If you’re resident in France and an expat from the UK, you’ll no doubt have to get to grips with the French income tax system. It often seems complicated, heavily administrative and can be frustrating.
Financial expert Jennie Poate looks at some common questions that expats have about tax issues in France.
Tax in France – Double taxation treaty
Question: We moved to France in November 2015 and completed our first tax return last year. It seems like we have been taxed twice on our personal pension income, both in the UK and France. What can we do? Surely this isn’t right?
Answer: All private pension income is taxable in France now that you are considered to be French tax resident. However unless HMRC are advised correctly, they will simply carry on taking the tax at source from your pension. The DTT or Double Taxation Treaty does state that the same income cannot be taxed twice. You will need to download the form (don’t worry it’s in English and replicated in French!). The French tax office will not certify the form until you have got a ‘numero fiscal’ or tax reference number so there may be a period of time that elapses before you will be able to claim a refund.
Tax in France – UK ISAs
Question: Do I have to declare my Cash ISA’s I have in the UK? I thought they were tax free?
Answer: ISA’s are a UK savings product and as such only benefit from the tax free status whilst you were UK resident. You must declare the interest on your French tax form and both income tax and ‘social charges’ of 15.5% will be levied on the interest.
Tax in France – UK rental income
Question: I’ve got rental income from a property I hold in the UK. It’s taxed in the UK. Do I have to put it on my tax return form here in France?
Answer: Your worldwide income is subject to tax assessment as you are French tax resident. However UK rental income receives a credit for tax already assumed to have been paid through your French tax return. It does in effect push up any taxable income that you have into the higher tax bands.
The information on this page is intended as an introduction only and is not designed to offer solutions or advice. Beacon Global Wealth Management can accept no responsibility whatsoever for losses incurred by acting on the information on this page
