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How to fill in your French tax form


Judith
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Useful guide in this month's (April) The French Paper (also possibly the Connexion, but I bought TFP as I prefer it). 

A pull out section, showing each page of the red (2047)  and blue (2042) forms, with step by step explanations / instructions. 

I'll know better when I've tried to use it, but if it works (and it looks as though it will), it will be the best 2.5€ I've ever spent.

Considering the number of enquiries on filling in the tax form on the forum, others might find it useful too.

I have no connection (sorry for the pun) with either paper, just passing on a happy find.

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[quote user="Judith"]Useful guide in this month's (April) The French Paper (also possibly the Connexion, but I bought TFP as I prefer it). 

A pull out section, showing each page of the red (2047)  and blue (2042) forms, with step by step explanations / instructions. 

I'll know better when I've tried to use it, but if it works (and it looks as though it will), it will be the best 2.5€ I've ever spent.

Considering the number of enquiries on filling in the tax form on the forum, others might find it useful too.

I have no connection (sorry for the pun) with either paper, just passing on a happy find.

[/quote]

Hi,

      I have not seen the "French Paper" guide , but have , with others, over several years battled with the tax "expert" of the "Connexion" over repeated mis-information he has published. (I have now given up, as they refuse to publish any criticism). If you search previous years on this and other forums you will find much discussion of the "Connexion" (mis)-guide.

       There is a current discussion on "The Anglo-French Forum", which you may find useful.

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Hi,

       As an indication of the quality of their tax advice , the "Connexion" has already had to publish a correction on their web-site to the £/€ rate they published in the April printed version. Instead of the printed figure of 1.2297, they have now given a revised figure of 1.12297. Imagine the confusion which will now ensue on the forums! But pity the "Connexion " readers who don't have internet access , as by the time the printed correction comes out they may well have submitted their declarations!

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Parsnips,

Thanks for that - I will take due note and hope its OK.  Each time I look at Connexion (we got a free copy again recently), I find I don't like it, maybe my innate knowledge is telling me something.

I do remember the previous correction on the forum re the rate, and whilst I can accept typos happen, things like that should be proof read very well indeed.

I must confess that, compared to the only UK tax form I've had to fill in recently (always being employed and no other earnings, on PAYE I never filled in a tax form for the last 20 yrs until I retired), the French forms do seem to be very complicated indeed.  But I suppose that's French bureaucracy for you - got to keep the little darlings employed, somehow!!!

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I would agree with Parsnips about the Connection's fallibility  but on other issues.

Is this your first Return Judith? If it is you have to do it on paper, but other wise I always declare on-line ( keeping copies of each screen as well as the final page).

You can make changes so much more easily on screen.

Even if you do have to  declare  on paper  as the official version you can still try a simulation on screen.

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Norman,

Not it's not, but actually it's my husband's, and he has copied what he was told by a tax official the first time he had to do it, and when I tried to put me onto it last year he didn't want to change anything and I had no idea what to do.  As I only had two months of very small pension to put in so I didn't worry too much for that year, but this year I want it to be right, so it looks as though I will have to fill it in for him.  I can see I am going to have quite a struggle on my hands, but it will be worth it, as once done, it is not likely to change much year on year.

 I will look at the online application, but I suspect it may be easier this year to continue with the paper one.

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[quote user="sweet 17"]Au contraire, Judith, the French forms are relatively straightforward, being only 4 pages long.  The UK ones, on the other hand, come stapled into a thick book![/quote]

They must have changed then, as the last one I did was not big and heavy at all......but as I said, I did not have any complicated finances at all.

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  • 1 month later...

Judith - somebody sent me a copy of this in the post.  The newspaper closely resembles the Grauniad, imo! It certainly appears to bear little resemblance to Connextion.

I agree the tax guide looks pretty good to me and well presented (and it quotes the conversion rate as the day you receive the money![:D])

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For me the hardest part is preparing the figures. Finding all the necessary papers, statements etc, getting my head around and calculating for the 2 different dates of financial year, changing from pounds to euros etc

Once that is done, it's a doddle to enter the figures onto the forms, just copy from last year.

Though I suppose it depends where your income comes from.

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Pat, I don't know if this is going to help, but you never know - ignore it if not!

The tax year thing used to challenge me until I got it into my head that here one declares any money one has received in the calendar year and ultimately, that is all that counts.  I get out my bank statements for the year and every time  there's a credit which represents income I look at the date, check the £/€ rate for that day, calculate the amount in Euros  and write it down under whichever heading applies (pension/salary; whether payable in France or the UK; interest payment, whatever) and whose income it was (mine or my o/h's).

Then just add 'em all up and enter them in whichever box applies.

I used to drive myself nuts by looking at my annual income as it appeared on my P60 from the UK and trying to work out which proportion applied to the calendar year etc but it's not really relevant - all that matters is that every bit of money you've received in the calendar year is declared.  Once the transition year has passed then stop trying to relate it to the UK - you're in France now!

Now I'm going to duck whilst loads of people tell me why my system is wrong.....[:-))]

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[quote user="David"]I wonder if anyone can tell me which boxes I should put my incapacity benefit in?

Many thanks,

David[/quote]

Front page of form 2047 under Pensions, Retraites, Rentes. Then transfer this figure to form 2042, box 1AS (it's on page 3)

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That's a good way of doing it , Coops. I might try it. Except that husband and I have separate uk bank accounts, but I suppose I can get around that. We don't have paper statements now either..

Must get a new battery for the pocket calculator too!

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[quote user="Patf"] Except that husband and I have separate uk bank accounts, but I suppose I can get around that. [/quote]That shouldn't matter - it might even work in your favour especially if, like us, you each get all of your individual incomes paid into different accounts.  Thus everything on his statement is declared under his columns and yours as the conjoint.  That's how I do it.  Because anyway as your joint incomes get added up and divided again, it's hardly horribly fraudulent if the incomes get mixed up a bit - so long as you declare it all the impots will get the same amount of money out of you!

It works just as well with on-line statements as paper ones.[:)]

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Having now qualified for my  E121 form last year I notice that the Connexion guide (item B) tells you to complete page 4 section V111 on the 2047 form if you have an old age pension and the E121 and then copy the figure over to form 2042 page 4 section 8 box TL. (To avoid CRDS charges)

(I was told in the past NEVER to fill in box TL (2042) if I had an E121 or I WOULD incur CRDS charges!)

 If  this is the case, as my wife also holds an E121 form can I  assume that it is our total income figure that we  fill in these boxes & not just your our state pension figures?

One other query.

 My wife has a  teachers pension which is therefore taxed in the UK. As she is a French national  the authorities insist that she must be taxed here as well (after long discussions with the authorities on both sides of  the channel it was agreed that she could claim back a credit for the UK tax paid  to be offset against her French tax charge - it is all a question of interpretation of the relevant sections of the Double Taxation Treaty  - dont ever go there , we have had 2 nightmare years paying double tax trying to sort it out!) Am I right in thinking that the income from her teachers pension should therefore go into box TK page 4 section 8 form 2042 in order to gain this tax credit ?

Can anyone advise please.

Thanks.

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I'm not going to bother getting the definitive exchange rate this year.

My pension is paid directly into my French bank so I just tot up the twelve euro credits from my bank statements. 

My UK bank have sent me my annual tax certificate showing gross interest earned of £1.16 so I reckon parity will be near enough......[;-)]

 

 

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Shame on you SD [:)].  I thought that, in your guise as the Forum Guru, you defined the exchange rate as a public service to the Forum!

[B]  [Www]

 

p.s.  Sorry about the beer in the header - don't know how it got there, and cannot find out how to delete it.

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As this is the first year with an E121 have followed the advice to put no amount 2047 but just checking that also means you do not put an amount in 8TL either. Seems obvious but thought I had better check !!!!

Have kept a monthly chart of income and totals are so much easier [:D]

 But as Sunday driver says Mme Impot is going to wonder at the dip in savings interest declared but guess they have heard of the crise  too !!! [:(]

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