French Eco Tax
French Eco Tax (also known in French as éco-taxe or éco-contribution) is levied on passengers departing from a French airport since 1 January 2020.
What is French Eco Tax?
French Eco Tax came into effect on 1 January 2020. It was added to the existing French Solidarity Tax to facilitate the reporting and payment of tax. The combined tax rate depends on the class of travel and the passenger's final destination. Business jet passengers and airline passengers traveling in the lowest class of travel pay the lower rate, whereas all other airline passengers pay the higher rate. Passengers traveling to destinations in the European Economic Area (EEA)*, United Kingdom and Switzerland are currently charged at 2.63 € (lower rate) or 20.27 € (higher rate) per passenger. Passengers traveling to all other destinations pay € 7.51 (lower rate) or 63.07 € (higher rate) per passenger.
Did you know?
French Eco Tax is not the first French aviation tax. In France, commercial aircraft operators are also subject to Civil Aviation Tax, Solidarity Tax, Airport Tax and Noise Tax. While the first three taxes apply to commercial operations only, the last one is also levied on private, non-commercial flights. The competent authority administering these four tax schemes is the French Civil Aviation Authority DGAC.
Who is liable for French Eco Tax?
French Eco Tax applies to commercial flights only. This means, non-commercial, privately operated flights are exempt. Exemptions are in place for qualifying passengers, too, such as transfer passengers or passengers traveling from Mainland France to Corsica or French overseas territories. This last exemption is pending approval by the European Commission and therefore those passengers must still be reported until further notice.
Obligations under the French Eco Tax?
As French Eco Tax was added to the existing Solidarity Tax, the same declaration and payment obligations apply. Visit the Solidarity Tax section of our website to learn more about your obligations under the French tax code.
* The EEA comprises all 27 EU Member States, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. List of EU Member States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden