[dcat]

I am an American living in Spain with the dream of moving to France some day. That some day will have to be after I sell my villa, so I don't know if it will be this year or next or the one after that.

I am married to a Spaniard and living in Spain as a legal resident. I do not work. I have full health care benefits from the Spanish social security system because of my husband who is retired. I will probably be a Spanish citizen before I make my move. My husband and I live separately but share the same legal address and are not legally separated nor divorced.

I will be living on a very small budget and need to know some of my ongoing costs before I go, to be sure I can afford them. I already know what it costs for me to live here in Spain. I have been to France and can see some of the costs there for myself, and they seem pretty much the same. But I don't know are the following:
1. Health care. I understand that my Spanish social security coverage will continue in any EU country. But in France a pensioner must pay something out of pocket for his care, whereas in Spain he doesn't. I was told that my cost would be about 25% out of pocket for doctors' visits and prescriptions. I think hosptialization would be fully covered, and I am not sure about any prescribed medicat tests.
2. Residence tax. I understand that you pay a tax based on your residence. I would be living in an apartment, probably paying about 450 euros per month (and have one television).

Can someone tell me what percentage of my health care costs I would be paying out of pocket with my pensioners coverage? And how much would I be paying a month (or year) for residence and tv tax?

If location makes a difference in taxes, I plan to live in Avigon.

Thanks,
Dvora

 

[Bevdeforges]

As you will see, I've moved your post out to a thread of its own. The better to attract a few more responses.

Not sure what your plans are (and really, it's none of my business) but you may want to consider taking some sort of legal action to separate or divorce before moving to France. French tax (and other) law assumes that spouses share a residence and it can be difficult to work around those laws and policies if you're not officially separated from your spouse.

Health care - the national health care system reimburses you about 70% of your doctors appointments, lab tests, radio and other treatments. But for most things you pay up front and then get reimbursed into your bank account, usually a couple of weeks later. Most people take out a mutuelle, a kind of "top up" insurance that picks up the portion of the health care fees that isn't reimbursed by the sécu. A reasonable mutuelle costs anywhere from about 45 to 100 euros a month, and their reimbursement hits your bank a week or two after the sécu payment hits.

Residence tax - the tax d'habitation is assessed based on the size and "rental value" of the place you're living in (though the calculation of rental value has little or nothing to do with how much rent you're paying). It varies greatly from town to town, but figure on a few hundred euros a year, plus 120€ or so for the tv tax. Tax is assessed on the resident in a property as of January 1st, but not collected until October.
Cheers,
Bev

 

[dcat]

As you will see, I've moved your post out to a thread of its own. The better to attract a few more responses.

Not sure what your plans are (and really, it's none of my business) but you may want to consider taking some sort of legal action to separate or divorce before moving to France. French tax (and other) law assumes that spouses share a residence and it can be difficult to work around those laws and policies if you're not officially separated from your spouse.

Health care - the national health care system reimburses you about 70% of your doctors appointments, lab tests, radio and other treatments. But for most things you pay up front and then get reimbursed into your bank account, usually a couple of weeks later. Most people take out a mutuelle, a kind of "top up" insurance that picks up the portion of the health care fees that isn't reimbursed by the sécu. A reasonable mutuelle costs anywhere from about 45 to 100 euros a month, and their reimbursement hits your bank a week or two after the sécu payment hits.

Residence tax - the tax d'habitation is assessed based on the size and "rental value" of the place you're living in (though the calculation of rental value has little or nothing to do with how much rent you're paying). It varies greatly from town to town, but figure on a few hundred euros a year, plus 120€ or so for the tv tax. Tax is assessed on the resident in a property as of January 1st, but not collected until October.
Cheers,
Bev

Thanks Bev,
I think I am better off with my marital status as it is. But as I said, living on a very small budget, every ongoing expense is important. Some things in France are more and others are less and I think it would work out about the same. The supplemental health insurance is a good idea. It's that habitation tax that worries me. There is a big different between 300 a year and 900 a year if you are on a small budget. But I understand that it is determined by municipality and property value and is hard to figure out in advance. What are things so complicated?