Basic Question on Paying Tax

[Sarahd]

LAST EDITED ON 14-Nov-02 AT 07:02 PM (GMT)

My husband & I moved to a house in France in July of this year and were planning to sort out all necessary formalities (payment of tax etc.) in the first few months.

My husband has been very unwell (he suffers from a serious long term illness and is disabled) but we had to return to the U.K. for hubby to receive medical treatment.

Now we are back in France (we will share our time 50/50 between France & England - we have a small flat in the U.K. ) and I need to sort out tax arrangements over here.

I need to contact ASAP necessary agencies over here to pay Fonciere & Habitation taxes. I think these are the normal "non-income tax" taxes you have to pay for local services/rates etc. in France.

Can anyone point me in the correct direction? I am quite happy to write basic letters in French so intend to make contact by leter - my spoken French is not as good so prefer not to phone or turn up in person.

Also my husband receives a Pension & disability allowance from his employers in England - as we intend, for the moment, to remain U.K. Citizens I presume such income can remain taxed at source in the U.K.?

Sorry to ask perhaps a very basic question but any guidance/advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

Sarah.

[Mjc]

I believe my following answer to be correct, but others will update me if I am wrong.
Taxe d'habitation is payable by the person living in the property on 1st January each year, so you will have nothing to pay in 2002 as you only became "resident" after that date.
I think the same also applies to taxe fonceiere.
As for you UK paid tax, this is a little trickier. You will be taxable on your income in your country of domicile, which means (roughly) the country in which you have your main residence. If you are going to spend your time 50/50 in UK/France, make sure that it is nearer 51/49 in favour of the country where you would prefer to be taxed, since it would then be easier to claim that as you domicile - but not definitively!
Good luck.

[Chico]

Hi Sarah,

I am not sure whether you have a special reason to sort out your taxe fonciere and taxe dhabitation early. Unless you have a special reason to know what you are going to have to pay, you can just wait in the certain knowledge that the tax authorities will come to you when they want their money.

I understand that it is the responsibility of the notaire to advise the authorities of a change of ownership (or residence) at the time the ownership is transferred.

Our French house is in the Vaucluse, in Provence and we bought it in early December last year. I was told that the demands for the two taxes would arrive in October 2002 to cover the period from 1/1/2002. Sure enough, the demand for the taxe fonciere arrived at the beginning of October with a note that it would be surcharged by 10% if it wasnt paid by the 15th October. Unfortunately, presumably on the advice of the notaire, it was sent to my address in England, so the first we heard of it was when we arrived back in England in November.

On the advice of a French neighbour I paid up by TIP to the Marseilles centre and wrote to the admin centre in Avignon asking for the necessary forms to pay by direct debit next year and begging them ever so humbly to give me a break over the 10% surcharge this year. If they do apply the surcharge, I gather it will be added to my bill next year.

I have heard nothing about the tax dhabitation yet.

I suggest you have a word with the notaire if you really need to know. Or it may be a nice ice-breaker to ask a neighbour when they usually get their demands. I would be surprised if they do not fall over themselves to help you over such a vital subject, ie, the authorities wanting your money.

Good luck,

Chico

[Patflan]

Having moved to France and left the UK tax system and joined the French I can help you a bit. You must decide where it would be best to pay tax and establish your residence for tax purposes accordingly. The two systems are different. In France there is no PAYE and you pay around the middle of October based on your income in the previous calendar year. If you opt for France you need to start by filling in a UK P85 and a FRA 2. The second form is two part in English and in French. Bothe parts are filled in with the same information. You lodge this at your local Hotel des Impots who register you in the French system sending the form to Paris who then send the English section back to the Inland Revenue. You can then get all UK income except share dividends and Pensions from UK Government employment paid free of UK tax. You can also reclaim tax already paid but relating to the periods after you left UK.
In the UK tax for non residents is looked after by the Centre for Non-Residents, Fitz Roy House,PO Box 46 Nottingham NG2 1BD
Tel:01159742074. Once theyhave sorted you out you come under the Bootle Office. I have found them veryeasy to deal with on the phone.
Hope this helps
Patflan