2016 Exchange Rate for Tax Forms

Can anyone please tell me the ‘official’ exchange for 2016 to use for tax purposes. Normally my local impôts office provides this but they didn’t know it, couldn’t find any information so gave me 2015’s figures ! Incroyable .

Thank you for the information Reeve :slight_smile:

I’ve seen figures posted between 1.17 and 1.27, none of these are particularly useful.

I’ve trawled through various banks and currency sites as well as the HMRC site and although they differ, 1.22 seems to be about right so that’s what I’ll use.

Don’t you just love this time of year :wink:

I can’t think why a tax office wouldn’t give you their applicable rate but, if they can’t, then use the INSEE (National Institue of Statistics and Economic Studies) average monthly rates, annualised = 1.22455 . Just quote your source in the remarks section of your main 2042 return.

Link : INSEE Rates of the British Pound against the Euro - Monthly averages

The European Central Bank ( ECB ) publishes daily flat exchange rates. I think you can get averages over given periods of time too.

http://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/policy_and_exchange_rates/euro_reference_exchange_rates/html/eurofxref-graph-gbp.en.html

Probably best to use a French source…:slight_smile:

Thank you everyone, I will be using 1,224 as my figure.

I have never been asked to quote sources, in fact last year was the first time I received the ‘Pink Form’ and my Impôts office were very helpful with advice on completing it. I think that I shocked them this year by asking for the figures before I had received the forms :wink:

Best to use the Banque de France official rate. This is usually accepted as the closing rate for 31st December in the prior year (ie end of December 2015 [so therefore effectively the opening rate for 2016] and the closing rate at the end of December 2016).

This is the link for the Banque de France site: https://www.banque-france.fr/statistiques/taux-et-cours/les-taux-de-change-salle-des-marches/parites-quotidiennes

Using these figures, the rate €/GBP on 31/12/2015 was 0.7260 and on 30/12/2016 was 0.8562. Added together this makes 1.5822 then divided by 2 to average over the year makes 0.7911. To give the figure in £’s, divide 1 by 0.7911 to give 1.2640 which is the rate to use on the tax form.

No Graham - you would only use December closing / Jan opening rates for ISF wealth tax calculations. To suggest dividing by 2 gives an annual average is just plain wrong Graham.

Income tax exchange rates are generally the average monthly rates for the year in question, annualised - it doesn’t really matter if it’s the INSEE or BdeF rates - same source!

Anyway you do whatever you like - I’ll be using the official INSEE rate of 1.22455 - much nicer than yours!! :slight_smile:

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academic exercise for us Simon as we are poor pensioners… our pension incomes are below the rate at which the French levy any tax :laughing:

I keep a record of the rates I got when I changed my pension into euros and use that. I have never declared the rates and they have never asked for them.

That’s just fine Richard - it’s perfectly ok to use the exchange rate prevalent on the date of any transaction - so long as you can prove it if questioned. That can get a bit complicated and time consuming for some people so they can use average annualised rates instead.

I’m devious…:wink:… I make a spreadsheet and use the daily rate… and then see what results the average annual rate would give me. Whichever works best for me, that is the one I use for my Declaration…:innocent:

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I called up the Administration’s tax line : 08 10 46 76 87 (they are pretty quick to respond, I only had to wait around 5 minutes).

The rep advised me to use the average rate on the Banque de France website. I clarified that if I took the overall average of the 12 monthly averages in 2016, would it be okay? She said yes.

You can access the exchange tables here : https://www.banque-france.fr/statistiques/taux-et-cours/les-taux-de-change-salle-des-marches/parites-moyenne-mensuelle (there is a link to access rates from past years)

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If it helps The Connexion French to English monthly newspaper print a currency figure on the “Practical:Money” page. This year pg 41 offers £0.7951 =1€ or 1.2578€=£1

My situation is currently the reverse of what many of you experience in as much that I am paying my tax in UK (GBP) but have income from European countries (EUR).
For my returns in UK I use HMRC rates (from their web-site) for the exact daily rate on the date of transactions.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/exchange-rates-for-customs-and-vat

LOL ! Won’t be using that one then - I think they just make it up!! :slight_smile:

I’m with Stella on exchange rates [quote=“smw, post:16, topic:15564”]
I’m devious…:wink:… I make a spreadsheet and use the daily rate… and then see what results the average annual rate would give me. Whichever works best for me, that is the one I use for my Declaration…:innocent:
[/quote]

(Although ‘officially’ you should be using the Banque de France / INSEE official rates)

@anon88888878 Interesting article from The Connexion:
Outlines exact;y the formula I proposed which you dissed as rubbish…

I’m sure I got the formula from a source other than The Connexion… but there you go :grin:

I think​ you better have a re-read Graham - that is not at all what you proposed!

I suggest you simply use whatever rate you like :slight_smile: