Living abroad tips and hints for money savers

donny-gal

We have a friend out near us, whose husband is an ex-accountant, and he seems very up on the Spanish tax system, they ae resident and I think they do everything in Spain now. If you wish 7DW I will ask him how to register.

I know our neighbour behind has all her tax done in Spain now and says she pays less.

DG

carrots

DS, I have pm'd you about your trip in Feb.

..... last time round, I used a guide from the newspaper Connexion (http://www.connexionfrance.com/). The guide was issued as part of the paper last year, and I believe that it can be bought separately on the website.

Thank you for the reference, I will look into it.

But I am puzzled about why you need to do your tax declaration now. I presume it is at the request of your agent. But the forms for completion are generally sent out out by the authorities around May, and in fact I do my declaration online. Then, towards the end of the calendar year, you receive an"Avis d'imposition", later followed by the issue of your bills for Taxes Foncières and Taxe d'habitation.

For the French income tax, I have to fill in a 14-page questionnaire and return it to the agent by 1 March. I did this in Feb last year for the 2007 tax year but only got feedback from the agent last week (despite numerous phone calls) and have had nothing from the French tax people.

For the UK income tax the deadline is 31 Jan and the agent wants me to say if I need assistance because they will need codes in order to do the return online.

I don't know if your affairs are more complex than mine, but if you have only your pension and State pension, a couple of current accounts and a couple of savings accounts, and nothing much else, I don't see that the expense of the agent is justified, unless you are of an anxious disposition and wish to be free of all pressures and doubts.

In addition, I have two ISAs, but that about sums it up. Oh, and although not normally of an anxious disposition, when it comes to this sort of thing I am. Also, I feel I'm paying a lot of money - 295.05E - and I still have pressures and doubts!

Of course, if you have income here from a gîte or something, then you are well advised to use an accountant. But why should you have to pay twice? I do feel that you may be being taken for a ride here, but you will know much better than I, of course.

No, no income in France whatsoever. I pay twice because in addition to the bill for the French tax return, I have to pay for the UK tax return (last year for 06-07, £195).

The "ride" thing had occurred to me, too (there was something else that struck me as irregular but I'll just stick to this subject for now). Frankly, DS, I'd rather pay you because your feedback shows you understand the situation and maybe you could teach me how to do it myself!

carrots

SDW! Hello there! Thank you so much for helping me put my tax probs into perspective.

I'm just like you.

It is something that always plays on my mind .....

, but reading your post had me going :eek: :eek: :eek: .

I rarely drink beer, but if you can imagine it's Bailey's or Porto or champers or something, here's to you :beer:

carrots

DG, hello!

Mmmmmmmm now should I plan a MSE tour to Spain, calling at Kent, mid-France, southern France, and then after a break at our place, going up a mountain in Southern Spain.

Just let me know as soon as your plans are laid ..... I live 5 minutes off the A20 if that's any good to you!

seven-day-weekend

carrots wrote: »

SDW! Hello there! Thank you so much for helping me put my tax probs into perspective.

I'm just like you. , but reading your post had me going :eek: :eek: :eek: .

I rarely drink beer, but if you can imagine it's Bailey's or Porto or champers or something, here's to you :beer:

And a gin and tonic from me!:beer:

seven-day-weekend

donny-gal wrote: »

We have a friend out near us, whose husband is an ex-accountant, and he seems very up on the Spanish tax system, they ae resident and I think they do everything in Spain now. If you wish 7DW I will ask him how to register.

I know our neighbour behind has all her tax done in Spain now and says she pays less.

DG

Oh thanks, that would be a huge help! How kind of you.

majic_2

We retired to France some 12 years ago and have enjoyed (nearly) every minute.

On the financial side (since this is a financial web site), the biggest advantage is the huge difference in property prices, even while the UK prices are in free fall. It is impossible to be precise, because much depends upon location (as in UK), but generally one can count on a French property being at least 50% cheaper than it's British equivalent. Although French property prices are also falling, the fall is far less steep, because, in the recent past, French banks did not indulge in the foolish inflationary lending of their British counterparts, keeping property prices sensible and affordable.

On the health side, a UN report in 2008, rated the French NHS to be the best in Europe and, sadly from personal experience, I can confirm its efficiency and lack of waiting time. This is NOT to knock the British NHS, which served us well when we were living in England. I note, from an ex-pat web site, that a considerable number of British who moved initially to Spain, have now re-located to France because of their poor experience of the Spanish health system. On the down side, the French system does not pay 100% for health treatment, regardless of age, except for certain major conditions, such as cancer, and top up insurance is recommended to fund the difference - our annual premium (two retired people) coming to around £1,500.

There is no road fund licence, petrol and diesel are cheaper, and the council tax equivalent is considerably cheaper than UK as is Alcohol and tobacco (we neither smoke nor drink).

In a European survey in late 2007, the cost of living in France was some 4% higher than the European average, 20% higher than Spain, but 20% lower than UK. Not sure how those figures would stack up now.

On the down side, the recent fall in the value of sterling has resulted in a near 30% fall in the buying power of our, sterling based, pensions, but, by contrast, if we were to sell our French house now and move back to England, we would receive considerably more pounds than just one year ago.

I understand that wages/salaries are lower than in Britain, with higher percentage tax takes and the cost of employing people can be frighteningly high. We do speak quite fluent French, which, in my opinion, is essential if one wishes to work here.

As with everything and everybody, there will be exceptions to the above comments, but our experience (until the falling of sterling) is that France is noticably cheaper than Britain - but if you are an OAP, there are very few concessions (health costs, tax free bands, no winter fuel allowance, no bus passes).

gfplux

Hello all,
With regard to Tax. It appears I am in a more simple situation to most of the other regulars on this forum.
I am resident for tax purposes here in Luxembourg so only pay Tax in one place. I have income from the UK (pensions etc) and these are paid gross. I then declare this to the Luxembourg authority's and pay Tax here. Once registered here you get a tax form sent once a year to fill out. The first time this happened I visited a local accountant and we did it together. From then on i have filled it out myself and then visit the accountant for it to be checked over and then I send it off. It costs me about €200 per year but as there are little changes every year (like the UK) this visit and expence keeps me up to date.
It was a very simple matter to become a non resident and I sleep very well at night knowing I only have to worry about one Tax Authority. I would recommend it.

droopsnout

Yep, quite right.

The trouble is, those of us receiving pensions from the UK government (e.g., teachers or ex-NHS staff) have to pay tax on our pensions to the UK authorities.

Savvy_Sue

carrots, just to say that if your only income is pensions and account interest, I am quite sure you could sort it out yourself via the HMRC website. The difficulty may arise if you have other income streams which need to be declared in the UK (eg renting out a house here) or you're not sure what does and doesn't need to be declared. However, if you've got copies of what your French chap did last year, and not a lot has changed, it wouldn't be too hard to carry on doing roughly the same.