Can Proceeds Of French House Be Left In French Or Spanish Bank

penniestopounds_3

Can anyone tell me if after I sell a house in France whether it is possible to leave the money in a french or transfer to a spanish bank account without penalties.
The house is not my main residence, sold due to divorce,I live in uk but within next 18 months approx I wish to buy a small property in france or spain.
Also can I just pay french CGT if I am able to leave money in another country and are there any other points that I have to consider.

seven-day-weekend

I think it depends whether you were resident in the country or not.

You may be best advised to contact a lawyer/accountant who has this expertise as I believe it is quite complicated.

WHA

Are you a UK resident? If so, you are liable to UK tax on your worldwide income and gains - simply not bringing the money into the UK will not make it tax free. Not declaring overseas income/gains is tax evasion.

If there is doubt as to your residence (i.e. you have not been in the UK long and/or have previously been tax resident in a different country), then you do need to see a specialist accountant/lawyer.

Also remember that you may well also be liable to French equivalent of income tax and/or capital gains tax on the sale of the property, which due to double taxation treaty, some or all will be offset against the UK liability.

epz_2

it may not be a wise idea since interest rates here are on the rise it means that the £ to euro ratio will change and after a couple more rate rises you will likely be able to buy more euros with your money later on and hence get a better deal.

that said ive not speant much time researching exchange rates and am just giving an opinion

JudyM_3

The notaire handling the sale of your French property is also a State tax collector, and will calculate the amount of any CGT ('plus value' in French!). If you have spent any money on improving the property, and you have bills from registered builders, you should be able to deduct the cost. There is a basic allowance to offset also. But ask the notaire for an estiamte of yoru plus value liability. The rate payable is 16% (27% for French residents, and 33% for other non-EU residents).
If your French home is a new build (less than 5 years old) and it is the first resale, you will be liable for repaying the VAT - and that can hurt your pocket:eek:

Generali

epz wrote: »

it may not be a wise idea since interest rates here are on the rise it means that the £ to euro ratio will change and after a couple more rate rises you will likely be able to buy more euros with your money later on and hence get a better deal.

that said ive not speant much time researching exchange rates and am just giving an opinion

If you are going to buy a new house in Euroland with the money, the best thing is to leave if in EUR as it reduces your risk. You can either do that offshore (e.g. in France or Spain) or with a UK based bank.

I definitely would not recommend a massive wealth gamble based on the above. For a start, interest rates are going up in Euroland as well as the UK. Secondly, you need to take into consideration the effect on rates of the unwinding of the carry trade (most likely IMO a (big?) fall in the value of the GBP relative to the Yen and Euro).