Americas

French Guiana

Corporate rate
25%
Top personal rate
45%
VAT / GST rate
0% (no VAT)
One-sentence summary French Guiana is a French overseas department (DROM), fully part of the French Republic and the EU, using mainland France's own Code General des Impots for corporate tax (25%) and personal income tax (progressive, up to 45% plus surcharges) with a DOM-specific income tax reduction - but a genuinely distinct indirect tax system: no VAT at all - French Guiana is excluded from the VAT system entirely, treated as an export/import territory relative to both mainland France and the other DOMs.

Tax System

As a full French overseas department, French Guiana follows mainland France's own Tax System rules in full.

Tax Year & Key Deadlines

The French Guiana tax year is the calendar year, following the same filing deadlines and administrative assessment mechanism as mainland France.

Corporate Tax Rate

French Guiana uses mainland France's own corporate tax code as a full overseas department (DROM) rather than an autonomous collectivity. The standard rate is 25%, identical to mainland France, with the same reduced-rate tier for smaller companies (15% on the first EUR 42,500 of profit, subject to eligibility conditions) applying equally in French Guiana.

Personal Tax Rate

Personal income tax uses the same progressive mainland French brackets (up to 45% plus surcharges), but taxpayers domiciled in French Guiana benefit from a DOM-specific income tax reduction under Article 197 - a larger 40% reduction of tax liability, capped at EUR 4,050, for taxpayers domiciled in French Guiana (versus the smaller 30%/EUR 2,450 reduction applicable in Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Reunion).

VAT / GST Rate

French Guiana is excluded from VAT altogether, alongside Mayotte - a genuinely distinct position from Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Reunion (which do apply an 8.5%/2.1% VAT). Sales into or out of French Guiana are generally treated as exports/imports rather than domestic VAT-subject transactions, including transactions with mainland France and with the other DOMs. A separate indirect tax, the octroi de mer (dock dues), applies to importers without a turnover threshold, and separately to local producers with annual turnover above EUR 550,000, and is a major source of local-authority revenue (approximately EUR 1.6 billion annually across the five DROM) - and a major contributor to the DOM's notably higher consumer prices relative to mainland France.

Residency

As a full French overseas department, French Guiana follows mainland France's own tax residency rules in full: an individual is French tax resident if their home or principal place of abode is in France (including its DROM), if France is their principal place of professional activity, or if France is the center of their economic interests. Corporate residency follows the same incorporation/effective-management test used throughout France.

Permanent Establishment

A non-French entity has a French Guiana permanent establishment on the same basis as elsewhere in France - a fixed place of business or dependent agent - following the OECD Model Treaty definition as applied under French domestic law and any applicable French tax treaty.

CFC (Controlled Foreign Company) Rules

As a full French overseas department applying mainland France's own tax code in its entirety (unlike the autonomous collectivities of Saint-Barthelemy, Saint-Martin, and French Polynesia/New Caledonia, which have their own separate tax codes), French Guiana is subject to France's own national CFC regime in full. France's CFC rules under Article 209 B of the CGI apply where a French company liable for corporate income tax holds, directly or indirectly, more than 50% of the shares, voting rights, or financial rights in a foreign entity established in a jurisdiction with a "privileged tax regime" - defined as an effective tax rate at least 40% lower than the French effective rate, or full tax exemption. Where triggered, the foreign entity's profits are deemed distributed to the French parent (including one domiciled in French Guiana) and taxed even without an actual distribution.

Thin Capitalization

As a full French overseas department, French Guiana applies mainland France's own interest-deductibility rules in full - a general 30% of tax-EBITDA cap (or EUR 3 million, if higher) under France's ATAD-aligned interest limitation regime, plus specific related-party debt restrictions under Article 212 of the CGI where the borrowing entity is thinly capitalized relative to its lenders.

Hybrid Entity Rules

As a full French overseas department applying mainland France's own tax code in its entirety, French Guiana is subject to France's own ATAD2-aligned anti-hybrid rules in full.

Foreign Bank Account / Foreign Financial Asset Reporting

As a full French overseas department, French Guiana applies mainland France's own genuine foreign-account disclosure regime in full: a resident must declare the existence of any foreign bank account, foreign life-insurance contract, or foreign digital-asset account on their annual income tax return (via Form 3916), with no minimum balance threshold, and penalties of EUR 1,500 per undisclosed account (EUR 10,000 for accounts in non-cooperative jurisdictions).

Participation Exemption

As a full French overseas department, French Guiana applies mainland France's own participation exemption regime (regime mere-fille) in full.

Foreign Tax Credit

As a full French overseas department, French Guiana applies mainland France's own foreign tax credit regime in full.

Treaty Network

As a full French overseas department (not a separate treaty-negotiating jurisdiction), French Guiana benefits from mainland France's own extensive double tax treaty network of more than 120 countries, applied to French residents in French Guiana on the same basis as residents of mainland France, since French tax treaties generally define their territorial scope to include the DROM. Confirm the specific territorial-scope clause of any given treaty before relying on it for a French Guiana-specific transaction, since a small number of France's older treaties predate certain DROM's current department status or contain carve-outs.

Official tax authority: Direction Generale des Finances Publiques (DGFiP) - impots.gouv.fr (same national authority as mainland France, with local French Guiana tax offices)
Sources: LegalClarity - What Are French Overseas Departments and Regions (DROM)? (VAT rates by territory, octroi de mer overview), Stripe - VAT in France's Overseas Departments and Territories (detailed VAT rate breakdown), Bulletin Officiel des Finances Publiques (BOFiP) - Article 197 CGI DOM income tax reduction (Article 197 CGI income tax reduction, direct citation), French Customs Authority (Douane) - Customs Taxation in the Overseas Departments (official, octroi de mer legal basis), Mescalculateurs - Octroi de Mer 2026 Calculator (2026 reform law citation, turnover thresholds). Page last verified: August 09, 2026. General information only - confirm current rates and any specific position with a licensed advisor in this jurisdiction before relying on this page.