I sent mine via la Poste, and it was returned signed and stamped within in a week, so no need for a persona visit.
Itâs not going well in generalâŠ.
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Mine certainly took 16 months!
Last Thursday (23/01/2026) I finally got closure on my two FFI claims for tax taken from my two small pension 100% draw downs.
The whole process has taken nearly a year, if you count the time taken getting the proper information out of one of the pension providers.
HMRC are clearly in a mess, as they refunded about 90% of the tax due for both pensions, for reasons that arenât clear as that happened before they processed the second FFI! However, overall it was short, which I obviously chased.
They agreed that the money was owed but it took two calls the push it into the right âin trayâ. They then asked me (by letter 
) for bank details for payment, despite having already refunded some of the first tranche of money directly to my UK bank. This wasnât to offer me a choice of account but because they, allegedly, donât keep bank account details on recordâŠ
Anyway, itâs all paid now. Iâve now got to see if they start my state pension next month, as they have promised. I wonât hold my breath.
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Hello all, Iâm new here. I created my account to share my experiences of FFI (or DT-01 as I also know it) and contribute to this very useful thread. Iâll limit myself to my FFI experiences but I did encounter other interesting related incidents that might be worthy of sharing on another thread perhaps.
I went through the process starting late 2023 and whilst it was time consuming, it was relatively painless. I filled out FFI much as @George1 outlined in the first post. I wondered about the purpose of date âyou expect to pay French taxes fromâ and entered the 1/1/2024 (start of French tax year Iâd be declaring the lump sum) This form was signed off by my local impots without problem, we even had a rather pleasant chat about taxation methods (I declared it using the âquota partâ method btw, 0XX on the tax form) All done without fuss and in my clunky, limited and functional French.
I bravely sent the FFI original to HMRC via recorded delivery, though not avis de reception as this has shown to be of no purpose, Iâve yet to receive an avis from international recorded. I sat in for the wait. I phoned HMRC maybe a half dozen times during the ensuing months, usually first thing (once getting a very hungover sounding Irish guy, that was fun!) I didnât ask for a âtechnicianâ and advice was variable. I also used a now non-existent forum (HMRC community??) to good effect. That forum was monitored by HMRC staff and they helped move things along. I received my refund cheque around 4 months later (but the 1st cheque went missing, so HMRC said, and a 2nd was issued. The 1st has never showed up) So, all-in-all what one might call a âresultâ under the circumstances.
Iâve just started the process for a 2nd policy drawdown. FFI filled in as previously, into the local impots office andâŠ
âŠvirtually verbatim! Stone walled, I asked to speak to the boss - the guy Iâd dealt happily with before. He said the same thing. And when I say verbatim, I mean in English too! Things had became intense and my French was deteriorating under stress, my partner took up the reins and their French is not as robust, so boss man switched to English. Eventually we managed to badger him into signing the form but it was NOT a pleasant scene. Not ranting nor shouting but intense and heated. And all in the foyer of the tax office, we hadnât been shown to private room as I had been before.
I hate disagreements, I run a mile from difficult situations, so this all upset me greatly. I had close to a meltdown later in the day feeling that Iâd been some kind of ogre. My partner assures me I was always controlled but I just felt this hangover. That was lifted when I read the comments on this threadâŠ
âŠI was able to sleep more easily knowing I hadnât been TOTALLY unreasonable with our local tax office.
I too was of the opinion that FFI served primarily to confirm oneâs tax residence in France. It also alerts the French tax authorities of the amounts that will be declared. I was trying to assert this to our tax office, to little avail. Itâs not that I donât see their take, and that tax is liable and due. I could go on, write an essay, I see numerous contexts. Perhaps if the emergency tax rate wasnât quite so high, and the reclaim process so cumbersome, it might be more manageable. Truth is, if one had to pay the French tax before receiving the refund from HMRC (as is entirely possible with current wait times) then that might well cause difficulties for some.
The whole reclaim process has delay inbuilt, itâs clearly intentional. It could be made online (as other UK tax processes are), thereâd be efficiency gains there for starters. One could even question why the need to deduct the tax at all, or at least make it a lesser sum. I mean, Iâve been in France 15 years with no dealings with UK taxes - HMRC know that I am well and truly French resident! So one has to wonder WHY the process is intentionally slow. I suspect it runs to the motivations for a double tax agreement. An assumption perhaps that people will try to avoid a tax libaility? Or maybe spend the money on a new kitchen/car/whatever before paying the French (or wherever) tax? Sorry, Iâm going off at a tangent!
I think maybe what swung the deal with our local tax office was, ironically, the sums involved and our telling them of the potential wait for refund. He maybe did a mental fag packet calc and saw the difference between the emergency tax taken and the French tax eventually due in the order of âŹ40k (itâs a ÂŁ200k policy)- he actually said âyes, thatâs a lot of moneyâ and then signed off the FFI.
Further, since in my excitement to story tell/rant/unwind, I missed some salient happenings/thoughts.
I was quizzing impots as to why they were happy to sign my previous FFI (i.e. before Iâd filed my French tax return) but not now - âwhy the change?â I asked. He at first responded âBrexitâ then perhaps realising how silly that was, asked me the amount of the previous lump sum. It was âŹ25k. He then suggested that it was because the smaller sum was probably not likely be subject to significant (if any) French tax. Ok, I thought, plausible if not convenient. But I genuinely didnât feel as though thereâd been a directive change or somesuch.
Then came the âif you leave the countryâ argument. As I say, I get the thinking behind the argument (albeit if arguably it treats everybody as potential criminals!) but itâs nonsensical. Them signing the FFI does not immediately trigger the refund, nor does it ensure Iâll pay the French tax - or even file a declaration. If âdoing a bunkâ was my intention, I could wait a year to get the form signed THEN scarper. If dishonesty was my raison dâetre then Iâd be avoiding all manner of legal requirements. Him signing that form does not guarantee nor enforce that Iâll file a tax return let alone pay the tax due. But it does alert them to the fact that that sum should appear on my return when I do file it. Thatâs enough isnât it?
If I follow the path of the âleave the countryâ logic, I ask myself what more would impots prefer? That they sign the FFI only after the revenue declaration for that year is filed and assessed. Or how about after any French tax due is actually fully paid? I think theyâve set out on a path that assumes dishonesty, and that ainât nice.
So, in short, Iâm baffled as to why the insistence that the FFI can only be signed in the tax year in which the lump sum is to be declared.
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Hello @marko and welcome to Survive France!
As far as I can see, this approach by the impots is not universal. We started getting problems when the department shifted accounts from the original office to what had been a secondary office. The original office continued to be helpful. I think that the only reason I got my FFI signed (all my own problems were with HMRC) was because although impot office1 wouldnât sign the form because of the transfer of responsibility, they did take the form and send it to impot office 2 themselves.
It would be useful to know which department you are in to see how widespread this problem is!
Sounds like Avranches tax office 
Thatâs EXACTLY what I was thinking. The St Lo one is great. Thatâs why I asked where @marko was in case this user-unfriendly approach was more widespread.
Welcome Marko..I think when people come across random, idiotic, baseless refusals I would be inclined to suggest an approach to the MĂ©diateur des Finances Publiques..See linked post below on how to get in contact.
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Another wrinkle I encountered last year. The finance company handling the pension fund for my old UK employer was changed to new company at which point they began deducting UK tax again. Fortunately it was fixed with a call to HMRC.
Thanks for the advice, Iâll keep it in mind should I have issues again. For whatever reason, he didnât stick to his guns and relented, signing the FFI - a huge sigh of relief. But Iâd love to know where that thinking came from; a directive. a conference, casual conversation with colleagues, or something he just decided himself. Guess Iâll never know!
I donât want to name and shame! In fairness, this impots guy has a good local reputation. He is genuinely a nice and helpful bloke, everyone Iâve heard speak of him has done so in glowing terms. His reaction surprised me (to put it mildy) itâs true BUT he did listen and change his initial stance. I have to credit him with that.
What in h*ll has it got to do with them if you move to a tax haven? The point is that you are taxed if resident and presumably none of their busineas if not.
âYou have to be taxed somewhereâ . Otherwise, presumably, wrâll want to keep on taxing you even if youâre no longer here.
Is that whatâs going on?
I think it depends on the tax office as this month I handled two DT forms for my family - the case officer disappeared round to the office for 10 minutes probably checking our tax was up to date - and then voila stamped and signed forms. Now waiting to see if the posted copies I sent even reached HMRC
Yes, thatâs always a bit of a nerve racking wait.
As I said, I reckon Itâs a system with deliberate built-in fail points, just to delay the process. Thereâs simply no (decent) reason it canât be offered as an online service (as well). HMRC offer online form filing for other forms, but not FFI.
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It definitely does! Certainly based on our experience but unfortunately only the office designated to deal with your tax will even consider you. In circumstances where the signing of the form is refused the route @george suggested above is the only one to follow. Unfortunately it has created havoc for our friend who needed to get the money released before their 70th birthday.
Was there any reason for the 70th birthday being urgent that could generally apply ?
Perhaps putting the money into an Assurance Vie?
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John got it in one!!!