Taxe d'habitation & Income Tax

[Sharkster]

I have rented a house in France since Feb 2005.  I did not have any income (I lived of savings from a current account), until March 2006.  So far I have not registered for tax but since I have an income this year it needs to be done ASAP.  In addition we have not received any Taxe d'habitation demand but I am unsure if it is included in our rent, but am concerned we will have an outstanding bill (plus interest and fine possibly) for last year (no letter was ever received and my landlord has not mentioned any charges I need to pay).  Can somebody please explain the steps I need to take.  Additionally my income is earned outside the EU, so how do I register for social charges.  Unfortunately my French is still poor so an explanation for the tax office would probably not work

UPDATE

I have been reading more on the forums and would I be right in thinking since we moved in in Feb 2005 we would not have received a Taxe d'habitation bill last year since we did not occupy the house on Jan 1st and therefore have no outstanding bill as that bill would have been the landlords responsibility (having read that taxe d'habitation is paid in arrears).  Therefore anytime soon we should receive a taxe d'habitation bill for this year which will need to be paid by us.

[cooperlola]

I don't know what everybody else thinks, but my solution would be to get yourself a French speaking accountant, at least for the first year.  I use SFPN in Caen and they have sorted things out for me/ filled in the forms/made phone calls etc.  It cost me around 300 euros but was well worth it, espcially think so when I read of the problems so many on here have. I don't live near them, everything is conducted by phone, internet and post.  Others may be able to make similar recommendations on whom to use.

[Sunday Driver]

Sharkster

Taking things sequentially, when you arrived to live in France in February 2005 you became tax resident on the day you got your keys. You will have therefore been liable to pay tax on your worldwide income, ie the interest on your savings account, for the period Feb-Dec 2005.  You should have declared this on a 2005 Tax return which you should have submitted in April 2006. The form contains a section where you should have declared yourself resident as at 1 January and you would have received your current 2006 tax d'habitation bill about three weeks ago.

Social charges are applied against all of your worldwide income (calculated from your tax return) and you would have received a bill for them around the same time as your tax d'habitation bill.

Persons taking up residence in France are also required to register with the state healthcare system (CMU) within three months.  You do not say whether you have done this, but being a taxpayer makes the registration process simpler in terms of providing proof of income.  Based upon what you say, you may well have qualified for free base cover as well as free complimentaire top-up during your first "low income" year.

I suggest you visit your tax office in Spring 2007 when the tax declarations become available and discuss the matter with them - offer to include the 2005 "arrears" in the current year's declaration.  They are usually sympathetic to newcomers who haven't understood the system.  They often have English speaking staff available and keep a range of explanatory sheets in English to help.

 

 

[Sharkster]

Thanks Sunday Driver, do I need to wait until next year?  The amount in interest will be low since our survival money has been in a current account but I will offer to pay any overdues.  I am still on the lookout to see if we receive a taxe d'habitation bill and will pay it as soon as we receive it.  We only discovered n the last month we could use an e106 to get into the system and have just received our carte vitale's which will be valid until Jan.  Now I am in the system I should receive official letters which will help us get on the right track going forward.  Forunately we have been able to claim back our medical bills since we arrived although we have been told on 2 occasions (once by Newcastle when issuing the E106 and once by a long time resident who we spoke with when arranging our insurance mutuelle) that we could not do this, but we have received the % contribution from the social security system.  Thanks again.