Stand up for your rights on social levies
No changes have been made to the rules concerning social charges and UK state pensions or UK rental income – so if these have been wrongly levied on this type of income you have until the end of 2019 to lodge a complaint.
That is the advice give to The Connexion by the central tax authority, the DGFiP, after we contacted it to report several instances of readers whose avis d’impôt for 2016 income shows social charges levied on incomes which are normally exempt.
It is thought that some problems are linked to the last-minute inclusion of a number of new boxes on this year’s income tax forms causing confusion.
If you are affected it will be reflected in the Montant de vos prélèvements sociaux (amount of social charges) shown separately from Montant de votre impôt (amount of tax) on the front of the avis. However check that the charges are not related to other income, such as bank interest.
A DGFiP spokesman said: “Residents who are not a burden on an obligatory French social security regime [ie. schemes for workers and the self-employed] are not subject to social charges on their UK pensions and do not have to pay CSG, CRDS or Casa.”
He added: “UK property revenues give the right to a tax credit equal to the French tax corresponding to these incomes on condition that the French resident is subject to UK tax on the same income. ‘French tax’ covers income tax and social charges.”
Incomes which are of a kind that are tax-exempt in the UK do not benefit from this, but where personal tax allowances cancel any tax payable to the UK this does not deprive the French resident of the right to a tax credit in France.
You can contact the tax office via your personal space on impots.gouv.fr Under Nous contacter, click Ma messagerie sécurisée. Place the cursor over Ecrire à l’administration and choose Je signale une erreur sur le calcul de mon impôt, click
Ma demande concerne l’impôt sur le revenu ou les prélèvements sociaux.
If you wish, while your complaint is dealt with you may ask for a sursis de paiement – a deferment in paying the bill. However if the tax office finds no error was made, it may impose late payment penalties. If you have no response within six months, it may be considered a rejection.
Alternatively, you could send a réclamation by recorded delivery post with reception slip to your tax office, including a copy of your avis and supporting documents (eg. a copy of your S1, UK tax statement etc).
You can also make a complaint in person at the tax office and be given a fiche de visite slip.
Income tax can be a complex area and we suggest you seek professional advice related to your individual situation.
