Summary
1. First, become a tax resident in Morocco
Everything starts with your tax residence. The Moroccan General Tax Code considers you a resident if you have your permanent home in Morocco, the center of your economic interests, or if you stay there for more than 183 days over a 365-day period.
Warning: spending more than 183 days in Morocco is not always enough to stop being a tax resident in France. If your home, family or main income remain in France, the French administration may continue to consider you a resident. The real move of your life matters just as much as the number of days.
2. Which pension is taxed where?
France and Morocco have signed a tax treaty that avoids double taxation. Broadly speaking, once you are a Moroccan resident:
- Private source pensions (general scheme, private supplementary pensions) are generally taxable in Morocco, your new country of residence.
- Public pensions (former state, local government, and hospital civil servants) generally remain taxable in France.
- For the French fund to stop withholding tax on a pension taxable in Morocco, it will ask you for a Moroccan tax residence certificate: this is the role of form 5000, certified by the Moroccan tax administration.
3. The allowance: a large part of the pension is untaxed
Before calculating the tax, Morocco applies a standard allowance to the gross annual pension amount (Article 60 of the General Tax Code):
- 70% on the portion of the pension up to 168,000 dirhams per year;
- 40% on the portion exceeding 168,000 dirhams.
4. The 80% reduction: the rule that changes everything
This is the best-known advantage. If you permanently transfer your foreign pension to Morocco, into a non-convertible dirham account, you benefit from an 80% reduction on the tax due on the transferred portion (article 76 of the General Tax Code).
To take advantage of this, keep two documents each year: the pension payment certificate issued by your pension fund, and the bank certificate indicating the amount received in foreign currency and its equivalent in dirhams on the date of the transfer. Without these certificates, the reduction may be denied.
5. The income tax scale
| Net taxable income (DH per year) | Rate | Amount to deduct (DH) |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 40,000 | 0 % | 0 |
| 40,001 to 60,000 | 10 % | 4 000 |
| 60,001 to 80,000 | 20 % | 10 000 |
| 80,001 to 100,000 | 30 % | 18 000 |
| 100,001 to 180,000 | 34 % | 22 000 |
| Above 180,000 | 37 % | 27 400 |
After the allowance, the remaining income is subject to the progressive scale in force since January 1, 2025:
6. Worked example
Let us take a private pension of 240,000 DH gross per year, entirely transferred into non-convertible dirhams. This calculation is simplified and serves only to understand the mechanism.
- Allowance: 70% of 168,000 = 117,600 DH, plus 40% of the remaining 72,000 DH = 28,800 DH. Total: 146,400 DH.
- Net taxable income: 240,000 − 146,400 = 93,600 DH.
- Tax according to the scale: 93,600 × 30% − 18,000 = 10,080 DH.
- 80% reduction: 2,016 DH of tax per year remains, which is about 0.8% of the pension.
7. File an annual return
The global income tax return is filed online via the Tax Administration's SIMPL-IR service before March 1st of each year. For 2025 incomes, the deadline was March 2, 2026.
If you are an MRE and have also contributed in Morocco: since January 1, 2026, pensions from Moroccan basic schemes (CNSS, CMR, RCAR general scheme) are exempt from income tax. Supplementary pensions remain taxable.
Before you decide
These rules are advantageous, but each situation is different: public or private pension, rental income remaining in France, spouse remaining in France, property abroad. Before leaving, have your case confirmed by the non-resident personal tax service in France and by the General Directorate of Taxes in Morocco, or by a tax advisor.
Frequently asked questions
Am I obliged to transfer my entire pension to Morocco?
No. But the 80% reduction applies only to the tax corresponding to the portion definitively transferred in non-convertible dirhams.
Is a French civil servant pension taxed in Morocco?
As a general rule, no: the tax treaty reserves the taxation of public pensions to France. Have your case confirmed before leaving.
How many days should you spend in Morocco?
More than 183 days out of 365 is one of the criteria for Moroccan tax residency. The permanent home and the center of economic interests also count, on both the Moroccan and French sides.
Going further
Sources
- General Directorate of Taxes — Note on the tax measures of the 2025 finance law (scale, basic pensions)
- Clicpaie — Income tax on retirement pensions in Morocco, articles 60 and 76 of the CGI (updated on March 19, 2026)
- Bladi.net — Retiring in Morocco: the 80% reduction and certificates (January 25, 2026)
- Bladi.net — Foreign retirees: bank certificates and the March 2, 2026 deadline
- Cabinet Simonnet — Moroccan tax residence and French tax authorities
This information is provided for guidance only and does not replace the advice of the administration or a professional. An error? Write to contact@sinstalleraumaroc.org.