French Tax Forms

General Discussion
1

This will be the first year my husband and I will have to prepare a french tax return. I will do our US one as I was a certified IRS tax preparer BUT I have no idea about the french forms or what is required of us. Any info will be most appreciated. I doubt the IRS will change the must-be-filed-by- date even though they are not accepting returns until January 30th. Merci!

2

Thanks for the reply. I'll scour the Internet for more info.

3

Hi Jo Anne,

I know exactly how you must feel. I submited a French tax return last year for the first time. I don't want to discourage you, but I did not understand anything and it was not a problem with the French as mine is very good.

My solution was to hire a tax accountant who works with Americans. I thought that having an example in front of me would allow me to complete this year's return, but I am no longer so certain. Even after seeing the completed return and the avis d'impot, I remain as confused as before. If I do not have a moment of enlightenment between now and the due date I may opt for the same solution as last year.

The down side is that the accountant's services did not come cheaply.

The upside is that I did not have to pay any taxes last year due to a credit d'impot and the charges on my cleaning ladies' salary. His knowledge of the French-American tax treaty stopped me from paying a rather large bill that was received subsequently. See the discussion on Prélèvements sociaux if you are not already following it. In short, I saved more that his services cost.