Hi All,

I am filling out my déclaration for the 1st time (or not filling it out as the case may be, I don't have a clue where to start...) and have very little time left before the deadline because I just got the form this week.

In the Paris area, does anyone know what the quickest and best value source of help may be? I.e. start phoning accountants or go and sit in line at the local tax office in hope of some advice?

Thanks,

Danielle

Hi Danielle, not easy to advise via Forum as circs may differ. Assume you have 2042 Blue form, which is main tax form and 2047 Pinkish which is for overseas declarations. If your French is good, go queue. Forms are not rocket science, unless you're a Time Lord living in a Tardis.
You'll find the French queueing for advice. Deadline for paper is 31 May.
One of the English language papers has offered a useful pull-out, so perhaps go look in the supermarket.

have you tried also asking friends and colleagues? I learnt loads about 'frais reels' for example from them.

However for most things I go ask; they often look at me like 'why are you here it is soooo simple' but having made a right royal mess of last years' claim (which took 6 months to resolve) this year I decided to own up to my lack of understanding; several visits later and being recognised in my busy office! I think I got there.

Dont panic!! They are really quite helpful and ok!

In my first year in Paris I went down to the local tax office for advice, and this was with very basic French. Just about got by - so much better than making extortionate amounts to an accountant unless you have a particularly difficult setup. I'd get a ticket and pop inside - they're usually a friendly bunch.

The first time we received a tax return, we lost sleep over it for a couple of weeks, and then eventually went, with trepidation, to our local hotel des impots. Speaking almost no French at the time, I arrived armed with a smile and a huge dictionary. Nobody there spoke any English, but they were patient and helpful. The job was completed swiftly and efficiently. Last year I did it online and had no problems. My advice would be let the experts help you, and best of all it costs nothing. Good Luck!

Thanks all, will be heading down there next week. It shouldn't be too complicated - revenue from jobs in UK and France + UK rental income + bank and savings account declarations... Will be easier next year when partially pre-filled!

Cheers all, am off to London for the weekend now.

Best regards,

DR

You might want to check the £/€ conversion rate they are using as you wll need to translate sums into Euros. Seems not all impots agree on rate, it can vary.

For the 1st one you have to go to the Impots for the forms anyway so why not take all your information and ask for help. That's what we did and they were very helpful to the extent of filling them in and giving us photocopies for guidance next time.

Also many Mairies run advice workshops where someone from Impots visits for a few hours one day in the week.

Don't forget your 3916 for declaring overseas bank accounts, you can write the details on plain paper if you have more than you can get on the form.

The main thing is don't worry about it, it's not as daunting as it seems and if you need more time just ask, they will always give it to you but not after the submission date has passed

There is another advantage to going to the tax office. If you ask for their help in filling in the form, don't forget to get their name; you can ask them to write their name on a compliments slip. That way, if there is a problem anytime, you can always say, "But that is what Mr/Ms X advised me to do..."

The staff in tax offices are usually very helpful.