So I presume that you are spending under the threshold of days in the UK so are easily non-resident in UK and fully resident in France? So you are in the french Health System and not UK (unless UK pensioners of course)
I think the problem with the OPs plans is that what is suggested is does seem to fall firmly into remaining a resident in the UK - with ties of employment and accommodation, plus UK resident in previous year. Which then complicates matter if you want to work whilst in France for anything other than occasionally, as muddies the dual tax residency waters.
How is the employment issue squared with France, are you a posted worker, or taking income as a company director?
My work is international - actually mainly in Eastern Europe, but occasionally elsewhere - Asia, Africa, and sometimes Western Europe, including the UK - itās mainly writing and research done from home in France, punctuated by occasional trips, mainly these days to deliver training sessions to other professionals in my field (all now interrupted, of course, by the pandemic - I was supposed to be working mainly in Kosovo this year, but the whole project was postponed last March).
I havenāt done any jobs in France since moving here - although I had done a few projects in France previously - but I have worked in French - in Morocco!
Iām entirely resident in France Jane - indeed I rarely even visit the UK - but youāre right that in this respect (and a number of others) Marcinās situation is different from mine - hence my advice to contact a specialist dual-country accountant - but I thought it worth mentioning the point that dual tax residency might be an option.
In that case Geoff Iām a little concerned whether your tax affairs are being dealt with correctly. If your work is mostly from your home in France and you rarely visit the UK Iām not sure how your employment income can be taxable in the UK. I hope you have taken advice from a reputable firm of accountants/tax advisers because, on the surface, it doesnāt seem correct to me. Obviously I donāt know your personal circumstances so there may be some quirk that is relevant. Anyway, Iām sure you know what you are doing but please take some advice if you havenāt already done so.
Take care
Izzy x
Unfortunately even though you are an EU citizen Marcin you will be
impacted by Brexit as an employee of a UK company. The EU has various
reciprocal arrangements in place to facilitate worker mobility between EU
countries, so that for instance a worker can pay into the social security
system of country A where he is based, and if he is sent to work for
periods of time in country B C and D, country A remains responsible and
funds his healthcare in B C etc via the S1 form, and provides social
protection. Possibly Geof Coxās set up integrates some such arrangement, I
donāt know. However the UK will not be party to these schemes in the
future, it will not issue new S1s for this purpose, and so although under
the WA any such arrangements already in place will continue it will not be
possible for UK employers to use them in the future to send workers to the
EU.
And so it will become more complicated and I suspect you may have to be
employed on a French contract paying French cotisations and taxes for the
months you are in France. There is a dual taxation treaty so you the tax
should balance out but you and your employer may find yourself paying two
sets of social security contributions.
Just to point out that you do not have a choice in where you pay taxes, or in
where you are classed as resident. These things are decided by criteria
set down in national law and tax treaties. Dual tax residency likewise is
not an āoptionā, depending on your circumstances either you are or are not
dual resident, and it tends to complicate things rather than simplify them
when one of those countries is the UK.
It is also important that your employer must declare you to the French
authorities as a worker based in France becsuse the penalties for not doing so
are severe.
I think the best people to approach for advice on how France would deal
with this are the tax office for the tax angle, and for the social
security angle the labour inspectors at the office of DIRECCTE that covers
the region where you will be based. Do not ask the UK authorities what
France will or will not permit because they neither know nor care. Or
use the services of a good consultancy who will be up to speed with the rules
about working in both the uk and France after the end of transition.
thank goodness I have retired, I would sooner live on modest means than have to spend my days wading through this! However I thought that S1 only relates to those receiving state pension and taxation arrangements are outside Brexit changes
Thank you for all the replies. Will seek some professional advice. There is still 4-5months to go and no one really knows what will Brexit do to it all. I do not have a problem paying taxes and social security in France I just want to avoid any implications if after few months we decide to stay in UK. It seems complex to move all taxation to France for 4-5 months and than back to UK.
Since you are EU citizens, and just want to get an idea of whether you want to move then perhaps take the simple routeā¦ what many people do is to come over here just as a āvisitorā for 3 months, with private health insurance, and only then start process of being formally āresidentā. And cross their fingers that no complicated questions are askedā¦
And that was the plan but since the last 20 posts here plan got slightly skewed ;-).
We want to be legal and make sure our employers are not exposed to some laws that we are not aware of. As said we will be still working here and there. Wife might go self employed route anyway.
It would not be that complicated tax wise if you only stay a few months. Tax residency for the tax year is established retrospectively according to your movements and working pattern over the cou rse of the tax year. So if you only stayed a short time you would rem ain uk tax resident and France would tax you as a non resident on your French income only. You would declare this to the UK as part of your worldwide income and the dta would be applied.
That is what I was thinking from the beginning as initial move is planned to be temporarily and already after 2021 fiscal year would start in both countries. Once we would know that the move is for good (early 2022 we would move to French taxation system. Initial plan is to move for 5months with regular full weeks work in UK. Than go back to UK in autumn to close things out and start the full-time move in 2022.
Your msin concern must be to ensure that your employer complies with French labour law. Unlike taxation the labour code does not allow you to wait and see how things go before you complete the formalities. Every employee must be declared to the French suthorities one way or another BEFORE they do sny paid work in Frsnce in France. I have no idea what the correct way would be declare in effect a kind of cross border working pattern but outside of the eu framework. I assume it is possible but I am trying to imagine an EU citizen working between Frsnce and the US or France and China and the uk will have the same status as those countries. It may be complicated.
Just a thought, under the WA donāt you have to be resident in the UK for 183 days a year to continue to be covered - unless you already have the permanent residency of course?