Sterling/euro exchange rate.

[CRAZY DIAMOND]

I received our 2017 tax declaration form yesterday and thought just for once I'd make an early start completing it. Actually the fact that the incessant rain makes working outside all but impossible probably had more to do with my form filling. Can anybody please tell me what pound/euro rate to use for the latest declaration?

Syd.

[Debra]

According to the ECB site the average for last year is 1.1413

[bubbles1]

I usually just phone my French tax office and they tell the rate they use. Im not saying it is the best but my opinion is that if they ever query anything I have used their official rate.

[parsnips]

Hi,
There is no "official average rate"; if you ask your tax office they will work one out (more or less accurately ), as a concession.
The legal rate which is specified on the forms is the rate on the day you received the item of income into your hands or a bank account etc. (wherever situated). The tax office cannot dispute this figure.
You can find historic rates on xe.com or the BoF site.
I suggest asking the tax office , and then checking the actual rate , and using whichever is less. In a year like 2016 , when the Jan. rate was 1.34€/£ and the Nov. rate was 1.10€/£ , and the average from the tax office may have been ,say, 1.22 €/£ , anyone receiving a large sum in Nov. could save a lot by using the rate on the day , whereas someone receiving a large sum in Jan. could save by using the "officially sanctioned" average.
Having said all this , in 25 years , I have never been asked what rate I have used , let alone to justify it.

[Aardvark]

"The legal rate which is specified on the forms is the rate on the day you received the item of income into your hands or a bank account etc. (wherever situated). The tax office cannot dispute this figure.
You can find historic rates on xe.com or the BoF site."

I've been doing this for over 15 years and it appears to be the officially stated way to do it. I'm still amused by all the postings on expat forums with people arguing what the rate should be after being told different rates from different bods in the same tax office.

[CRAZY DIAMOND]

According to the ECB site the average for last year is 1.1413

Thanks for your reply. What is the ECB please?

Syd.

[Debra]

According to the ECB site the average for last year is 1.1413

Thanks for your reply. What is the ECB please?

Syd.

European Central Bank

[Debra]

https://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/policy_ ... bp.en.html

[Jay]

"The legal rate which is specified on the forms is the rate on the day you received the item of income into your hands or a bank account etc. (wherever situated). The tax office cannot dispute this figure.
You can find historic rates on xe.com or the BoF site."

I've been doing this for over 15 years and it appears to be the officially stated way to do it. I'm still amused by all the postings on expat forums with people arguing what the rate should be after being told different rates from different bods in the same tax office.

That's all very well if you can do that but for some of us it is a little more complex. We have £'s paid into a UK bank which is often spent in dribs and drabs in both £'s and €'s (e.g. Amazon & PayPal), Euros paid into our French bank and £'s converted and paid into French bank. We also convert £'s to $'s when on holiday. To avoid the complexities of conversion we have always used an average rate provided by the tax office which this year is 1.14

I assume the OP has not kept a detailed record of their expenditure (like most of us I would suggest) and telling them to work it out on a daily basis does not really help. We have heard all this in boring detail before on the other forum(s) but it is new to some people.

[DominicBest]

Surely keeping a record of your expenditure is irrelevant. What counts is the value of your income in Euros. Whether you leave it in Britain, move it to France, spend it or keep it as savings makes no difference.