[shriram_77]

Hello All,

Iam from India on a Work Permit to France. Iam living in Strasbourg from oct 2008. Can you please guide me about the Income Tax formalities here. When should I apply for it. I came to know that foreigners need to register for the first time on their own for the Income Tax. Can you please help me as to how and when I should start doint this? Thanks in advance.

Reg,
Shriram

 

[Bevdeforges]

Income tax in France is assessed on a calendar year basis. So, you need to hold onto your December pay slip. (Actually, under French law, you need to keep all your pay slips forever.)

Tax returns are due around the end of May (the date seems to change every year) but you'll see plenty of publicity starting in early to mid-April, as well as a variety of books about doing your taxes in the newsstands starting maybe as early as March.
Cheers,
Bev

 

[Eric Little]

French Taxes

Make sure you don't file late as they assess a heafty fine... The due date is typically the end of March, but tends to extend into April.

As your first tax filing is coming up, here's what you can expect:

The French tax return is really a declaration. You input you income and deductions and the French Government calculates your tax due. Typically, you are required to pre-pay your tax liability in trimesterly payments based on your previous year's return. Since this is your first year, you will be expected to pay the entire balance in May/June when you receive a bill and may also have to make a trimester payment. If you made a decent amount of money, this could put a big dent in your bank account.

For tax help, you may be able to go to La Poste for help. When I was living in Paris, there were people helping others with their tax declarations at the post office. I thought they were doing it for free, but I did not ask.

I used to work in Paris doing US and French taxes. I have not followed the French tax changes over the past 5 years, but as you probably know, very little changes in France.

 

[Bevdeforges]

Make sure you don't file late as they assess a heafty fine... The due date is typically the end of March, but tends to extend into April.

As your first tax filing is coming up, here's what you can expect:

The French tax return is really a declaration. You input you income and deductions and the French Government calculates your tax due. Typically, you are required to pre-pay your tax liability in trimesterly payments based on your previous year's return. Since this is your first year, you will be expected to pay the entire balance in May/June when you receive a bill and may also have to make a trimester payment. If you made a decent amount of money, this could put a big dent in your bank account.

For tax help, you may be able to go to La Poste for help. When I was living in Paris, there were people helping others with their tax declarations at the post office. I thought they were doing it for free, but I did not ask.

I used to work in Paris doing US and French taxes. I have not followed the French tax changes over the past 5 years, but as you probably know, very little changes in France.

Sorry Eric, but you've missed out on a couple of fairly major changes. Tax declarations are no longer due in March or April. They now incorporate certain information (like your salary and some bank information) onto your form from the filings required by employers and the banks. This takes a bit longer, so for the last couple of years the filing period has been moved to the month of May.

Tax assessments come out in August or September, and even first timers can make payments over a few months before they have to start making prepayments for the next year - but the options are quarterly or monthly.

Oh, and the 20€ tax credit for filing online now is reserved for first-time online filers. You have to have filed a previous return manually and gotten back your assessment in order to file online.
Cheers,
Bev

 

[Eric Little]

Thanks

Bev,

Thanks for the heads up.

If possible, I will delete my post. No reason to have inaccurate info on there.

Eric

 

[croissantlovescafe]

this may be a dumb question, but....

If you are a US citizen, and have a job with an American company in Paris, do you pay taxes both in the US and Paris? This is for a job with a 2-yr contract.

 

[Bevdeforges]

If you are a US citizen, and have a job with an American company in Paris, do you pay taxes both in the US and Paris? This is for a job with a 2-yr contract.

You file taxes in both places, but as a US citizen, you're entitled to the overseas earned income exclusion, which allows you to exclude your earned income (i.e. salary) up to about $94,000 from the US income tax calculation. (This doesn't mean just to leave it off the form - you have to file a form 2555 to claim this exclusion.)

Any investment income or other US based income while you're in France winds up getting taxed by the US. But on both the US and French income tax forms you have to declare your worldwide income. It's not as complicated as it sounds, though the first year you're overseas you may wind up having to extend your US filings until you qualify for the 2555 benefits.

Download Publication 54 from the IRS website for more information about the US side of things. You may also want to contact a US expat group called AARO when you get here (AARO - Association of Americans Resident Overseas ) They do an annual tax seminar for US expats each year and explain some of the "tricks and tips" of doing expat returns.
Cheers,
Bev

 

[Shelagh]

Even better than posting here is to go to your local "Centre des Impôts". They are staffed by helpful people (at least, that's true of the Pézenas office) who will gladly give you advice for free.