Article 128 of France’s 2026 Finance Act, published in the official journal on 20 February 2026, changes residence-related charges from 1 May. In the ordinary first-issuance case, the residence tax is EUR 300 and the separate stamp duty EUR 50, producing EUR 350 where both apply.

The ordinary renewal tax remains EUR 200, while the higher stamp duty makes the combined amount EUR 250 where both apply. Reduced rates and exemptions require separate assessment. The Act also increases the duty for citizenship applications to EUR 255. These figures should not be applied indiscriminately to every document or applicant.

Budget the procedure, not a headline For mobility teams, the useful unit of analysis is the particular application. A budget should distinguish first issuance from renewal and identify the charges that apply to each procedure. Describing an unchanged tax as an unchanged total can leave employees or business units with an inaccurate expectation.

Management should retain the basis for each estimate, including the type of document and any relevant exemption. A standard planning figure can be useful if its scope is clear. It should not replace an application-specific assessment when the employee’s situation falls outside that scope.

Keep publication and commencement separate The original legislative publication date is retained for this historical report. The May commencement describes when the changes apply, rather than the date of the February announcement. Later explanatory material can corroborate the calculation, but should not be silently presented as information published with the original notice.

That distinction matters in a catch-up archive. Employees reviewing older information need to understand which version of a procedure was being described and the period to which it relates. A clear source record also helps the mobility team explain why an estimate has changed.

Make payment responsibility clear This editor recommends that employers review their own arrangements for immigration expenses and explain who pays each charge. Company policy, administrative handling and the legal amount due are different parts of the process. An employee should be able to identify the route for checking an unexpected cost.

The article does not review every exception in the legislation. Its practical contribution is the distinction between tax and stamp duty, supported by the original fee clauses. Before using a figure in an individual application, the responsible team should confirm the applicable document, procedure and treatment.