Thanks for that info Andrew - I can't see where it says that pensioners are exempt, it just seems to talk about levels of revenue. I received a very welcome refund of my Foncière last month for no reason that I can understand - no doubt I'll have to pay it back at the most inopportune moment!
Lesley, don't take his comment to heart, his smiley meant that his comment was tongue in cheek. No one expects you to pay tax here if you've only been here 6 months! But on a more serious note you'll have to be very careful for the future where you pay your taxes, it's a minefield that has caused most of us to resort to asking for help on these pages... Good luck!
Firstly you only pay tax de habitation if you live in your house on the first of January......the notaire should have sorted that out at the signing for your house......if you bought but couldnt move in if the house was unfurnished you still dont have to pay....your TV licence is included so you will need to claim exemption for both parts and the ceiling is quite low. As for Income Tax ....first you must notify your UK tax office that you have left the UK to live permenantly in France, tax on State OAP and Private Company Pensions have to be paid her in France. If you are an ex Civil Servant / Teacher /Police Officer you will have to pay your tax in the UK but it is up to the UK tax authorities to decide on this.
When you notify the UK tax authorities that you have moved to France and therefore liable to pay tax in France because of the difference in the tax yrs you will probably get a nice tax rebate £6000 in our case so its often worth telling them.(that was a rebate on my husbands pension not mine because as an ex civil servant I still pay tax in UK)
Ibelieve if you only have a small private pension and State OAP you often dont pay tax in France as for a couple you dont pay tax on any income under 20,000 euros for 2012....21,000 for 2013. Hope this Helps.....
Lesley...you will note the little wink and smiley face at the end of Andrews sentences....he is always bang on with his advice..much of which he has shared with me....am sure emails just come over sometimes as a little abrupt....I can see it was the bit about filling out tax forms like the rest of us.....but he is right....this is a big learning curve...I know....we travelled this route a couple of years ago....good luck guys!
Yes and don't forget he included a winky 'face' so it was clearly a tongue in cheek comment but as you say, it is easy to misunderstand the written word!
Taxe D`habitation is payable by whoever occupies the property on 1st january so if you did not buy/move in until June the previous occupier is the one who pays. 2013 should be the first year you pay Taxe D`habitation.
I have never heard of 60 being the cut off age for having no Tax liability - I believe its much older - you need to check with an accountant.
Unfortunately I think that emails can be misunderstood and they can be read in all different ways. Maybe I was a little quick in my response but I did think it was a little bit sharp but perhaps I was being too sensitive. Thanks for pointing it out.
You have to pay the taxe d’habitation as a maison secondaire. This is more expensive than you would pay as a residence principale. To get any reduction you have to be a permanent resident with a Carte Vitale. You have to declare yourself permanently resident at the Mairie. After that you have to make your own declaration with the Impots. Your status is as of the 1st January each year.
I am fairly sure about this as I have just been to the Mairie and spoken to the secretary and Monsieur le Maire. To declare my residence I had to show my passport, sign a photocopy and this was witnessed by the Maire. They have also registered me so that I can vote in European elections.
Thank you for your response. The problem we have is that we are not in the french system at the moment so we should not expect to get something back that we have not contributed too!!!
Lots to do at this end! It would be so easy to go back to the UK but hey we would not be able to see the mountains every day so a no brainer!!
So can I just clarify please? A friend who is resident in UK, retired, drawing a UK pension taxable in UK and with a maison secondaire in France has been told she need not pay the Taxe d'Habitation (or possible Taxe Fonciere - not sure which).
Has she been advised rightly or wrongly?
Would really like to know as we're headed that way too.
Know the feeling - didn't realise how much assistance we could have claimed the year we were really broke - by the time I found out, we were getting back on our feet and no longer eligible - grr.
You did not sound harsh at all - email gets lost in translation doesn't it! You were great and we really appreciate your help. Have to now get it sorted and see what we can do. We do not mind paying obviously but anything off is better than nothing.
Have to assume that you are already registered with the Authorities, ie you have a carte vitale? the tax year runs from 1st Jan to 31st Dec so you are now in your second year! If you visit your local tax office (tresoir public), they will be able to provide you with a tax form, You will also need the form for ex pats with income coming from outside France. I would suggest that you seek professional help when filling in the forms especially for the first time.
Didn't mean it to sound harsh, it's just that unlike other countries, the French don't offer assistance to anyone that doesn't comply with the whole French system, meaning you have to jump through hoops paperwork wise. On the positive side, once you do that then all kinds of doors open to you, you may well find that it is cheaper to pay tax here than in the UK, we certainly do.
I don't believe there is any rebate on the taxe fonciere, basically if you won it, you pay for it (apart from a few limited circumstances) and have never heard of a fosse septique taxe but we are on the mains fortunately, with a correspondingly large taxe to go with it - 2200€ for the two taxes last year.