I want to become a French Resident - who can tell me all the ins and outs?

Why do you want to go for full residency? We are in a similar situation to you and pay our taxes here but all we have done is to get a carte de sejour from the prefecture. The main advantage of this is that we do not have to carry our passports around - very expensive to replace.

Where you say your principal residence is is where you live, the others are secondary or tertiary, etc.

I started to think about that 6 month rule, or 183 days. What if I have three houses/apartments in three different EU countries, let's ay France, Luxembourg and UK for example? Where would I be considered resident for tax purposes if I share my time equally between these three houses. None of them would be more principal or more secondaire than the other. Can I choose myself?

Thanks for your kind offer Rob, will speak later hopefully.

Thanks Melissa,

Why dont they just leave taxes alone and then eventually we could figure out how best to approach things-makes you wonder doesnt it?

so frustrating !!!

Hi Greg,

changes to CGT and possibly paying twice are exactly the sort of worry I have, lots be consider so very helpful answer -thanks.

Did not mean you personally Rob, but there are a lot of people out there who are not as, shall we say, 'altruistic' as you are ;-)

Assumption correct David, should have thought to say that in my original text.

Good point about checking with other pension providers. The global tax situation does sound daunting but I guess, as with most things, it sounds worse than it is. Plan on calling in to Hotel des Impots later this week.

Free by the way Beverley. Brian please note. Free advice also available re UK/France tax position. Rob

Thanks all,

I deal with everything in the UK no problem and if I dont understand anything then I know who to ask, but over here it is a different cuppa char. Trying to decide which is the most beneficial course to take here actually hurts my head and worries me, if I get it wrong it could cost us dear.

Anyway thanks to everyone for information and sugestions to date. As Rob says, a real mixed bag of answers, but all very helpful.

It is too. Your last sentence especially. The 183 days thing is a real red herring that needs to be expunged once and for all. As you say, they decide.

I thought my answer was pretty clear Mr Milne :-(

David's answer is the most coherent here. It is far simpler than one or two people are making it. Under no circumstances allow anybody to persuade you to get paid assistance. It is usually totally unnecessary, if you are worried then go to your local Hôtel des Impôts and ask them to explain to you.

Hi Beverley, You have a real mixed bag of answers here. Most of them good though. If you want to send me a private message I can give you the precise action you need to take, as I am a financial adviser. Rob

This is kind of what people are saying anyway, but residency (for tax purposes) is simply where you hang your hat for more than 6 months of the year. If you live in France for more than 6 months of the year (a year runs from January to December in France, not our April to March nonsense, in case you didn't know that) you *are* resident and must fill in a French tax declaration. If you don't get one, you must ask for it, but I bet you get one. You will also no longer be a British resident for tax purposes, so you'll still do a British tax return, but it will have to be on paper. (Can you believe one of the few groups who *can't* do their UK tax return online is expats? Go figure.)

I found it easiest to just declare *everything* in France and tell the British government you have no income (because it's all been declared in France). That's what I did - though I no longer have any affairs in the UK. I used a local accountant in the first year, but after that realised it actually isn't that complicated. Broadly speaking allowances and allowable reductions are similar.

If you're concerned about tax efficiency and you want an accountant who is well-versed in affairs on both sides of the Channel to help with that, I contacted the Invest In France people - they were very helpful. It's a spin-off of the French embassy, set up to help businesses who want to operate in France, but I know they have a list of specialist accountants - though speaking to the right person might be tricky - I would lie a bit and pretend you need commercial advice, since that's who the service is really for (I actually contacted them as a UK Limited company needing advice on running payroll in France, and was impressed with the service):

http://www.invest-in-france.org/us/contact-us.html?zone=9

Everything else will be automatic, as others have said - you've bought a house, so you *will* get your property taxes, water rates, etc.

One 'gotcha' worth mentioning on the UK side - what is currently your primary residence, as far as the UK government is concerned, will no longer be so when you are resident in France. There is a grace period, I believe it is 3 years, after which you will pay capital gains tax on any profit from the sale of the UK property. You may end up paying that tax in France as well, which could be ouchy, as I believe successive French governments have tightened up on second homes. So I'd explore that carefully and make sure you understand the implications in terms of tax on any sale of property in the UK *and* any timelines to work to if you want to avoid certain taxes...

Good luck!

Tax residency is not a matter of choice. There are several criteria to take into consideration, one of which is the 183 day rule. Another is if you still have an empty house in the UK you could say you are still UK resident, but if you have tenants in it then you cannot be UK resident. You should notify HMRC before you leave UK. The whole area is a minefield and we have only been resident two years but the goal posts have changed several times. Also taxes may be less in France but if you still have property, abroad which you want to sell while resident in France you will have some capital gains tax and social charges to pay to the French tax man even if your property is still exempt in the UK. ISAs are taxed etc. I advise you Google.co.uk (but always mention France) numerous, relevant questions and you will find all the answers on websites set up for expats in France. Make sure the pages are bang up to date.

I made the assumption that you are UK State Pension recipients and EU citizens.

As retirees on state pensions you are entitled to live where you choose in the EU. The DWP will pay your state pension direct to your French account if you wish. You need to check with your other pension providers as to whether or not they will pay your pension gross. If you are a Civil Service pensioner or Local Govt pensioner then in common with a number of public service pensions you will have to pay UK tax on that pension but as there is a double taxation agreement between UK and France you will not pay tax on this again in France. French taxation takes account of global income so you will have to declare your income such as it is from your rental properties and any other income. You will also be required to list your various bank accounts. It all sounds fairly daunting particularly if you have been used to PAYE but in reality it isn't or at least that's what we found. Remember you go to the Hôtel des Impôts not the Trésor Public for your tax forms.

Thanks Brian,

We have have been registered with the doc for a year or more and recently moved from the Caravan into the property, even got the yellow sacks, just didnt know if I had to do more than actually behave like a resident.

I guess the next thing is to find out about the tax situation with our uk properties and then just breath a sigh of relief (hopefully) and choose an aperitif ....