Wondering if anyone could provide some clarification. I have just had a heated conversation with a professional at the Hotel des Impots in Tarbes. She informs me that I must declare any revenue earned by my non resident husband whether taxable or not. For the last two years he has worked in the aid sector and been resident where he worked (Kabul - 2011 and Papua New Guineau - 2012). His work and salary conforms to the UN charter whereby it is exonerated from tax but he has paid residents tax as required by the respective countries. And obviously he has the respective work permits as required as proof (along with the passport exit/entry stamps) of being resident there. My question is - Is it true that I still have to declare his earnings? And if I do - what tax or other charges will we then have to pay? I can't imagine that they will allow us to earn money without taxing us somewhere despite it supposedly being non taxable.
She completed her tirade with the statement that if I didn't wish to comply they could seize assets. On what basis? And my other alternative was to leave the country. Nice! They really do make you feel welcome. We have been here 14 years by the way and during that period have never been asked to declare income earned while non resident.
Thank you Suzanne, that sounds useful, another friend has also suggested we take an accountant. With the new laws coming out and my husband looks set to continue working for another couple of years (he should have retired by now) I think we do need someone.
Hi - we have a dual residency situation too. My husband is resident in the UK and in France. He pays tax & NI in the UK as that is where he works currently and then declares in France as global income as France is where our permanent home is. We have a trickle of income in France which we then pay French tax & social charges on (although with the AutoEntrepreneur hassles we may be forced to close this).
In the future we envisage me & the kids being in France and him working elsewhere in the EU so he will most likely always have dual residency for tax purposes. We don't pay double tax though due to the double taxation agreement. I don't know how you stand regarding the no tax due to aid nature of your husbands work but I agree it does sound like you should be declaring his income even if you don't pay any tax on it...but it would affect your marital/family tax position in France. Given the complexity of your husband's case it would probably be worth consulting an accountant - try Sarah Vedrenne at http://www.advicefrance.com/ (FYI - I have no connection with her business but I do use her as my accountant).
Ah! We've worked overseas for so many years that we've always only looked at how many day's a country allowed before considering you to be a resident and liable for tax. But France is certainly difficult and complicated. Nothing seems straightforward. thank you all though - it is a little clearer :)
It is something along those lines, if the family home is in France that makes him resident, apparently you can be resident in more than one country. As well, I believe the CV is only for residents so that could be how it has come up. If he pays tax elsewhere he just has to declare it tax paid.
Wow! Okay, I'm amazed that they can declare someone to be resident or not. My husbands contract does not allow him leave until he's been at work for a year so, for me, if he hasn't been in the country for that tax year at all, I would question how they could make him a resident. Unless simply owning a property makes you resident? I have to admit when we first came here I was on my own and my husband was working and resident in Sarajevo (again for the UN) and at their suggestion we arranged for my husband to pay me a salary that I could declare in order to be resident. So complicated. But good to hear you didn't get re-taxed. That is my concern! And no, no dependent children ... well not of dependent age! To complicate things further 3 years ago he had a mild stroke, the hospital immediately proposed I put him on my Carte Vitale and he became resident at that point for the first time. I guess it's best I just declare everything and cross my fingers.
As far as I am aware, at first glance, the lady is correct. As you are married he belongs to you financially and his money is your money in France. We had a period where my husband was non-resident in France and we had to declare all his tax paid earnings. We did not get re-taxed on them. They always take your global income into account in France to decide what you have to pay as a family. Can't remember if you have dependent children but this will also affect their decision.
As a bonus, they eventually decided he was 'resident' (for various reason, it is not your decision) here and allocated him a social security number which turned out to be very useful at a later date.