The annual French tax declaration is no-one's favourite task, but some foreign residents of France are under the impression that it doesn't apply to them or that they don't need to declare everything.
We look at some of the most common misconceptions about the French system.
Who has to do it?
This is the big one – there are many foreign residents or frequent visitors to France who are currently under the mistaken impression that they don't need to file the annual return.
Tax is complicated but the basic rule of thumb is that if you spend a significant amount of time in France – even if you don't earn an income here – you may have to file an annual return.
Even salaried employees – whose income is taxed at source – also have the file the annual return, at least for now.
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French tax expert Alex Romaine, of Charles Hamer French Tax Services Ltd, said: “The first thing is to establish if you fall under French tax rules and this can be quite complicated so I would always suggest that people seek professional advice.
“Full time residents of France are – unless there are very unusual circumstances – likely to fall under the French system. For second home owners if they spend more than 180 days a year in France they could also be considered tax resident – so it's important to check and not simply assume that you don't need to file a return in France.
“And there are many people who fall under both the French system and the system in their home country. So if you're not filing a return in France you need to check that you definitely don't need to.”
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And what do you need to declare?
Basically everything.
Alex Romaine is French tax agent at Charles Hamer French Tax Services Ltd.
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