Effect of recent PACS on the next tax return

Banking & Financial Tax & Social charges
#1

My partner and I have filled in separate tax returns (on-line for the past two or 3 years) and last summer decided to become PACSed.
This is a bit in advance, but I like to be prepared before we fill in the forms this spring.

I know that most couples fill in one tax form with two columns to represent the situation for their foyer. However, since we have always done this separately, does it mean that we know have to do a joint one, and if so, whose responsibility is it? I am hoping to be able to carry on as we are but can well see that we might not be able to. If anyone has experience of this sort of thing, I’d really appreciate any information you have to offer.

#2

We are married, but didn’t take up full residence in France in the same year (elderly mother in UK rather than family squabble). So OH had to do a sole tax return. Took a while to get tax office to grasp it - kept wanting him to tick the divorced box - but they got there. But were only allowed to do this for one year.

You have to tell them that you want to declare separately in the year of your marriage, so I guess that’s the same with PACs? But again I think you can only do this for a year.

And this is France, so who do you think is responsible? Why, surprise, surprise it’s the man!!

#3

I’m not sure there’s any benefit in that Angela, just twice the form filling.

After becoming tax resident here in 2011 I filled in one tax form for my wife, myself and we claimed for my daughter, who was at university abroad. My wife passed away in December 2013 so for 2014, 15, 16 and 17 I filled in one form for myself but claimed for my daughter studying abroad until she was 25. A rather nice and empathetic touch by the Impots is that if you’re supporting kiddies and your partner passes away you still get their “part” until your kiddies fly the nest (or turn 25). Then I was PACS’s in 2018 and married in 2019, so we had a split year in 2018 with two tax returns for the first half and a single one for the second half and we’ve carried on like that, albeit having informed the Impots of our change of status. The move from PACS to marriage was for pension planning reasons.

#4

Thank you both, Jane and John, for sharing your experiences. I really appreciate it. The upshot seems to be that we can do separate returns (as indeed I imagine we’ll be notified separately in any case) for last year - being the year in which we became PACSed? Then thereafter it will be a joint return?
One of the reasons I was wondering about it all is because the home we are sharing is mine (my partner has a house elsewhere which we are treating as a maison secondaire).
We have separate tax numbers of course at the moment and I pay the Tax Fonciere as the proprietor. Does this mean that my tax number will become redundant and I lose control of my own tax affairs? That is putting it a bit dramatically, I know, but having reached nearly 70 and always looking after my own finances even during my earlier marriage, it would take some getting used to :smiley:

#5

If you are pacsed you HAVE to fill in a joint declaration, but what you put on it is still in two columns so everyone knows whose assets are whose. However your income is considered as a whole.

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#6

Exactly, although the first year, or part of, you can still keep things separate (if I remember correctly and if that hasn’t changed) but after that you have to declare as a foyer, both listed separately but on the same joint tax return/declaration. :wink:

#7

Yes, you have the year…

#8

That’s very clear - thank you so much Vero, Andrew and Jane. I like the idea of a “new” foyer - I can cope with that!