Missed tax deadline

[Francofile1]

I’m trying to find out a little more about what to do, and what happens if you miss the deadline for submitting a tax return (which I believe may now be three months late) - as a non French resident. It would concern a modest amount of rental income for a first time tax payer in France (ie. Not already registered on the system).

Any help would be much appreciated.

Many thanks.

[Pickles]

Contact either a local tax office in France or:

CENTRE DES IMPOTS NON RESIDENTS NOISY-LE-GRAND

10 RUE DU CENTRE

TSA 10010 93465 NOISY-GD CEDEX

tél. : 01 57 33 83 00

Mél. [email protected]

They do answer emails.

Regards

Pickles

[Francofile1]

Are they helpful in this situation? And are the penalties very strict for a smallish amount that’s late?

Many thanks.

[Pickles]

[quote user="Francofile1"]Are they helpful in this situation? And are the penalties very strict for a smallish amount that’s late?

Many thanks.[/quote]

Basically, your situation is that you need to declare your French-sourced income. The deadline has passed. The sooner you get the forms, (which can also be downloaded from www.impots.gouv.fr), fill them in and return them, the sooner the clock will stop ticking on any interest that you may owe on any tax to which you may be liable on your French  income. As a non-resident, your tax rate will be 20% of the income after allowable expenses - note that you do NOT get the personal allowances that a French resident would get. I don't know whether any penalty in terms of a fixed fine is payable (à la HMRC) but interest certainly is. Similarly, the earlier you get on with it, the easier it will be for the taxman to believe that your error was in good faith. The later you leave it, the more the taxman would be inclined to believe that your action was deliberate. The interest is not going to amount to much.

Regards

Pickles

[Francofile1]

Thank you very much!

[phylisbide]

This has just rung a rather big bell - hadn't realised there was a deadline either - we have rented out our little house - originally for a few months but it has been extended to a year as tenant's new build has not progressed as fast as she thought. Rental commenced last November. What are the allowable expenses? - Can I assume that maintenance/repairs purchase of heating etc might be allowable? Is there anything else I might have overlooked? Advice please - I will of course download the forms as suggested earlier in this thread. As with the OP I am resident in UK most of the time. PB

[Pickles]

[quote user="phylisbide"]This has just rung a rather big bell - hadn't realised there was a deadline either - we have rented out our little house - originally for a few months but it has been extended to a year as tenant's new build has not progressed as fast as she thought. Rental commenced last November. What are the allowable expenses? - Can I assume that maintenance/repairs purchase of heating etc might be allowable? Is there anything else I might have overlooked? Advice please - I will of course download the forms as suggested earlier in this thread. As with the OP I am resident in UK most of the time. PB

[/quote]

Depends whether it is let furnished or unfurnished, and whether you choose to opt for the micro regime or regime réel. Micro is much simpler in terms of reporting but the allowance for all costs is a (high) fixed percentage of the income, so if your costs are very high then you may wish to opt into the regime réel, (but be aware that this ties you in to this regime for 3 years). In terms of what is allowable, all that is allowable is MAINTENANCE and REPAIRS, for which you must have bills and for which you are required to give details of the artisan/supplier on the tax form. If the property did not have central heating and you fitted it, then that counts as an IMPROVEMENT, which is to be set against an eventual capital gain and cannot be set off against income. Same applies for double glazing etc.

Regards

Pickles

[phylisbide]

House is let furnished . I would like to keep things as simple as possible so micro regime sounds more sensible I think. Can I choose this myself? I have artisan invoices for repairs; PB

[Pickles]

[quote user="phylisbide"]House is let furnished . I would like to keep things as simple as possible so micro regime sounds more sensible I think. Can I choose this myself? I have artisan invoices for repairs; PB

[/quote]

If it is furnished and below about 15K€, then micro is the default (regime réel is something that you opt in to), and you do not need invoices: there is a fixed allowance. If you do a search on micro regime on this site then you will find there is some info posted previously. IIRC, the fixed allowance for furnished lettings is about 70% - hence you are only paying tax on 30% of the income. Sorry. Tired today.

Regards

Pickles

[Francofile1]

Is it likely to be a problem if the small box at the end of the main tax form 2042 was not ticked? (ie. stating that a supplementary 2042C was being submitted). This may have been overlooked, but both forms were sent together..

Many thanks.

[Pickles]

[quote user="Francofile1"]Is it likely to be a problem if the small box at the end of the main tax form 2042 was not ticked? (ie. stating that a supplementary 2042C was being submitted). This may have been overlooked, but both forms were sent together.[/quote]

I doubt that this will be a problem.

Regards

Pickles

[Panda]

I would not like to disagree with Pickles as he always sounds very knowledgable but I did get all of my renovations offset against tax for my rented appartments.  This included things like heating, plumbing and new windows, I am still, 4 years on in a negative tax situations due to the costs of the works.  I simply submitted the bills along with my tax return  back in 2005 and since then the minus figure has been used as a basis for the enxt years tax after deduction of my current year.

[Pickles]

[quote user="Panda"]I would not like to disagree with Pickles as he always sounds very knowledgable but I did get all of my renovations offset against tax for my rented appartments.  This included things like heating, plumbing and new windows, I am still, 4 years on in a negative tax situations due to the costs of the works.  I simply submitted the bills along with my tax return  back in 2005 and since then the minus figure has been used as a basis for the enxt years tax after deduction of my current year.[/quote]

Thank-you to Panda for providing a concrete example: I am quite happy to stand corrected. There are specific schemes available for buy-to-let and buy-to-renovate-to-let, managed holiday lettings etc, but these change over time - the current ones are Borloo neuf/ancien, Robien recentré, Scellier. Older programmes covering these types of thing included Malraux (in particular for renovations). Eligibility for each of the various schemes depends on meeting certain criteria - sometimes regarding the rents etc.

From my limited dealings with the Fisc, I get the impression that the tax returns seem to be taken at face value by the taxman as a default position (ie you may be able to claim things that you are not entitled to), until (if) someone decides to do a controle. The guidance that I had received indicated that a distinction was drawn between improvements and repairs/replacements, and I would encourage the OP to ensure that they understand the tax position to ensure that the expenditure is reported in a way that it is favourably treated by the Fisc.

I do not imply that Panda is incorrect: certainly a loss (ie excess of expenditure over income) established four years ago would not be subsequently and retrospectively revoked. However, the tax law has changed over the last few years, and the routes open four years ago are not the same now.

Have a look HERE for the current schemes

Regards

Pickles