Basic Tax Awareness

Disclaimer

Indian Community Toulouse (ICT), had organised an French tax filing awareness session on April 24, 2021. Following this session, we have summarised all your questions and their answers in this document.

• You can watch the recorded session here: ICT Youtube channel. Also a step by step process of Basic filing in Facebook/ICT. The Q&A below is complementory to the discussions in this video. We request you to watch it if you need detailed process of tax filing.

• Prasanth & Naman (speakers), Karthik & Sanjay (support) work in french private sector companies.

• They do not work for any government bodies (Indian or French).

• They do not do tax consulting or work with any consultancies.

• All the information/suggestions provided in this talk is available freely online on French govt sites (www.impots.gouv.fr)

• The steps mentioned are based on personal experiences, understanding and feedbacks, not to be taken as official steps.

• Questions not answered here are beyond the scope of the topic that was discussed.

• Please leave your feedback here: Event feedback form

A. First time filing tax

1. My valid ID would be my Titré de Séjour number on récépissé? And what if I apply for the number now, but I move in a couple of months to some other city for a job?

Answer: Fiscal number is something which the tax office gives you. Apply for it where you currently live. You’ll have the option to change the address when you move to a different address.

2. I do not have a social security number since I was in France for 7 months and because of COVID I couldn't get it and had to move back to India. Can I still file tax?

Answer: You need a Fiscal number for the tax payment (discussed in the first half of presentation: check the Youtube video). So, apply for the tax fiscal number using the 2043 form with all the available details via email. The tax department will contact you if there is some missing information including the social security number.

3. I am a student. Do I need to apply for tax? Currently I moved on to Aps visa. Should I need to start my tax declaration now?

Answer:Yes, it is advisable to declare the tax when you are student or a jobseeker with APS.

4. I have already filed my income tax declaration and ITR in India (no income), do i need to declare it in France too?

Answer: Yes, you have to file the taxes in France for the income in France and abroad.

5. I am in France since 2019 but haven't done this exercise ever. What happens if we do not declare tax?

Answer: If you have earned money above the limits, you can speak to the tax dept and ask them to do a late declaration by paying whatever fines they ask. If it's 0 income, don't worry about it and just declare for 2020.

6. 2043 needs to be sent offline for the first time. Do you have an email/address for offline filling?

Answer: The first part of our presentation explains how to get that email address. Follow our livestream which is recorded in our Youtube channel mentioned in disclaimers.

7. I was in my university city till my 3rd semester, for internship I moved to another city. In which department I should apply the tax file? I do not have any address in the old city.

Answer: You should file the tax in the department where you lived on 1st January 2021.

B. Student

1. Where should we declare the amount received during an internship as a student?

Answer: It should be declared under section 1AJ as mentioned in the presentation.

2. Do the students doing part time also need to file the declaration?

Answer: Yes, It is advisable and will be useful for you. Unless you don't exceed 18,255 euros per year, you won't pay anything anyway.

3. Where should I add the Scholarship amount?

Answer: You can read this link which explains it: www.etudiant.gouv.fr. You can check with the tax office as well.

4. Do we need to declare something related to the amount received from our parents from India for our expenses, being a student?

Answer: No.

C. Non-French bank accounts

1. Is it compulsory to declare bank accounts of India like SBI for example?

Answer: Yes, it is mandatory via 3916 annexure. Failing to do will lead to payment of a fine.

2. Even if the bank accounts are 0 balance or have not been used in the past 3-4 years, is it still required to declare them?

Answer: Yes.

3. Do we also need to declare online accounts such as Transferwise, Revolut, etc?

Answer: Yes, If you use them as a bank account. Basic money transfer services like Skrill, etc aren't bank accounts.

4. Can we declare indian accounts for last year returns also? I forgot to declare indian accounts last year.

Answer: It is better to include those details while declaring this year. We cannot change last year’s file now.

5. Is it necessary to declare all the bank account details again, even if nothing has changed since last year's declaration?

Answer: Usually the previously declared accounts are already stored in their database.

6. I have not converted my account to NRE and NRO, does it have any adverse effect here while filing the tax here?

Answer: It might not have an adverse effect immediately, but move to an NRE and NRO account as soon as possible.

7. I have 2 NRE and 1 NRO account that I opened last year. I suppose I have to declare them in form 3916. Do I need to declare interest income in those accounts too and how?

Answer: No, the interest need not be declared in 3916. Consult the DTAA between France and India. It will help you to calculate the interest amount that is taxable in France. You can also consulat a tax professional who is aware of these topics.

8. I have some FDs attached to my NRE accounts, do I need to declare them separately?

Answer: No, you have to declare only the bank accounts in 3916. Consult the DTAA between France and India. It will help you to calculate the interest amount that is taxable in France. You can also consulat a tax professional who is aware of these topics.

D. Non-French insurances

1. Do we need to declare insurance policies in India? like LIC or term life insurance?

Answer: Yes, in section 8TT. It should be declared even if the policy is of a small amount.

2. Income from insurance policies in India is exempt in India. Is it taxable in France?

Answer: Consult the DTAA between France and India. It will help you to calculate the taxable amount in France. You can also consulat a tax professional who is aware of these topics.

E. Money sent to India

1. Can the money sent to India to help parents be tax deductible and where to fill that info?

Answer: Yes, there is tax exemption. It should be filled in section 6GU (explained in the presentation).

2. What is the max limit for 6GU for the amount sent to parents?

Answer: ~7400 for single parent. ~14000 for both parents. Make sure you keep all proofs, they might ask for no income certificates for your parents, from Indian government.

3. Is it important to send money every month? or occasionally sent money is okay (upto 5000 euros) ?

Answer: You are going to declare only the total amount in 6GU. So the number of transfers in a year isn't important. You should have valid proofs for all the transactions.

4. I have been sending money to my account via transferwise for my parents- for their expenses and maintenance. I did not send it to their account. Can I still declare this in 6GU?

Answer: It should be sent to their accounts only. The tax dept can ask for proof as well as no income certificates of your parents from Indian government.

5. I am sending money to India for family maintenance and again that account name is on my name and I am making some transfers via India account. Will I be able to claim that as deduction 14000 EUR?

Answer: No.

6. For the amount sent to the NRE account, we need to mention only the interest earned in the past one year or also the actual amount transferred too?

Answer: Money sent to an NRE account doesn’t fall under this category. It should be sent to parents who do not have income or very less income.

7. Can the money sent to sibling in the US for his higher studies be tax deductible?

Answer: Money sent to persons other than your parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren or former spouses is not deductible. For more information, please refer the following: www.impots.gouv.fr/aides

8. I and my wife declare together, I have sent the money to support my in-laws and my parents as well. Now do I get the benefits of just 14k Euros ? or more ?

Answer: 14k is the upper limit they consider for a person's parents. You may be asked to prove their no income proof in India.

9. I pay my personal loan which was taken for my studies and I pay from the indian account monthly, but I send money to indian account from france. how to declare this in a tax file?

Answer: It is not tax deductible.

F. Spouse/Partner

1. What is the status of a person who is married however stays alone in France. The family and child are in their home country. Would the tax status be SINGLE?

Answer: No, It’s considered as married.

2. Please let us know later if holder of dependent spouse visa should get their numero fiscal with a special means or something else, if the dependent is unemployed

Answer: The procedure is the same as presented. In Form 2043, there is section to fill out spouse details.

3. If we are married, and if the spouse is not yet in mainland France, will that have any implication on tax rate?

Answer: To be able to have tax reduction (when a spouse is in France and is unemployed), the french fiscal number is necessary.

4. Is wife considered as "Person in charge" when she is unemployed and staying in France?

Answer: Wife is considered as dependant and they already divide your total income in 2 parts for this.

5. My family situation has changed in the previous year. Me and My spouse both are salaried employees in France.Do we now have to declare our taxes together or can they still be filed separately?

Answer: You can do a joint declaration with the total income of the household. Please refer the following for a detailed explanation: www.impots.gouv.fr/mariagepacs-et-impots

6. My wife joined me this year, this is the first time I'm filing tax online, filed last year through paper, so i have a number. since my wife joined me in sept 2020, how can she get her number?

Answer: By filling the form 2043, procedure explained in the presentation

7. For Audio Visual Tax, while filing for a spouse if we select a checkbox that has no TV in primary residence, does it still create a taxable amount coz for I would have not selected the same checkbox?

Answer: You can do a joint declaration with the total income of the household. This will cover the audio visual tax too. Please refer the following for a detailed explanation: www.impots.gouv.fr/mariagepacs-et-impots

8. How do you enter income where one spouse is a self employed person while the other is an employed person?

Answer: Kindly consult a tax professional for topics related to freelancing “micro-entrepreneur”.

9. The auto entrepreneur has a siret number based on which I am declaring and filing tax. So should I resubmit my income from salary and auto entrepreneur in the joint declaration with my partner?

Answer: Kindly consult a tax professional for topics related to freelancing “micro-entrepreneur”.

10. This is my second time declaring the taxes but first time for my spouse. My question is: Can I jointly declare for both of us online? Or will my spouse have to still send documents by post? FYI, both our accounts on imports are already linked meaning the details of the spouse can be seen in each of our accounts.

Answer: You can do a joint declaration with the total income of the household. This will cover the audio visual tax too. Please refer the following for a detailed explanation: www.impots.gouv.fr/mariagepacs-et-impots

11. Where shall I declare money sent to my wife's account in india? For parents I know it is 6GH.

Answer: Money sent to persons other than your parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren or former spouses is not deductible. For more information, please refer the following: www.impots.gouv.fr/aides

G. Others

1. Is crypto currency taxable ? Where do we declare it?

Answer: We are not covering this part during the presentation, but you can find the details at www.impots.gouv.fr/etranger

2. Is it possible to declare (while filing tax) the amount spent on personal training (e.g. Permis De Conduire, etc.)?

Answer: No

3. I entered france in 2020 and paid tax for 2 months. And I received an acknowledgement from the tax office that I will get my tax number in 2 weeks, probably by next week. So as soon as I receive the tax number, will my details shared by the company, and tax I paid last year (2 months) be updated on impot?

Answer: We don’t know if it’ll be reflected or not. If it isn’t updated, please update the details as explained in the presentation.

4. Left France in June 2020. Oct,Nov,dec 20 taught music to french students. They were billed from In & the payment came from France to In and the revenues are declared with GST India. Should this also be in 2042NR?

Answer: Please consult a tax professional.

5.If we are repaying a personal loan in France, can we claim tax benefit?

Answer: No.

6. Where to declare the amount spent in your own marriage in India ?

Answer: That’s not tax deductible expense.

7. Can we claim some tax deduction for furnishing an unfurnished apartment which we have rented ? eg:- buying basic furnitures like stove , fridge etc

Answer: No.

8. Hello, do we get any deduction for loans (crédit immobilier) and the interest paid towards them?

Answer: Please consult a tax professional.

9. Is there any declaration to be made for chomage partiel?

Answer: They are not treated separately and you have to use 1AJ to ADJ. Please consult the following: www.impots.gouv.fr/allocations-chomage

10. I pay some money to an NGO using my french bank account. How can I declare it in the tax form? I do have receipts of payment.

Answer: As explained in the presentation, you can use the section of 7UF to declare the donations made in France. You should be having the receipts for the donations. Please consult the following: www.impots.gouv.fr/questions

11. How do we pay habitation tax if applicable ? part of the tax return?

Answer: A notice will be sent at the end of the year about tax d'habitation. You'll have option to deposit it at local tax office by cheque or logging into impots and pay online..

12. My salary is paid after the tax, do I need to enter anywhere the impot revenue/ tax separately which I paid already?

Answer: Yes this is normal. You will have a net fiscal cumul on your salary slip to declare for the total salary and impot sur revenue for the amount already paid.

13. Where do we include income earned in India?

Answer: Consult the DTAA between France and India. It will help you to calculate the amount that is taxable in France. You can also consulat a tax professional who is aware of these topics.

14. I have been living at a private hostel residence from Jan-Dec 2020. Could you kindly confirm that a) I should fill in my old address in form and then b) additionally mention my new address in 2021?

Answer: When you do an online declaration, they ask you to update your address on 01 January 2021. Update it accordingly.

15. How do I know how much household tax to pay for my previous apartment, a non-gov student housing?

Answer: You’ll get a letter after declaration.

16. I was taxed at a very high rate (28%) as I changed my employer and received cash for all the paid leave I hadn't taken. Is there any way to get some of this back?

Answer: Please contact the tax department.

17. What about the charges deducted as social contributions?

Answer: It's already deducted and the tax office knows.

18. How do I fill out the form for housing tax/AV tax if I am declaring for the first time this year - paper form?

Answer: Yes, it is under contribution à l’audiovisuel public

19. I understand that a Passport Talent visa gives tax benefit, under which heading it needs to be filled? What is the cap?

Answer: There are no such tax benefits for regular Passeport Talent. For passport talent obtained from India, based on post doc/PhD please mention about the double taxation agreements with India and France at the tax office by paying them a visit.

“Pay taxes in time and live stress free”