Tonyb

I've read the posts on this forum with interest. Most of the income tax queries seem to be from those with employee positions in the UK who also live in France. My query relates to UK freelancing, so I hope someone can help. My situation is that I work as a freelance video producer in the UK with a sole trader tax status. All the shooting and editing is done in various locations in the UK but all the planning is done from home. My idea is to sell my UK flat and rent in Lille for a year. If it works out I would stay longer. I can use my mother's address in the UK as a contact address/UK base. I would then commute from Lille to the UK when necessary. Using Euro Tunnel's 'frequent traveller' scheme it will be easy and quite cheap to get to and from the UK when I need to. Over a year I would anticipate being in the UK for eight months and France (cumulatively) for four months.  As a UK sole trader/freelancer I am paid gross by my clients and I declare my income and expenses at the end of the financial year. As far as I am aware I will be able to maintain this situation if I was to be based in Lille - I simply declare nil earnings in France. Is this correct? My other concern is registering for French healthcare etc. How does this work if all your earnings are in the UK and you are in France for less than six months of the year? Hopefully there are some other freelance types on this forum who work in the UK but who live in France who can advise! Thanks in advance.

[quote]Hello I wonder why you would mention your french house sale to the inland revenue. Regards John[/quote] Although it's tempting not to, I think it would be a dangerous strategy. The French tax agency ask for your latest Inland Revenue tax demand in order to confirm that you are not based in France for tax purposes and to prove that they can only charge you 16% as an EU citizen. However,I have read that due to the agreement between the French and UK tax authorities the French inform the English about any such transactions. I suppose one could not declare it in the UK and then if it ever came to light just plead ignorance to the Inland Revenue, but it's risky!

As I am in the process of selling a French house I will have some French capital gains tax to pay. In my naiveté I thought that once that was done I could pocket the rest. Of course this is wrong! If you are a UK resident and your French home is simply a holiday home then the UK Inland Revenue will also want their cut! I just wondered why this is never mentioned in any article on buying French houses? All the information I've seen celebrates the fact that French cgt is only 16% but no one mentions that in effect this is totally irrelevant because the UK tax authorities will take the rest to bring the tax level up to the UK level. It appears that once you declare the French house sale to the Inland Revenue you have to start from scratch - it's assessed as if the house was sold in the UK. All tax owed is calculated at UK rates and any tax already paid in France is then credited against the tax owing in the UK. So yes, you pay your 16% in France but then you have a nice surprise waiting for you - cgt in the UK is 40% and the revenue will do their best to reclaim this, so you have gained nothing. Similarly, under French rules if you sell your house after 16 years you are free of any cgt liability in France, but what about the UK liability? Would the Inland Revenue then move in for their cut? I really think this issue should be alluded to when discussing French tax issues in the various magazines, but I've never seen any mention of it. Of course I could be completely wrong (I hope I am!).

[quote]Further to the above, the lady from the other forum says that, wanting to put her mind at rest, she spoke to the secretary of the author of the article in Living France and as a result she is sure tha...[/quote] I'm afraid that article is clearly wrong. I'm in the process of selling in France and the rule is: Capital Gains tax: 16% for all EU members; 33% for non EU members. Social Charge: an additional 11% National Insurance/Social Charge for French residents only. NB this has risen from 10% in January this year so this may have given rise to the confusion. Therefore Brits who are UK residents with a second home in France pay 16%; French citizens pay 27% in total, everyone else pays 33%. I hope this clears things up!

As the owner of a recently renovated village house in the Herault department (Languedoc) I would be very interested to find out something of its history. The documents I got from the Notaire after the purchase only trace the ownership back to the 1960s, but it's much older than that. My artisans reckoned it could be about three hundred years old, but there's no way of knowing unless I can find some documentation. Would the Marie be the place to ask? Has anyone else tried this? The house has obviously changed its layout many times, so it would be great to find out more about how it used to be. Thanks in advance.

Yes, I too felt that Ron's reply was a bit off the mark. French agents can and do charge around 10%. As you say, this is on a sliding scale but is fixed, whether or not they are splitting the fee with third parties. They don't do legal work. That is done by the Notaire who charges around 7-10% of the price of the property (in addition to the sale price) in order to cover his fees and stamp duty. I was recently quoted agent's fees in the ballpark of 10% for a house valued at around 200,000 euro, so it made me think of selling privately. I realise that I cannot pocket the whole of what the agent would have earned, but I hope to be able to maybe split the difference, so that the buyer saves some money and I gain more revenue for myself.

Has anyone done this? Was it a good way to sell? As I might be selling next year I am keen to maximise my profits. Although technically the buyer pays the agent's fee, if a buyer is willing to stump up 200,000 euros for a house (which would include ten percent agent's fee) I'd rather as much as possible ended up in my coffers! Agents must be delighted with this upswing in property prices! Their cut from selling a house at 200,000 euros would be 20,000 euros, amazing. I believe that Notaire's fees are much lower than agents fees, but apart from using websites how do Notaire's market properties, and how do they arrange viewings? I presume that the owner has to show prospective buyers round. Perhaps a good strategy would be to use a Notaire and a private sellers' website. Thanks in advance.

I've just finished the main renovation on a village house in the Herault (dept. 34). The ground floor used to be the 'cave' of the house and was converted by the previous owner into a bedroom. One of the walls is exposed stone and it curves in an arch to become the ceiling. The wall is an outer wall, so the outside of the house is on the other side.  The problem is that the stone and the pointing/cement on the interior wall is very soft and crumbly and obviously needs urgent attention. On certain parts of the wall there are deposits of salt, which points to a long term damp problem. I had the house surveyed before I bought it and the surveyor pointed out this problem. He said the exterior walls were fine and the house was structurally sound (phew!). My artisans say that the damp is not rising damp, but has come from years of neglect where the house has leaked from the top down (poor weather proofing on the terraces) so that water has collected on the ground floor and the walls have been permanently wet. Now that the house has been sealed and dried out the delicate state of this wall is apparent. They say that the wall/ceiling can be refurbished but it is outside their expertise. From what I understand, renovating stone walls is a time consuming activity, which makes it rather expensive! The artisans are asking a friend of theirs if he can help. He's an enthusiast for stone walls and renovates them as a hobby. He'll do it for liquid cash, which is nice! I just wondered if anyone has any experience or advice on this subject? Can anyone recommend a stone wall expert in the Herault area? I suppose one solution would be to simply concrete over the stone and then paint over, but I'd rather preserve the exposed stone if I can. Thanks in advance. Tony PS I'm posting this on the Living France forum, The Languedoc Page and the 'Brits in Beziers' msn group, therefore sorry for any duplication!

Thanks for that, I may well end up doing what you suggest. My logic is based on the fact that although technically the agent's fee is paid by the buyer and the advertised price includes the agent's fee, as an example let's say the house sells for 200,000 euro. That includes a fee of around 25,000 euro which will go to the agent. I'd prefer to sell privately for 200,000 euro and have the 25,000 come to me! Perhaps I'm wrong about this and maybe privately sold houses must have a reduced price to reflect the fact that they are not being sold through an agent. I need to research this further. 

Sorry if this subject has been covered before but my query is about selling a French house and avoiding the agent's fee. Due to changing circumstances I am going to sell my refurbished family home in the Herault department next year. As the local agents charge a fee of around 11% I am considering selling privately. The reason being that the agent’s fee will wipe out any profit I would have made and probably cause a financial loss - I spent a lot on the renovation (but it does look fantastic!). Can anyone recommend any websites where one can sell privately, and do you have any advice, especially regarding legal considerations? I will put an advert in Living France magazine of course! Perhaps that will be enough. Thanks in advance. Tony

I too have posted a query on here about this company but have yet to receive a reply! You are right in that the SIM uses the Bouyges network which is the patchiest of the three main French networks. If the Bouyges signal is okay in your area then I think the 'Lefrenchmobile' concept is a very good one and worth considering. Unfortunately for me the signal is very dodgy down in the south where I will be moving to, so I will probably be going with SFR. Have you tried asking any local agents or contacts which mobile phone service they use in your area?

I found this clever little software programme on Moneysaver.com (itself a very useful site). It makes it easier to quickly check fares and find the most economical fares for your travel days. Click below: http://tinyurl.co.uk/ryanairmse/

>Micheal Thomas Learn Franch Cds. excellent, >8cds in all, tried loads >of different cds and books, >this is by far the >best, recommended. Isn't it odd that 'scoobydo' has never returned! One might even think that his post was an advert ...

I will be basing myself in the Herault region soon, living in Neffis, near Pezenas. I am seeking regular French tuition, either one to one or in a small group. Part of this could be regular English/French language exchange between me and a local (e.g. student) in order to improve conversation skills. I would prefer a native French speaker as a teacher but I am open to offers! Can anyone in the area recommend either a teacher or language school? I completed an intensive course at the Alliance Franaise in London last year and I am now at mid-intermediate level, so I have a reasonable grasp of the language already. I would like to continue regular lessons/French conversation and work toward a good standard of fluency. Thanks in advance.

I will be moving to the Herault department in Languedoc Roussillon soon (Dept. 34). I would be interested to know the best mobile phone service provider to go for in that area. Having visited many times with a UK mobile phone on a 'roaming' setup, the network that the phone locked on to most was SFR. There is an interesting new company which offers a contract arrangement for foreigners at a good price: http://www.lefrenchmobile.com/ You just pay via your credit card and it's very well priced. Unfortunately the service is offered on Bouygues Telecom only, and I have a feeling that this is the worst service in the Herault area. Does anyone use Bouygues in the area and what is your experience? I would welcome any recommendations, thanks in advance.