XJuly 17, 2026
Since 2020, EU law has required every member state to impose exit taxation when a corporate taxpayer moves assets or its tax residence out of that state's taxing jurisdiction.
The rare one is personal: of the 233 jurisdictions I track, 16 tax you, the individual, on gains you never sold, the day you walk out the door.
Entry rates get all the attention. Almost nobody prices the personal exit.
In each of the four below, the day you stop being tax resident, your covered assets are marked to market and the unrealised gain is taxed, with no actual sale. Germany, Canada and Australia deem a disposal. France taxes the latent gain directly. Nothing was sold, so nothing came in. The tax can still fall due, on a gain you never cashed.
Narrow, aimed at large holdings:
France: the default 31.4 percent flat tax on latent gains. It catches residents of at least 6 of the last 10 years whose household directly or indirectly holds securities worth more than 800,000 euros, about 915,000 dollars, or rights representing at least 50 percent of a company's profits. Automatic deferral inside the EU, and the charge is wiped after 2 to 5 years if you keep the securities.
Germany: for long-term residents, a direct or indirect holding of 1 percent or more in a company at any point in the last 5 years, taxed up to about 28.5 percent at the top rate before church tax. Since 2025, large fund and ETF holdings too, under separate fund-tax rules. Seven interest free instalments on request, generally against security, wherever you move.
Broad, aimed at your whole portfolio:
Canada: most of your worldwide assets deemed sold at once, up to about 27 percent depending on the province. You can elect to defer until you sell or otherwise dispose of them.
Australia: for non-temporary residents, most CGT assets outside taxable Australian property are deemed sold when residence ceases. Foreign shares, ETFs and crypto are generally caught. You can elect to disregard the gain, keeping the assets in Australia's tax net until a later CGT event or your return to Australian residence.
Some of these charges vanish entirely if you meet the conditions. Others defer collection, or keep the asset in the country's tax net until a later disposal. Either way, the move changes the timing, the paperwork and your liquidity exposure.
You have modelled the tax in the country you are moving to. Have you modelled the bill the one you are leaving sends on your way out?
Data from GeoCompass, the jurisdiction intelligence layer I build at Lucky Nomads.
Australia
Canada
France
Germany