I assume you filled out a P85 when you left? This means your world wide income will now be subject to French Tax.

Tank

 

Hi,
Not all UK banks will terminate an existing account . Do not close any accounts yourself , wait to see what the banks / building soc. do in your case.
If you have to use your son's address the UK bank will continue to deduct 20% UK tax before paying the interest , but this is not such a problem as many french residents who have kept UK bank a/cs pay this - you can claim it back each year from HMRC. I doubt whether HMRC will be interested in how you hold the UK bank a/c.

 

... from what I have read online, our bank and building society will force us to close our accounts with them.

I worked on a consulting project in the UK in 2001 for 6 months. I opened an account with Lloyd's Bank for my expenses. It was so much trouble to open I left it open when the project concluded. They mailed my bank statements to my US address for 11 years. I'm hoping they do the same when I change my address to France.

Best of luck.

Ray

 

It varies from bank to bank and also it can be different for different types of account but in general, banks often let you keep accounts open if you move abroad but will not let you open a new account. So if you think you might ever move back, or need a UK account for any reason, it makes sense to keep one open. However you need to declare the details of the account (not the amount of money in it) each year with your annual French tax return, because the penalty for failing to declare overseas accounts is something horrendous like 1500€ PER UNDECLARED ACCOUNT. If you're not planning on going back to the UK, why not put your money in a French bank?

Another thing to be aware of is that ISA interest is taxable once you live in France, and even Premium Bond wins are taxable. It makes more sense in some ways to look at the French savings options that are linked in with the French tax system.

 

...However you need to declare the details of the account (not the amount of money in it) each year with your annual French tax return, because the penalty for failing to declare overseas accounts is something horrendous like 1500€ PER UNDECLARED ACCOUNT. If you're not planning on going back to the UK, why not put your money in a French bank?...

I left the checking account open just in case I ever needed one in the UK again. I think I might have about 10£ in it.Thanks for the heads up on declaring it.

Ray

 

I have kept my uk bank accounts for giving presents to uk family, paying uk tax etc.

Just keep it open just in case.


DejW

 

Definitely try to keep your UK accounts open. Also, if you can keep a UK based credit card. For one thing, they are normally free, and for another, some UK websites will only accept a UK card even if they will post to France. When we moved most of my accounts accepted a French address, one did not and they suggested using the address of a relative, which I did.

 

Depends, I suppose, on the bank, but the easiest approach is just to change the address on your accounts (if they will let you do it) and see what happens.

I've had an account in the UK for ages, ever since a brief secondment there. Opened a savings account several years ago (though even back then, I was limited to a single type of savings account because of my foreign address). About two years ago, I got a letter from the bank saying that they would close out all savings accounts (but not the checking account) of those with foreign addresses and roll the balance into the holder's checking account "in the near future."

I'm still waiting for them to do anything - it appears they have had a change of heart/plans. Or else they just "missed" me.
Cheers,
Bev

 

I still have a UK current account with my bank of 20-odd years before I moved. There's less than 2 quid in it. It gives me some satisfaction that it costs them to maintain my account and send me info relating to it

 

Do you still have a physical UK address for them to send correspondence? Or will they send any letters to France? These days the only paper correspondence I get from my bank here in the UK is once a year, totting up the interest - perhaps there is no interest to calculate on an account with just £2 in? I'm interested because I have my income from a couple of Sharedealing accounts that need to be paid in sterling and I'm not sure of the best way to handle the situation. Any thoughts? - thanks - Luxford

 

Thanks DejW - indications from Barclays are that they can cope with an out of UK address, but I will double check with them - thanks again - Luxford

 

I have an account with Barclays and they send all the correspondence to my French Address.

 

Forgot to say: NatWest