Tax implications for Spanish resident working in France

[pastis]

Bonjour,

1. As a Spanish resident with health insurance, paying taxes in Spain, am I able to work on a freelance basis in France? (ie. except artistic commisions) If a company is to hire me part time for my services, What are the steps I must take to do this legally? What are the steps the company must take to do this legally?

2.How/where can I find an accountant or lawyer familiar with the legalities I might encounter by working cross-border?

I am seeking legal/tax advice in the area of Avignon.

I apologize for the multiple questions.
Thank you in advance,
Joseph

[giantpanda]

Hi!

Basically if you work in France ( there are exceptions ) you become a fiscal resident, and then you have to make a French Income Tax return, declaring your world income ( and possibly the taxes paid elsewhere ).

Now if you are employed, your employee has to register you and pay Social Security contributions for you.

If you work as an " travailleur indépendant ", you would yourself have to register ( contact a Chambre du Commerce, or Chambre des Métiers ) and pay the Social Security contributions.

Yours,

giantpanda

[Bevdeforges]

It depends a little bit on exactly how you are set up and what sort of freelance work you are doing. If you have a business that is resident in Spain and simply have a client or two in France (i.e. in addition to your other clients in Spain), you should be ok if you continue to function under Spanish rules, especially if the actual work for the customer is being done in Spain.

The tricky bit is billing for VAT - if your customers are commercial and already registered with the VAT authorities, there are special rules for intra-community billing. For customers who are individuals, you charge them VAT based on where they "take delivery" of the goods or service. (It's fairly technical, but if you're VAT liable in Spain, the local VAT authority probably has information on this.)

If you will be actually "moving" to France for a few weeks or a few months to take short-term employment with a French company, things could get more complicated.
Cheers,
Bev