Health care

[liz]

My husband works for a UK company but we live in France. (He works via phone and internet but for about a week a month when he's in th UK).  E106 apparently doesn't apply to us.  He is taxed and pays NI conts in the UK.  Can anyone advise us as to how to proceed over here? We've already had lots of conflicting advice from various official bodies over here and in the UK.  Can't seem to find anyone who understands the systems on both sides!!  I just hope someone's already solved this one!

[giantpanda]

Hi!

Could you be a little more precise on this ( It can make a big difference in the answer )

He works via phone and internet but for about a week a month when he's in th UK)

Yours,

giantpanda

[Panda]

Agree with my giant counterpart, we need more info!

In short though if he sits in France whilst doing his work he should not be paying tax and NI in the UK, he should be paying it here.  It is very clear cut particularly for work on the Internet, it's where you are physically that counts.  He will either have to set himself up as self employed or have his employer pay him plus employers contributions over here, something most employers won't do because it is very expensive.

[liz]

He works in France (from home via internet and phone etc) for about 3 weeks of each month.  For the rest of the time he's in the UK either in the office or seeing clients.  Hope that helps.  (The rest of the family are totally resident in France).

[AnOther]

Panda is spot on I think. He lives in France and performs work here so as far a UK are concerned he falls under the French system hence has no entitlement to an E106. The week a month he spends there is irrelevant in this context. I agree that he should not be paying UK tax and NI either.

You need to get this regularised as soon as possible because as things stand he is working in France illegally and indeed, under the new rules brought in last year, if you do not have alternative medical cover then technically you are not legally resident here either. The options are as Panda has mentioned.

How long has this been going on I wonder ?

Good luck, I somehow feel you're going to need it.

[Will]

Ernie and Giantpanda are perfectly correct. Your husband should not be paying UK tax and NI (unless he has been granted an E106 or E101, which he has not). He needs to register in France, probably as a profession liberale, and to pay tax and cotisations in France.

I have worked on exactly the same basis as your husband, and agree that it was very difficult to get a definitive answer from the authorities in either country. The best source of information, if you don't want to take my word for it - and why should you? - is an accountant specialising in cross-border taxation and social security matters, such as www.persotax.co.uk (I do not use them, so this is not a recommendation, but I do know the person whose name appears at the bottom of the page).

The alternatives are to work through a portage company (simple, but potentially expensive for you) or for your husband's employer to pay him through a French subsidiary - not really a realistic option for most companies.

[liz]

Thanks everyone for your help.  It has at the very least given us some pointers in the right direction (probably back to the UK!!!!)