Helen1964

Sorry to do this to you but the French tax forms for 2020 are now out.

This year’s return is doubly traumatic for me because not only am I filing online for the first time, but also my UK rental income has gone up (first world problems, I know) and I can no longer declare via the micro foncier route - I have to complete Form 2044 (as well as 2047 and the main form 2042 plus the one for declaring foreign bank accounts).

Anyway, rather than let it spoil my weekend, I did it all online on Friday and submitted it. But I can make changes until early June and am having second thoughts about a couple of points.

Firstly, in Form 2044 when it asks you to itemize your expenses related to the UK rental property (“détail”), I listed the bigger items individually but for the multiple minor repairs that were done, I just wrote “divers travaux urgents” and gave a total figure with a random date and the name of our agent who organized all these minor repairs.
Do you think that will be acceptable or could I word the description better? I’ve kept all receipts in case there’s ever a query.

Secondly, do you think I should use the “Mention expresse” section to explain what exchange rate I used (£1 = €1.143 as agreed with Banque de France and recommended by Connexion magazine guide) and perhaps politely remind them (as I’ve done in previous years in the paper version) that UK rental income attracts neither French tax nor prélèvements sociaux?

Many thanks in advance for your help.

dmu

Sorry I can't help much, I just wanted to say Bravo for doing it all on-line for the first time! Suffering from chronic illectronism and having complicated things to declare on the main form, I've asked my man-at-the-Caisse d'Epargne to help me with it again. Next year should be a doddle, as the main complication is being sold this year....
If I remember rightly, there's a section where you can make comments and you should remind the Fisc in case they've forgotten...
Isn't your rental income transferred directly to your French Bank A/C? This is what happens for my UK Pension and I just add up the quarterly euros transferred at the exchange rate of the day.
HTH, if only slightly...

Helen1964

Thanks DMU. I must confess the anticipation was the worst bit and once I got into it, it went OK.

My UK rental income is paid into our UK bank account. It never makes it as far as France. So I just used the exchange rate recommended in the Connexion mag French income tax guide.

I wasn't sure if the online "Mention expresse" section was simply equivalent to the section in the paper forms where you can add a little note or whether it is something more formal and attracts a whole different level of scrutiny.

cator

My little problem was with the amount of CSG for the revenues de sources estrangers, namely my UK pension. I chose 8.3% which I hope is correct. Another point was the date I opened my UK bank account which in the past I left blank but now requires a date before you can continue.

cyrian

I had a similar problem when I applied for motor insurance and the question was "when did you pass your driving test?".
When I gave the correct date (age 17) the computer rejected it because I was not 18.
I added one year to the date to comply.
Unless it is a recently opened bank account, give an approximate date.

G-J-B

I haven't done mine yet. Do you really have to enter the date for the opening of foreign bank accounts? I've always left that field blank. I was a kid when I opened mine, so I'm completely clueless and can only approximate unless the bank is able to give me that information.

Tweedpipe

No real cause for concern. You should remember approx how old you were when first account was opened. Use that date and you shouldn't have a problem.

dmu

I think I simply gave the year when I started earning in the UK, the very first time it was asked for, and the details have been pre-filled in since then.
(Meanwhile I'm looking forward to the Pont de l'Ascension when DD2 is hoping to come for "compelling family reasons" (e.g. helping Maman fill in her Déclaration on-line). If she's unable to come, I'll have to fall back on my Financial Adviser at the Cd'E.... and, upon reflection, the Déclaration will be just as complicated for me next year, since there'll be a few months of ownership of rented property in 2021 to declare....)

G-J-B

Thanks Tweedpipe and DMU. The problem is I have a bad head for dates. I think I was about 14, but I could be 2 or 3 years out. I have other accounts too, and I've really no idea when they were opened, but it was a lifetime ago. I think I'll have to contact my banks. As the accounts are really old, obviously opened when I lived int he UK, I can't really see the dates being that important. Obviously closing dates are more relevant... I'll see how I get on, but I'm glad I know before I fill in my tax return.

Helen1964

I didn’t know the exact date either but I called the Nationwide and once they’d run through a few security questions, they were able to tell me the date.

EuroTrash

I wonder if the reason that this date of opening accounts thing is a problem is that most banks record it with your account details but UK banks don't. I haven't checked my profile on Crédit Ag but with my other non-UK bank accounts, it's easy to find the exact date when the account was opened from my espace client. If that's the case the fisc probably assume you have the information right there in front of you, they don't realise that for Brits it's a bit of a poser.

cyrian

This is just a sign of changing times.
HMRC also want the information of when accounts - particularly interest bearing accounts- were opened and also when they were closed.
I automatically record this information for my UK tax return.

G-J-B

Thankfully a quick phone call, and one online message gave me the opening dates for my accounts, so at least I've now got this information to hand.
Apparently the declaration DSI is being merged into the standard tax return this year - hopefully it's straightforward enough, and at least that's one less thing to fill in separately.

dmu

FWIW, I just spent over an hour with my Financial Adviser, who was swearing under his mask as he waded through the Déclaration. How would I have coped, I ask myself.
Up until today, a foreign bank account has been pre-filled after the first declaration. Not this morning and, since I didn't have all my UK bank details on me, he gave a Gallic shrug and clicked that I didn't have one....
The bad news is that, despite his attempts to find an error, I've got a 4-figure tax adjustment to pay some time soon..... As my income didn't changed radically in 2020, it must be the Fisc which didn't demand enough last year....

EuroTrash

Do make sure that you don't have any undeclared foreign accounts dmu. Otherwise you may end up with another four-figure sum in fines. They really do clobber people if they uncover an undeclared foreign bank account, it's not worth taking the risk.