Being picky, the Telegraph is a broadsheet. It’s right wing and moving further and further right. Some of the stuff they publish these days is really weird.
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I haven’t done so yet, no. I might next year.
When we first arrived as early retirees and not being eligible for an S1 we had to pay a cotisation for health-cover. Can’t remember what it was called then but similar to the CSM now. It wasn’t a massive amount, but neither was it totally trivial. It once we got old enough we got S1’s so the UK now pays for us.
But I was surprised to learn that Americans are somehow exempt from this CSM payment.
It’s because of the dual taxation agreement (DTA) which means that Americans don’t get taxed on income which is taxed in the USA and cotisations are considered as taxes.
There’s a similar arrangement with the UK so, for example, public sector pensions are taxed in the UK so don’t get taxed in France. Similarly, cotisations are considered as taxes in the UK/France DTA and aren’t charged on public sector payments.
I know UK government pensions are not subject to French tax or prélèvements sociaux (CSG/CRDS etc). But are they also not included in the PUMA tax (CSM) calculation? In other words, do they not count towards the €23 550 “passive income” allowance available to individuals before CSM kicks in?
My understanding is that UK rental income - while similarly not subject to French tax or prélèvements sociaux - does count towards the €23 550 allowance for CSM.
I guess we’ll find out next November, when our first CSM bill is due to land on the doorstep.
Oh, I haven’t forgotten it. Also Americans of retirement age who think they may want to go back to the US or travel to the US frequently continue to pay Medicare Part B taxes (for doctors fees) of around $200 month (though this can be discontinued). We also have already pre-paid considerable amounts of Medicare Part A (hospitalization) taxes throughout our working lives (in my case $53K, now worth a lot more at current rates) that is not transportable and left for the enjoyment of other US retirees. So, we paid, just to the wrong country.
Well there are all sorts of ways to compare the taxation arrangements of different countries. As far as health care is concerned some folks seem to think that in comparison to the US that both French and UK healthcare is free. But is it really free when one compares a 20% non-food item Value Added Tax to the much lower sales taxes charged in the US. Then one goes to buy fuel for the car and discovers that one is paying not only Road Fuel Duty, but also the 20% VAT charged on both the cost of the gasoline and the Road Fuel Duty added together. So that’s paying tax on the tax !
Basically, taxation is a necessary evil that different governments attempt to disguise in different ways, but then one reaps the benefits in different ways. I think I would become rather depressed if I added together all the Income Tax, National Insurance payments, and VAT that I paid during my UK life, but then one has enjoyed the benefits in the past and indeed those which continue into the future. Yes, $53k is a lot of money but on the other hand it is less than 5 years worth of Social Security retirement benefits. So what goes around comes around.
I reckon that we do OK here in France. I mean that for a start, as we have a Carte Vital and thus a CEAM card, we don’t need to worry about health insurance when traveling to another EU country. Us former UK folks receive UK inflation rate increases on our pensions even though France has a much lower inflation rate. French residents with American citizenship don’t pay French Income Tax on US pensions, US based investment dividend income, or indeed French Capital Gains Tax when those dividend producing investments are sold.
So all in all it’s sort of a game based on both nationality and fiscal residency. One pays one’s money and takes one’s choice, and let’s face it, none of us were actually forced to come and live here.
Ameli told me I was not eligible for a CEAM . I should use the GHIC.
Of course, maybe you are a French citizen. That would make a difference, obs.
Made up for though by US income not being taxable in France? Or something similar that soinds like an exceptional Double Taxation Treaty, was on a thread here on SF about 3 weeks ago.
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Presumably you have an S1? They’d be right in that case.
Not really complaining (much) but wouldn’t it be nice if the US had a reciprocity agreement with France for healthcare costs similar to the one within the EU states and UK. Dream on.
If you are British with an S1 registered with the French authorities, then you can have a UK GHIC card instead of the French (EU) CEAM because ultimately your healthcare costs are paid for by the UK. My spouse is American, and so she has a CEAM card.
@Nunthewiser Of course reciprocity requires similar systems to be in place in the countries concerned. As the US system of healthcare is basically a free enterprise ‘for profit’ system, reciprocity is indeed a dream. Unfortunately there seems to be no real appetite for a Federally run national healthcare system in either the Republican or Democratic camps. I suspect that this may be one of the reasons that some Americans choose to reside elsewhere.
Yes. I didn’t think that through. Any resident, within the health system, can apply for an ehic (ceam) except S1 holders.
I recently had 2 spells in hospital, total cost €4,500.
I love recipricocity.
The bald fact is, if you can’t afford health insurance in the USA, you have a good chance of living longer if you leave. I know Trump has made changes to Medicare and Medicaid, I don’t know (or have much interest in) the detail, but I can’t imagine the overall effect will be beneficial for most folk. (apart from the obese , it seems.)
Hi Steve, ok this one is going to be controversial but unfortunately the answer to this is… it depends. Technically you need a 12+ months lease (un bail de location longue durée - which in France is either 12 months on auto-renew or 3 years on auto-year depending on whatever it’s furnished or not). Anything else is not technically visa compliant BUT depending on which consulate you’re using they are more or less flexible with this rule. For example (unfortunately) there is 0 flexibilty if you’re from the UK, from the US is where flexibility is at it’s best (so even Airbnb’s are accepted). All that to say that you won’t find a definitive answer out there because technically only the 12+ months ones are visa compliant, everything else is a political flex granted by the government or local consulate based on “random” factors which could change overnight so in those cases we’re just sharing what we see have worked in the past but it is to be taken with a pinch of salt 
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The UK has stiĺl issued me an EHIC in the above case. Not sure if it’s because my CDS is WARP ie Brexit type
Another bald fact is that even if you can afford healthcare in the USA, you have a good chance of living longer if you leave.
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I can only say I have a warp cds (to be renewed next year)and a uk ghic.