Income tax this year

[Timoth]

When France was going over to PAYE, this year, there were various ministerial statements to the effect that income tax would not be payable this year. Thus far I have not received the regular demands I used to get for payment, and was wondering whether the tooth fairy had brought me a windfall or whether it is simply the fisc behaving differently. Any thoughts svp?

[curtis]

My understanding which is probably worse than stuff in the Connexion is in my case:-
My wife's pension is taxed at source and started in January so that's easy.
Investments here seem to be taken in a monthly figure deducted from my account (I don't understand how that is arrived at and will go to the Tax office when things have quietened).
Investments and income from the UK (pension from company and the state) will be notified and paid in one lump in July.

[Le Démerdeur]

Timoth.

2018 was une année blanche for taxation, there will be no tax payable on normal (non exceptional) income for 2018, he monthly payments made this year which would normally go towards paying the taxes due for 2018 are now being applied to the taxes that will be due on this years earnings.

As things were the first 5-6 months of payments were a prevision towards what the bill would be as we dont declare till April or so and the liability is not known till July or whenever, the final payments were adjusted to suit the final tax liability.

The same thing is happening with the new system, the current payments are esimated based on previous years returns and it wont be till the middle of next year that any adjustments are made.

Put simply we all had a free year in 20018 and what we pay this year is against our liability for this year.

[Timoth]

Thank you for the explanation, Le D.

[Catrose]

Except that much of most immigrant’s income is “exceptional” so will be taxed. We now have prélèvement for monthly tax on french earned income, just as described above, but are expecting a normal tax bill for foreign earned income.

[FrenchForumSurvivor]

Sorry, Catrose, but I think you're mistaken. "Exceptional income" is not an immigrant's regular income, in fact, it's not regular income at all. It is, as it says, exceptional, as in a one-off type of thing, eg a golden handshake, a redundancy payment, something that rarely happens more than once.

[Le Démerdeur]

Or more pertinently the well heeled shuffling income/profits between accounts companies etc to take advantage of the write off. I did well when the same thing happened to the self employed sole traders as I also had a limited company.