with them since the marriage, the spouse of a Monegasque, and French nationals married before January 1986 to someone neither Monegasque nor French, who moved before that date.

The fee is a fixed €12, at issue and on renewal. The certificate is valid for three years, at which point the authorities check that you still have your usual residence in the Principality. If not, it may be withdrawn, with retroactive effect if necessary. The Department of Tax Services handles it, and the page we read does not list the documents or the processing time. So this is not a general certificate of tax residence for a foreigner, and we did not find such a procedure on these pages.

Why keep a day log where no rule counts days?

The counter above has no threshold to compare you with, and it says so. What it gives you is evidence. "Established effectively and genuinely" is a question of fact, and renewals check for usual residence, so a dated record of time spent in Monaco is what you can show for it. It also answers the other side. A former country may test you in days or attachments: see the UK Statutory Residence Test and its midnights, the US rules that tax citizens abroad, or the French criteria which do not depend on a day count at all. The default case above comes to 278 days in 2026, a figure that tells you nothing in Monaco but that another tax authority may ask for.

What remains open

We did not read Monaco's residence permit rules, which sit outside the tax pages, nor any treaty other than the convention with France and the 1950 mention. Other points of the 1963 text are worth knowing if you are French: article 14 gives nationals of each state the same family-situation advantages in the other, and articles 24 and 25 provide for the two administrations to deal with double taxation and for a joint commission. For wider comparisons, see the country table, or how dual residency is settled. The Taxlag app can keep the dated record for you if you want it automatic.