Can I ask if anyone else is having the technical problems with the section for credits impôts? It obviously is causing problems and the technical advice to change browsers or computers is not terribly helpful. (I am using a MacBook Air laptop) We have declared for years on line, but are now blocked half way through the process by what is clearly a known systems error. We have used the messagerie, but had no reply yet. We returned permanently to England at the end of February so can’t do any visits to the tax office. Does anyone have any advice for practical help?
If you get no joy from the messagerie/the irritating glitches do not disappear, if all else fails,. especially as time marches on, why not consider making a suitable disclosure in the online mention expresse section? You could reference ‘problèmes informatiques’.and could list the significant ‘employment’ expenses totals you wish to obtain tax relief on,.and refer to the relevant box numbers etc.
Best of luck with what sounds like a very frustrating situation..
Thank you George, that is really helpful. We had managed to fill in 2047 and reporter, put in 1AM, 1BM and 1BL, but are blocked by a pull down menu with multiple choices in the Credit d’impot and Avance Immédiate boxes, which are normally autofilled.
I have never noticed the “mention expresse”, is it easy to find?
Apart from the 2025 income figures and the crédit impôt for support for my husband’s illness and disability, everything is the same as the 2024 declaration. It is indeed really worrying and frustrating.
That is what I have been doing to declare my QROP (Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme) based in Malta, on advice from my financial advisors.
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Or if you’re really stuck, digitally speaking, print off the forms and submit a paper return.
Again explaining in the Mention Exprese that you had technical problems.
The mention expresse section comes very near the end of the main tax form. So if you can’t reach that point because the system won’t let you move forward….
Yes I had wondered about still being stuck. I hope the Messagerie would look at what we have done. Thank you that is also very helpful about the paper copy. From googling I can see there is a different address for non residents.
I wasn’t taxed in the UK on interest for 4 years, then suddenly I was. That’s when I filled in FF1. I needed to prove I was actually paying tax in France to avoid being double- taxed.
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As @Helenochka says, it’s found near the very end of the online return filing process. To be more accurate, in the on-line version, it’s usually a text box headed up something like ‘observations ou commentaires’ and you can enter any information you want to draw to the attention of the tax office.
We have never included pensions on the 3916
Because why declare it twice? If it’s in payment it’s an income stream not a repository. So reported as income. Otherwise you’re kind of doible counting.
Though I fill out a paper form, and when I enter income source is described and I add in Notes box anyway a summary list and any calculations.
There is a level of ambiguity if not in payment and for an employers DB scheme as you don’t have control till it’s income I might leave it till then and obvs declare as income. I thought about AVC’s but as you can take as lump sum or income I think method should follow the DB.
And DC schemes I guess need to be declared somewhere whilst accruing (ie not paying out) and as I’m wary of calling them an Assursnce Vie because not quite the same, so I’d think about it, then if they don’t fit into Assursnce Vie then 3916 also with a note that the account is pension savings in the Notes field.
I am not a tax expert however and I’d personally like to have a few more of these problems…..
3916 is an interesting subject it seems. Some folk do put pensions on it, some don’t. George referred to that above, and equally that he was unaware of any definitive on it. For my part, I’m going to because a) it was asked for by my impôts office, and b) I see a sense to it.
I accept it might be duplication… if you’ve filed an FFI. And if you haven’t (and it’s not obligatory to do so) then that’s where I see the sense in it.
I’m no expert either and hence rely on advice and guidance. Besides, putting pensions company info on the 3916 is no hassle, costs me nothing, so I’m happy to jump through those hoops.
Foreign pensions are not subject to social charges if you’re past the age of retirement in France or we would have been paying an extra 8% odd extra tax on all of our income for the past 10 years. Don’t know where you got that one…?
So this is NOT being contentious, simply passing on our experience … for the umpteenth year in a row we have just had our tax return done online by the services person who does it every year for the princely sum of €70. We have seven pensions and an annuity coming in as well as not infrequent charitable donations that need to be accounted for and frankly for that money I just couldn’t be bothered.
Having sent her the numbers our return was done online within 48 hours, and immediately after that we had our notification, also online, of the additional tax that would be due in September so that we can plan for that.
Oh and the exchange rate of 1.1697 that I arrived at by doing a monthly average from the ECB website was accepted without query.
As my sister in law is wont to say, if you’ve got a problem that can be fixed with money then it isn’t a problem is it . Mind you she has significantly deeper pockets than we do….
And neither is this being contentious, but having been selected for a random fisc control once I like to be sure that I understand that my tax return is correct. The biggest time demand is collecting the papers/justifications of the amounts, which no one can do for you. Then putting the numbers in the boxes doesn’t take long, so that 70€ is probably an hourly rate around €500. And their small print no doubt says they take no responsibility for errors.
Sorry, I’m not following. What are you referring to?
As we all know, foreign pensions are not subject to CSG/CRDS if you hold an S1.
Nor are the pensions of former fonctionnaires internationaux who have full private health insurance with the international organisation they used to work for.
Nor is anyone with a foreign pension and full private health cover (e.g. George).
What I just discovered is that serving fonctionnaires internationaux who are affiliated (through no choice of their own) to their organisation’s health insurance scheme are exempt from CSG/CRDS on “revenus du patrimoine” (eg bank interest, capital gains on the disposal of shares or a second home, rental income, etc.).
The relevant case law is de Ruyter (CJUE), which was extended to fonctionnaires internationaux by Conseil d’Etat decision no. 432985 of 9 September 2020.
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Well I guess it depends how complicated your return is. If it’s UK pension monies (or even UK salaries taxed at source if anyone is foolish enough to be doing that) and a few charitable contributions then there’s nothing to worry about. And doing an online return properly as well as skimming the numbers the client presents (and they’ve found the odd error in previous years) is easily an hour’s work with overheads.
If I get inspected I’ll worry about it at the time…it’s not like they’re coming round to lock me up is it. And we have been queried in the past when making significant charitable donations to the local SPA - frankly it was a non-event.
What you said Helenochka was…”Interest on foreign accounts are subject to social charges. As are foreign pensions (except government pensions, eg police officers, teachers).”
I simply pointed out that foreign pensions for legal aged retirees are not subject to social charges. And by the way Wise cashback isn’t income, it’s a charges reduction. I’ve had the discussion with the tax authorities.
And to all those people who have said they don’t declare their Wise account, whether you like it or not it’s a bank account whatever you use it for and needs to be declared. For anybody that doesn’t know there is actually a central registry that lists every single bank account declared for every single resident in the country. When someone dies, part of the notaire’s responsibility is to consult that database and obtain details of the balances of any accounts to which they were a party, on the basis that depending on their marriage regime, at least 50% of the balance at their date of death is directly attributable to their estate and any potential tax or inheritance liability thereto.
It’s why it’s a good idea with a joint bank account to have it designated as “Mr or Mrs” because it its “Mr and Mrs* the account could and should be frozen on the death of one of the parties whereas the “or” designation allows its continued use by the survivor.
I know plenty of people with foreign pensions who pay the full whack in social charges. Not everyone who’s retired in France has an S1. Some of us have worked here and France is our competent state so no S1.
Are people with an S1 subject to the prélèvement de solidarité (7.5%)? If not, happy days!
Ah, yes, I see they don’t have to pay it on pension income. Wunderbar. So what I should have said was “non-S1-holders with foreign pensions are subject to social charges”. My apologies.
Wow. How weirdly rude.
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The point of a forum is that you hear different views. Youre never going to find that everyone agrees with you, sadly.