Hi can someone enlighten me please with regard to state pensions. We are in receipt of our aged pension from Aus and a very small state pension from uk. Not entitled to a full one from uk as only paid in a small proportion and even if we were Australia would deduct so no benefit there.
Are we now taxed by France on these pensions? We are not taxed in Aus.
On the tax declaration from there is a box for money received from overseas that is already taxed at source so you wont pay tax twice. You simply make a declaration for your household and in actual fact you may receive benefits back rather than being taxed.
The premise is, quite rightly, you live here, you contribute here, nothing wrong with that. I can understand your point about the dragons though, bureaucracy is an absolute nightmare, don't you have fluent friend to take with you. I too have done battle and won the day - and a refund, I'm proud to say.
Libby. You are obliged to declare your world wide income. I'm sure nothing has changed in the last 12 months. I can't help you re. Australian rules & don't know why Aus. deducts for your UK pension. I think you should speak to the Aus. tax people if they are making any deductions & ask why as you now live in France.
Regarding the language, it's a barrier at first. Persevere & you will soon be able to take on the French tax dragons in their own lair. We have recently had a huge row with our local tax office who capitulated the following day with grovelling apologies from the boss. A result well worth our initial struggle with the language.
We have always declared our income from day one and have duly paid tax for d'habitation and fonciere .
Our age pension is paid by Australia as we have lived and paid taxes in that country for over 45 years.
The uk pension is only £40 per week owing to the fact we got a forecast years back and paid a lump sum enabling us to receive this amount. As we're means tested in Aus a certain proportion of this is taken from our Aus pension.
What I cannot get my head around is the fact France has nothing to do with our pension, we expect nothing and get nothing here so why do we pay tax. We receive a basic pension so it's not as if we are wealthy. Hence my question have the rules changed in the last 12 months. It's not a huge amount I'm talking about and I must admit it is a problem I don't speak the language well enough to delve too deeply. We will go to the local tax office but having done this before about another query am none too keen to go down that road again. Sometimes you strike lucky with a helpful soul but sometimes you don't!
If you are resident In France you have to complete a declaration of revenue, this is mandatory. It does not mean you will pay tax on any income as this will depend on the level of income. Social charges such as Fonciere will be calculated from this declaration. It's complicated at first but really straight forward once one understands the system. Other things also become easier & less onerous such as tax habitation & capital gains tax if your house is now your main residence & you choose to sell it. We have found the system good for us but it does take a bit of understanding. There is a double taxation treaty between France & United Kingdom which can work to ones advantage, especially with UK rental income. You don't say where you are from but I assume UK as you have a UK pension.
Download the "Connexion Tax guide" for a few pounds & have a go at filling out a tax form. You will probably be pleasantly surprised when you calculate your tax liability or lack of it.
I'm no tax expert but our tax affairs are agreed each year by the head honcho of our local tax office so they must be correct.
but why do I have to pay tax in france when I am not taxed in Australia and would not be were I living there.
Neither were we taxed in the uk whilst living there for 3 years.
As a resident I am taxed in France on all my UK pensions both private & state so I see no reason why you would not be. The good bit is that we pay a lot less tax on my pensions here due to the " parts" system but the social charges, Habitation & Fonciere are higher. Altogether though we pay less here than we would if still in the UK. so no complaints from me!