LesLauriers

[quote user="Bastet"] We do indeed have tax free (but not social charge free) savings accounts which are represented on the impots forms, but  the actual amount of interest is not declared. [/quote] As I have never found a worthwhile savings account which is tax free but not social charge free, (if not declared then social charges are presumably deducted at source) could you tell me what this account is called?

[quote user="Tony F Dordogne"]Don't understand how income is not returnable on your tax form, my accountant tells me that in France you had to declare all income on your tax forms tho some of it may be ameliorated for tax purposes?[/quote] Tony, there are a number of tax free, social charge free, savings accounts available depending upon your situation, however they are all limited in the amount that can be invested. This is from the La Poste (La Banque Postale) website: Une rémunération intéressante Avec votre Livret de Développement Durable (anciennement Codevi), vous bénéficiez d'une rémunération de 3%* nets. Aucune fiscalité Les intérêts de votre épargne sont exonérés d'impôt et de prélèvements sociaux : quel qu'en soit le montant, vous n'avez pas à les déclarer. "If I understand correctly it's the tax return figure that is used to determine whether or not you can get CMU but surely if your 'non-taxable' income is added to your taxable income and that puts your income over the limit, you wouldn't  and perhaps shouldn't get the CMU payments as you then have additional income which puts you out of the CMU banding." CMU de base asks you for your RFR, CMU complémentaire asks for all income from whatever source.

Décolle moquette is what you are looking for and it is available in most DIY stores.  Be carefull though, it needs a well ventilated room and a mask - very strong fumes.

2006  225€ 2005 222€.

On the basis that your wife is going to be living in France full time then you and your wife will be French tax resident from the day after your wife arrives in France.

[quote user="TreizeVents"]Just to clarify one point.  85% of French do not pay inheritance tax, never have.  This is essentially a gift to the well off, the ten percent who should pay tax, but now won't.  For some reason, Sarkozy left the top 5% still having to pay tax, but then again, they have accountants and clever systems and probably won't have to pay anyway.  To make up for this gift to the classe aisée, all of us, including the poor and nearly poor and middle classes (in France) will have to pay the TVA.  Its exactly what he promised.  In addition he promised an overall tax break for the well off, and he is delivering that too.  No one will now have to pay more than 50% for all their taxes combined.  As for the original question, what often happens is that once you pay a particular tax here (or not pay in this case) the other country in the agreement (Britain) collects what is left.  That is, all the tax they would have collected anyway.  But this is just a guess based on some other taxes.  Maybe you will get out of it altogether.  Those more informed than me will give a correct answer rather than a reasonable speculation. Did you know that income tax is about 16% of total state revenue and TVA is about 53%?  Most of the money comes by collecting the most regressive tax there is.  In the land of justice and equality and solidarity.[/quote] Comrade TV, Under the current legislation a couple with one child having an estate in excess of €100k would pay inheritance tax - if you consider this to be rich then then there's a lot more than 10% who could qualify. As for TVA - probably the fairest tax there is - you spend, you pay it's the only time black workers pay tax and given that 50% of people don't pay tax there's lots of black business going on.

Kathy, you should take it out whilst you are still UK resident, you can continue with it when you are French resident but cannot take out further cover. With UK Life Assurance you have a fixed cost for x years, in France the cost increases year by year and is more expensive. That's as I understand it, someone with more knowledge may shed further light on the subject.

From an article by Sykes Anderson on FrenchEntrée.com, "Q: Could French wealth tax apply to my pension fund if I become French resident? A: Yes. It can apply to pension funds and care needs to be taken here especially with larger funds."

Go to the free website and enter her telephone number as the identifiant and then click password forgotten. They will email a new password. If she has a new PC and connects by ethernet it should "just work" without anything else.

[quote user="dp"] 'ealth Tax' which seems to be outside his knowlede base. [/quote] I believe that I have a reasonable knowledge of the subject, having completed returns for the last 5 years. However, I do not have a Sipp and the question on Sipps is one that has never arisen before, albeit one that I have given some passing thought to. You will appreciate that the number of Sipp holders retiring to France in advance of having their financial affairs in order is low and I suspect that the vast majority of Impot staff would not have been able to offer as much advice as you have been given here and on Total France. If it helps here is another quote from Sykes Anderson which is from an article on Sipps and France: "What else? Go through all the usual angles you would do in England, remembering that SIPPs and trust law do not exist in France so the automatic tax and other advantages you get in the UK do not necessarily apply. You need to think about matters such as (inter alia) taxation of income, capital gains, inheritance tax, VAT, wealth tax and the UK-France Double Tax Treaty." However if you want a definitive copper bottomed answer here it is - Yes the Sipp is taken into account for ISF. Me? I wouldn't take anything as important as this as gospel I would want it in writing from a credible source which is why I paid PKF for advice prior to arrival and found them to be good value for money. Do let us know how you get on, taxation and tax advantageous investing are such interesting topics when it's raining outside!

"I thought that this type of sharing information was one of the objects of these forums." A lot of people have knowledge and experience which they have freely shared with you however you have taken exception to the replys given. Perhaps it's a case of "if you don't like the answers then you shouldn't ask the question".  Or perhaps you just got out of bed on the wrong side this morning! Anyway the good news, is that once you have paid PKF their £1400, you will be in a position to advise the rest of us. We will wait to hear from you.

One further thought. You have the ability to bequeath the contents of your SIPP when you die, something you cannot do with a company or government pension. I would suggest that if you can bequeath it - you own it. Annuities are treated as "rente viagère" in France not as pensions, the do not get the 10% deduction that pensions get but can be subject to allowances of up to 70% depending upon age - however they are subject to 11% social charges.

The answers you have received are very similar to the ones I gave you. I like Benjamin believe that a SIPP could well be subject to wealth tax as it does not appear to fulfill the French qualification of being a company or government pension. That said I go back to my original suggestion that you spend a few hundred £'s and obtain a qualified answer from someone like PKF Guernsey, at least then you will know which way to jump. It may for example be better to buy an annuity at this time or conversely it may be better to pay the ISF bill, only you will be able to calculate the alternatives but at least you will be able to plan with confidence. A forum such as this is not the best place to obtain the quality of advice you are looking for on such a complex question and I would suggest that your average fonctionaire at the impots would be completely lost as there is no comparable product to a Sipp in France.

[quote user="Crevette"]Thanks "LesLauriers" - it really helps! For the Interest paid Net in France (EE), am I right in thinking there is no more tax (social charges?) to pay on this as it has already been taxed? Correct The tax would therefore be ; UK Income : Tax at rate based on salary Plus social charges of 0.5% if you do not hold an E106 or an E121. UK Interest Income : Tax at "standard rate for UK interest" + Social Charges There is no standard rate, you will be taxed at the appropriate tax band for your circumstances + 11% social charges. Thanks again! -Rob- [/quote]

[quote user="Crevette"]I have put some real examples from the "impots" web-site in the post entitled ; "Tax Return with Interest - Real examples! " I have tried to interpret advice given in this thread... Any help in double checking it would be much appreciated. Regards, -Rob- [/quote] Note A  - Correct Note B  - Correct Note C -  Interest paid Gross in France enter in box TR,  Interest paid Net in France box EE

It's a good question and one that needs thinking about, I suspect that the commission factor is relevant for the IFAs. As an investor you also the need to take an overall view of your own finances, capital and income, future needs both short and long term and where you are at in life. Importantly what happens when you die. The big benefit of the AV is the freedom from inheritance tax of the first €152k per beneficiary, the way in which withdrawals are taxed and the €9.2k exemption after 8 years. Your own personal circumstances are a key factor, Your age will impact upon your ability to weather any market falls over time. The need to provide an income for your partner should you die first. The income from your pension v your outgoings. Exchange rate volatility if you invest in UK shares. What happens to your pension after you die will your partner receive 50% or less. How quickly do you need access to the money, shares may be on a low whereas funds in euros are protected. How many inheritors you wish to have and their blood relationship to you and your partner could affect the decision. Are you subject to the 8% health charge? Perhaps a mix of AV's and shares could be the answer, moving to AV's later in life but before 70. Random thoughts really. I am very aware of the need to provide long term for my wife and family and for that reason the bulk of my investments are within AV's, I do also have share and unit trust investments but will dispose of these within the €20k allowance over time. A mix depending upon circumstances and attitude to risk I guess.

Bank statements.

I would agree with SPG, the shares were sold on your behalf and the proceeds obtained sent to you.

[quote user="Chrissie"]I have a similar question to that asked by cheryla: Last year I put my occupational, non-UK-taxed pension on the front page of 2047K and also in box BS of 2042K, which I'm happy with.  But I also, on the instructions of the local tax lady, put it in Box TL.  I assumed that was only for calculation of the CRDS.  Can someone confirm this is right please? Box BS is correct if you are filing a joint declaration. It also goes into box TL if you are not in receipt of an E121. I also put gross premium bond income (not big enough to get excited about, so please cancel the begging letters...[:D]) in box at bottom left of 2047K page 2 - dividends non eligible a l'abattement.  I worry that I am then asked to ADD the gross figure to the credit d'impot to get the TS figure.  Is that correct? Premium bond wins go in box TS on both forms. Sorry to sound to thick but I'm going to try to fill out the forms online for the first time this year, I want to be right!  Hope someone can give me quick reassurance. Chrissie (81)   [/quote]

[quote user="Me0wp00"]Do dealers do a decent deal on Part Exchanges over here ?? I've got a 97 Mondeo Estate french registered lhd and am looking to buy a new logan from the local renault dealer, do you think they'd do a decent price (in the past they haven't offered good prices) but that was on a 2nd hand car.  Thanks in advance [/quote] I read that the dealer gets a net 100€ for selling a Logan so you could do better selling privately.

It is the money laundering regulations, just go in and explain it, your bank will then report back to the Bank of France.

[quote user="Grecian"]Thanks LesLauriers that is a very clear answer. Following on from the original post, I have found on the French Entree.com website, the formula that is used to tax final salary pensions in France. If your pension is a final salary scheme or is paid directly by an employer then it is likely to be taxed in France as a pension. You include the whole income from the pension as taxable income and then deduct an amount of 10% of the income subject to a minimum or euros 323 and a maximum of euros 3,160. From the net figure so calculated you then deduct a further 20% of that amount up to euros 111,900. As a very rough guide this usually results in only 80% of the pension actually being subject to French tax. Can anybody in receipt of a final salary pension confirm that this is in fact correct. Also on the same website, it states that the French authorities treat incapacity benefit as a private pension, again has anyone had any experience of this. [/quote] No it is out of date. You enter the full amount of your pension, the system will then automatically deduct 10% subject to current limits. This figure is then divided by the number of "parts" your family are entitled to ( 1 per adult .5 for the first two children etc etc) and the resulting figure is then applied to the "tax bands" and the result of that is then mutiplied by the original number you divided by. The 20% deduction applied to 2005 earnings, since when the bands have been revised to take account of the removal of the 20% deduction and therefore will not apply to earnings from 2006 onwards. My view would be that incapacity benefit should be taxable as a pension on the basis that your incapacity will have to be agreed by COTOREP in France to qualify for any French benefits including an extra .5 part allowance for your tax return. What applied in UK will not usually apply here - as a rule of thumb! That said if you ask 5 different functionaires at your tax office for their view you will get 5 different answers and you will be able to choose the appropriate one!

[quote user="cooperlola"]LesLauriers has the handle on the ill-health pension and incapacity benefit, but I still think you'll pay on your occupational pension.  Anybody?[/quote] No they will not.

[quote user="Grecian"] I accept that we will have to pay French income tax on all the above, but will the incapacity benefit and pension payments be liable to social charges?   [/quote] No they will not.

[quote user="ianf"] How much Tax do I pay on this? €9822 tax plus €8250 social charges plus €5264 health charges. Oh and you will have wealth tax to pay. In a few years I will also have a private and state pension from the UK is this taxed at source or in France and at what rate? In France at 30% or 40% depending on amounts. I guess the real answer is to get a specialist accountant. That's the one! Proper planning and the use of French investments would reduce your taxes dramatically. [/quote]