Effect of UK pensions kicking in

Ah, I just remembered- the first time we went he said to scan them and e-mail it to an address (some sort of customer service).

So you could do that if it’s a long way?

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They’ve recently consolidated our tax offices so it might be sensible to go in to suss out the new arrangements, if nothing else!

Thanks for the encouragement!

No probs - and I remember once stamped I scanned them and emailed them to Mme who was in the UK who then put them in the post to HMRC, so HMRC also seems to accept scanned copies - in the post.

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a “decently” scanned document is often difficult to distinguish from the original - especially if it is scanned and printed in colour on a laser printer… :thinking:

I agree! I always try to do that :smiley:

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Hi All

I started receiving my UK state pension in January and won’t be taxed on it in the UK as it is below the tax threshold and. I don’t have any other UK pension (I cashed all my private pension in when we moved to France in 2015) and paid just 7.5% on it as we had private medical cover.)

I will need to take a look at my UK tax code as it was T0 in 2015 after filling in the France individual form. This might be relèvent for my wife when she gets her UK state pension in a couple of years as she also gets an UK Universities pension.

Thanks for the info

Reds

Nick

if it is the same as a Teacher’s Pension - a UK Govt Service pension - it should only be taxed in the UK under the Double Taxation Agreement between the UK and France (which has survived Brexshit). You must still declare the income in France in the correct place on your French tax return (which is for both of you, unlike the UK). Your income as a couple (2 parts) will be assessed to see whether you need to pay tax on your joint income.
In the UK, individuals are taxed with their own free pay allowance and not as a couple so provided the total amount of pension - UK State and University Pension together amount to less than the free pay allowance, she might well not have to pay tax there.

If you are tax resident in France, you should not be paying tax on the UK State Pension in UK as it is assessed for tax in France provided you have completed the France-Individual DTA forms, had it stamped by your loca French tax office and returned to HMRC, as set out earlier in this topic.

It depends which University pension scheme she is in. My wife’s USS pension isn’t taxable in the UK and so is taxed in France. Not sure about the others.

Hi All

Correct it is a USs pension not taxable in UK so if I have this right when she gets the Uk state pension then that will not be taxable in the Uk so she will not need to update her France individual form.

This is unnecessarily complicated.

Regards

Nick

That’s right, older universities tend to be USS pensions, which are taxable here in France, whereas the post- 1993 universities (former polys and colleges of HE) are usually Teachers’ Pension Fund, which is a govt pension taxed at source in the UK

Wondering how people have gone about declaring in France the tax free lump sum part of UK government pensions?

Adding a reasonable lump sum (say 40K) to worldwide income would send the effective tax rate through the roof and massively increase tax on French taxable income for that year, e.g. a ‘non-government’ pension. Doesn’t seem fair, at the least, but hey…

I recall I was corresponding with a SF member who had taken their teachers pension in France and I think they said they had put the lump sum down to be taxed in the 7.5% flat rate section - which I now realise would be at the least technically incorrect - but maybe better than having the effective 40% tax rate on the France taxed UK pension?

Perhaps an outer might be to argue as it’s not taxable in UK or France it doesn’t get included in worldwide income? Maybe grasping at straws here…

Could you explain why that would be incorrect, please?

Because the lump sum would not be taxable in France in the first place, so you couldn’t ask for it to be taxed at a 7.5% rate?

Presumably only lump sums from pensions taxable in France would be eligible for the flat rate tax?

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[quote=“larkswood12, post:33, topic:38653, full:true”]
“Because the lump sum would not be taxable in France in the first place”

when one makes the Annual Declaration of Worldwide Income… surely one has to mention all sums of money which have flowed into the coffers during the previous 12 months… ??? and then France decides what Tax (if any) to charge… or have I missed something…??

Yes, that seems to be the case on the face of it - maybe one can ‘mention it’ to the tax inspector and if they say don’t include it in the non taxable foreign income field then great!

And I could ask them in advance, coz with this particular gov pension taking a lump sum is an option - but could be a very useful option for the house buying fund!

or indeed also ask the inspector if it can be taxed at 7.5% flat rate!

Lucky you, my lump sum was just over £1000 but I understood it wasn’t taxable.

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It never hurts to raise a question with the French Tax Folk… they are not ogres and will tell you what to put where… (or so I have found in the past…).

Ah! I do appreciate I am lucky - and I thank all SF members for their kind responses. Lucky for being born and working at a time when public sector (and some private) final salary pensions were available (NHS still is).

I was transferred out of the local government pension I refer to a couple of years ago and the substitute money purchase scheme is of course a lot less (though of course another source for house purchase funds). Still, the constraints and pressures on our children just mount and mount. My daughter is striking to try to protect the USS.

I see you moved to France same time as us - and that’s my greatest luck, getting the CdS all sorted with the good advice from SF contributors. Long may that continue…

My bad luck is - Brexit!

According to frenchproperty.com the lump sum is not taxable but you need to put it in the right place on the tax form.