That’s exactly my understanding too. In your shoes I think I would quietly forget accounts I had years ago - of course with advancing age, one’s menory is not what it was 
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Hi @Smithereen5 . My experience when I “arrived” in November 2016 was that the special advisor for Brits that they had at our local tax office told me to fill it in as from the date of arrival. I did and was most embarassed to receive an energy cheque a bit later because my income was clearly very low 
When I went back to the tax office a few months later to sort out a problem with tax fonciere the (different) advisor then told me I should have filled it in for the whole year, but by then of course it was too late and I decided to stick with the senior chap’s advice!
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Hi all. Thanks for the warm welcome and all the advice. I’ll go to the local tax office first, but it sounds like a paper return for first year. The declaration of global income and the list of accounts sounds interesting as I’m a serial abuser of financial products! Wish me luck.
I’ve told HMRC, though they didn’t seem bothered as I’m self-assessment and the bulk of my income originates in the U.K. All they said was that I was to use online accountancy software to submit tax (which I’m familiar with) and indicate when I’d left the U.K. Just as a point of interest (possibly stretching definitions there), HMRC have an app so I was able to add French address online. What fun! Thanks again everyone.
Hi Graham, now we’ve been to the CPAM, I’ll be off on my fist visit to the tax office / fisc and as a cross border worker / frontalier will be reaching out for info e.g. what can be deducted from UK salary declared in France , UK tax forms etc.
Now I can ask here, but wonder as these queries remain for all time, and not just for 2021 I’m thinking of starting a thread for cross border tax - we’ve done the cross border health one to death!
What do you think?
Why not. As you say, it’s a specialist area and will soon get lost in the tsunami of general questions on tax submissions likely to follow before long…
Went down the tax office today, as you do to get out in these covid times. Well, we went to two - the first turned out to be for fines, I haven’t graduated to that level yet.
At the proper office, welcomed in by security, and a very helpful person handed us the paper forms, said he’d call me next week about how to declare the UK salary, photocopied the s1’s but seemed not to know the significance (we only deal with taxes here not health they said - at least that’s what my french brain imagined they said). (UK salary comments I shall post in the cross border tax thread).
Anyway for declaring bank accounts they (again I think) said put down everything, and I got the impression he said yes including pension accounts. Expressed amazement I’d have hundreds of these - said just write them down on a piece of paper and hand in with your forms.
So a reality check - is that the general approach, coz I’m sure I remember some form exists for that very purpose; - and specifically
what to do about the ‘app platform’ investments which don’t have account numbers, I’m talking the likes of Chip and Moneybox. As has been mentioned, ‘esoteric financial investments’ - unfortunately (well, for the next 10 minutes) no bitcoins. Mind you, sterling seems to be turning into something similar?
The form you are thinking of is French Tax form 3916 but others have said that a piece of paper with the details on has been accepted in the past. When it comes time to declare online - its difficult to post the paper through your computer screen but the 3916 form is readily available through the declaration process - indeed it prompts you to it (and it remembers what you declared last time to make subsequent declaratons easier).
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Do continue to attach a copy of your S1 to your tax return? I’m not sure how it works for salaried workers, but for pensioners it also exempts you from paying social charges on their pension income. And because in France you generally pay things and argue about mistakes afterwards we are still trying to get back a year’s payment that they charged in error…
When we arrived we had just over 50 different accounts between us - which caused the nice person at the tax office to have hysterics. It seems this is a very English thing to do as we chop and change to follow interest rates. We have now got it down to a more “reasonable” 20.
We have some peer to peer lending, and we just stuck the details in. Since the fine for undeclared accounts is so high we felt better to err on aide of caution.
IIRC, there’s a section in the on-line version to indicate the existence of an S1 - so that base is (hopefully) covered.
Sage advice 
Thanks for these info’s. FYI yes, UK earnings paying NI contributions result in a S1 if deemed cross border worker - same basis as pension - only one SS system can be paid into / applied to someone when exercising EU free movement. Good to know about the tick box for next year!
@JaneJones - Jane, a query! I presume you supplied your 50 odd account list on paper in your first paper declaration. Did these the appear in your further online declarations - i.e. did someone from the tax office type them all in?
If not, did you have to type them all in the next year, coz there’s stuff out there that having declared them all once, don’t have to do it each year, just for new accounts? (but ensure agreement with tax office).
I’m assuming there isn’t functionality to bulk / batch upload hundreds of account records.
Jane will give you a steer on that one but I can certainly say that,once you have put the accounts in on-line, they do copy across from year to year - at least they have for me! Somehow, I doubt that the tax office people will enter them in from the hardcopy on though! According to the information I have, you can now enter your first tax return on line rather than on paper if you ask for a tax number first 
They didn’t mine so I entered them on the 3916 form on line last year (first online submission).
I had an email yesterday "inviting " me to do an online return (always done a paper one as that’s what’s been sent) so was quite surprised to get all 3 déclarations in the post this morning.
There seems (at least in our area) to have been a “rationalisation” of tax offices so my attempts to contact my usual one failed. I have always received an email telling me that the on-line forms were now available and this year I haven’t. I think there may be some confusion! Not helped by the non-delivery of the Connexion Tax Guide I always get to help. Can’t blame any of this on Brexit though 
awww, why not? 
Oh all right then…
I’ve decided to blame the perpetually cold weather in the UK this year on Brexit!
Izzy x
I have just been out for a walk beautiful sunshine but a biting cold wind
Ok folks… here we go.
With permission from @cat, I’ve now tagged this thread from this point as #stayontopic as important information comes to hand regarding completing tax returns for 2021.
Please do keep this topic on-topic as it will contain very important information which people will not wish to miss out on.
There are some important changes this year. and I’ll start off with two pdf references from a reliable source (as last year) to help you through the process of completing your on-line tax return.
The most significant change notified is to the 3916 form Bank Accounts Outside France and how is should now be completed. Unfortunately, the form has to be completed from scratch this year because of the changes (but should be remembered for next year).
The issue of Paypal accounts is also resolved this year - they have to be declared
HELP TAX FORM 2021.pdf (134.2 KB)
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