Will an accountant be able to advise?

[Pamela]

Having done (what seems like!) 100s of hours research into the tax / investment / cotisation implications of our projected income plans for when we move to France, we still don't feel 100% confident that we have found out everything we need to know and that we wont meet a nasty surprise which will remove another chunk of our income - leaving us under budget for our living expenses!

Our plans involve me working as a freelancer for my existing employer - and maybe some others too.  My husband won't work because his French wouldnt be up to converting his qualifications etc. into French ones (gas, electric etc.).  He will be due a pension in about 10 years.

We will also have some money to invest for income and are looking at Assurance Vie as a way forward here.

We are due to visit France in October and are thinking of making an appointment with an English speaking, french accountant to answer some of our questions

e.g. what's the caisse I would register with, exactly WHAT cotisations/tax would I be paying on an income of x euros, what would be the implications of earning more / less, can you recommend an Assurance Vie - how much does it cost to set up etc. and any other questions that may be relevant.

However I wondered if anyone knew whether a) these are the sorts of issues an accountant could clarify (and are they likely to be correct!) b) how much they are likely to charge for a 1 hour consultation say and c) whether we would be just as well to visit the URSAAF office in Angouleme which is offering an english speaking advisor for free.

Any thoughts anyone?

Many thanks

Pamela

[Will]

I think you would be well advised to find a French accountancy practice with English-speaking staff who understand the UK system as well as the French. We use one, but it is based near Rennes so may be too far from you.

You will definitely need to register in France, though from what you say you may be able to get an E101 which will put this off for a year or so while you settle and see how things work. The caisse with which you register depends on what you do, there will be different caisses for health, retirement etc and the rest payable to URSSAF. Our accountant reckons on 46% of what comes in goes straight out on cotisations - ten you may be liable for tax on what's left. The big issue on earning more or less depends on whether or not you can operate as a micro business, though even if your income is below the threshold it may be worth your while going for the normal regime as this can have advantages with TVA - our accountant suggested this and he was right.

[Pangur]

My husband was in a similar situation - his company didn't want him to freelance, so he had to set up a representative company here.  Like you, we tried to get as much info as possible before coming and were terrified of getting the sums wrong. 

Walked into the local accountant's office, explained the situation, he took down a large book, consulted it and said, no problem.  They sat down and worked out roughly what he would owe to the different people (after a year, there have been no nasty surprises).  Any strange forms that arrived, he'd bring them down to the accountant and they dealt with it all.   I have other friends with French accountants and it is the same - give us your paperwork, that's what you pay us for.  And what have we paid?  €350 a year, which includes the production of a proper payslip every month with detailed breakdowns and the answering of many, many questions.   

Ok, they're not English speaking - but I'm sure if you called a few practices, you might get someone who could do it in English.  Or, find someone who'll translate.  I'm assuming that accountants who specialise in helping migrants charge a petty hefty premium!