Assurance-vie

Product facts

Country

France

Provider or product type

insurance

Local wrapper

A French insurance contract that can combine insurance, savings, and investment features, with underlying funds and surrender values governed by the policy terms.

Risk tier

Medium

Last verified

2026-08-30

Reviewer

Chip Moreno

U.S. tax focus

in France

Possible U.S. reporting channels

These are screening questions, not conclusions. Whether a form applies depends on your specific facts and the current instructions for the filing year.

• Form 8938
• FBAR (for a cash-value financial account)
• Form 8621 for underlying pooled investments
• Form 1040 and contract-distribution schedules
• Form 3520 only where a genuine foreign-trust question exists

Facts that can change the U.S. analysis

These facts matter more than the product name. Identify each one for the relevant year and preserve the document that supports it.

• The policy contract, issuer, cash value, and surrender terms
• Whether the policy is protection-only or investment-linked
• The underlying fund names, legal issuers, and domiciles
• Premiums, withdrawals, loans, surrenders, and death benefits by year

Documents to gather

Start with the governing document, then add the annual statements. Keep the original record together with any translation.

• Policy contract, riders, and amendments
• Annual statements and cash-value or surrender-value schedules
• Underlying fund list with legal issuers and domiciles
• Premium, withdrawal, loan, surrender, and death-benefit records
• Prior U.S. returns and any Forms 8938, 8621, or 3520

Common record gaps and translation needs

• French-language contract and fund documents without translated summaries
• Missing surrender-value schedules for older policies
• Unclear investment-in-contract or basis history

Unresolved questions

These questions stay open until the governing documents, holdings, and filing-year facts are reviewed.

• Is the contract U.S. life insurance under section 7702, and do the technical tests hold?
• Do the underlying funds create a PFIC (Form 8621) question?
• Are FBAR and Form 8938 reporting thresholds met for the policy's cash value?

Official sources

Every record is indexed only with at least one directly relevant official local source and one applicable U.S. primary source. Confirm the current instructions and authorities for your filing year.

• U.S.IRS: U.S.–France income tax treaty
• U.S.Instructions for Form 8938
• U.S.Instructions for Form 8621
• LocalService-Public.fr: Assurance-vie