Cool…I understand a bit more now and make sense…obviously i will do the right thing so i dont have any surprises. Maybe I should call the french tax office and ask directly to them? I spoked to few accountants but seems they are not clear on the subject.
Also I do not really earn a lot and in France like in Uk the first 11000 euro are not taxable for corporation tax I think.
Not sure if I should keep the uk limited company or will be more cost effective to start fresh here as a self employed.
Social charges shouldn’t be too high if you do not earn a lot i guess ?
Do I need a work permit even with my European passport?
Thank you
do your research before you make any decision.
it’s not just the money, the admin burden in France can do your head in. cf various threads.
also consider how long you will continue the activity, where are you intending to accrue pension contributions look very, very carefully at this. If you’ve got a competent accountant in the UK then they will have a view on this.
thanks again …I do have a great accountant in uk but I also have to pay a french accountant when i do my declaration? also do i need a work permit with an european passport ?
Not sure about pension…i doubt i will be alive when I reach pension age so I m not worried.
I would like to speak to someone but seems a grey area for everyone.
Speaking directly with french tax office wont be easier you think?
Also if I have to pay tax in France they will deduct what i already paid in uk? Sorry so many questions and i have been looking and researching online but far too confusing and for this sort of thing i find better to talk to someone
Hey Vero, I’m no expert, and this advice/approach was given to me by this accountancy practice. They affirmed there was nothing dodgy or illegal about this but given it’s such a big decision for us as a family – with potential huge ramifications – I wanted to reach out here to ask what people’s opinions/thoughts were on the matter.
Hey Pat, I’d suggest contacting a bunch of accountancy firms, both French and British, to find out more. From the conversations I’ve had to date, people have different opinions on the matter and there doesn’t seem to be a general consensus amongst these professionals about how best to set-up and work in France as a Director of a UK company. It’s all rather confusing I have to say!
If one lives in France, one must be:
Prepared to Declare (to France) everything with financial value… one receives worldwide… every year.
Prepared to Pay (to France) all sorts of Social Taxes, Income Taxes… and Taxes of whatever sort… (and they can/do mount up)
Discussions with French Experts is possibly/probably the best way forward.
Despite all the above, or perhaps because of it… Life in France can be Wonderful… 
Hey Ben, I will…thank you
Nor am I. I am just a French person, I told you how it looks to me.
Hmm, News to me, sounds good - no corporation tax on first 11K -in fact sounds too good to be true…
…and it was.
First 12570 of personal income can be tax free though - if earned in UK of course, not UK.
Interesting question and Polite thought - why wouldn’t all French entrepreneurs be setting up UK companies instead of the French equivalent?
Thinking further, the company would have to pay the UK company maintenance fees etc, the French employer taxes and the company maintenance overhead - not massive, granted. You might benefit through dividends - but 19% corporation tax and then whatever France tax on dividends on top - don’t know. And as you mention, small earnings whether company or self employed… you could do the numbers if you check out the sites and the rates?
And mind you, paying the appropriate level of ‘UK salary’ would give you a years UK pension credit - there’s been threads here about whether the France pension system is less ‘benefiting’. And it would be interesting whether the UK company salary wouldn’t count for a pension credit if you lived in France - I haven’t seen anything which suggests otherwise.
I wish you good luck in your endeavours, decisions eh… 
Dear Larkswood, thank you for your kind message…I love this site.
I booked a meeting with a french accountant and he will explain everything to me…he deals with this sort of scenario all the time and most interesting he has a uk limited company for a separate business while he lives in France so will be an interesting chat lol.
Thank you for your message again
Also even if there are benefit having a uk limited company, well most people from France wouldn’t know unless they lived in uk and if you did not i guess would take too much time and effort to understand…people always feel safe to do things back home obviously.
Thank you
Thank you
Absolutely but like Ben says we can get different opinions from various accountancy firms so anyone here should look carefully before making any decisions.
I think for small earners not worth it to keep a uk limited company and possibly better to start a new one here or just register as a solo trader i think but for anyone with high earning ( sadly not my case lol) worth too look into it…Amazon and Starbucks are the proof lol
Thank you Karen for your message
Hey Pat, did you have any updates / info from the french accountant you spoke to? Still a bit in the dark as to what to do to be totally honest!
Isn’t it also that when you have a UK company but the actual admin is done from France, according to the EU law this UK company is considered to be domiciled in France and has to pay also its corporate taxes in France, not in UK?
For example, in Germany, this is the case and — because there’s no separate agreement between UK and Germany — they would also treat this UK Ltd not as a company but as a person (sole trader) in their law, which implies even higher rate of tax as you have to pay not only the profit tax in Germany but also the social contributions.
Can somebody elaborate if it’s the same in France?
Hello to all! I would like to know what the accountant with a UK LTD company said. I am the owner of a LTD non-resident company in the UK. Just arrived in France and had a daughter (I am Mexican and my wife is French).
Following extensive and thorough research, I am sure that I am not required to pay personal taxes in the UK. Instead, I need to pay taxes both for my LTD and personally in France.
I am in the how to pay taxes in Franse phase … Weird situation because I have my books in UK and in English…
Some articles related to the subject:
• INTM120070 - Company residence: 'Treaty non-resident' companies - HMRC internal manual - GOV.UK
• Change of view on the interpretation of the residence articles in sixteen Double Taxation Agreements - GOV.UK
Please, if anyone has an advise let me know.
Hello, go and see your local hôtel des impôts. Go with your wife as she is French she should know about it and be able to help you, you will be taxed as a unit anyway.
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@Pat99 What did that French accountant with a UK ltd accountant say? And if possible if they were good I would love to get their details and know their price. Thanks so much for any and all feedback. Best, Andrea.
@benmeaker @Pat99 . One year later almost, for the love of the God of Croissants, did you guys survive this and got any clarity on this in the end, if so, could I beg you to share how? I am almost crying with hysterical relief at, at least, having found these useful posts. The contradictions in professional accountancy firms advice both in France and UK plus the overload of inconsistent information with automated boxes missing the ones that fit my scenario is driving me nuts! I am French (sorry, our bad), director of a small UK cie ltd by guarantee, so exactly the same issues as you, with the added fun of being non profit meaning I risk losing a 3 year grant cycle of funding if I took options to restart a company, and my funding contracts cannot be legally transferred to a French branch even if i did have the money to register. AAAAAAAAAAAaaargh. Hoping to see a new post appear, as I write this, I hope that you both made it and are having a lovely ‘jour férié’ in a nice beach restaurant.