Are we liable to French wealth tax after five years of residency card ownership?
The tax implications for UK retirees living in France post-Brexit
You must declare a French property over the IFI threshold of €1.3 million
ShutterstockBob Cullinan
Reader Question: My wife and I are retired and have lived in France since before Brexit, staying six months here and six months in the UK. We have cartes de séjour permanent but remain fiscally declared in the UK. Is it true a person can become liable to IFI (Impôt sur la Fortune Immobilière) property wealth tax five years after obtaining a residency card? If so, can we hand in the cards and just apply for visas each year instead?
If you have permanent residency cards under the Withdrawal Agreement (WA), there is no provision to ‘hand them in’ as such.
Rights to live in France continue as long as you are not absent from French soil for five years in a row.
Cards under the WA were, however, initially aimed at those who had ‘moved to France’ to make it their main home.
The main issue now is whether you are French tax residents: French tax law on this topic makes no direct reference to residency rights or cards but rather revolves around where your main home and attachments are and where you spend the most time.
If in doubt, seek advice from an accountant (expert-comptable) or tax avocat dealing with international clients. The UK has its own tests, but usually one is a tax resident of one or the other and the UK/France double tax treaty includes ‘tie-breaker’ tests if necessary; nationality is one of them.
Read more: Is French wealth tax when leaving France pro-rata?
IFI thresholds
With regard to IFI, non-residents are liable to declare and pay if they have property in France over the IFI threshold (€1.3 million after certain allowances) on January 1 of a given year.
Residents are liable worldwide concerning their bricks-and-mortar property, land and property-based investments, minus allowances including 30% of the value of the main home.
You mention five years: property located outside France is not assessable for IFI until the end of the fifth calendar year after the one in which a person becomes a French tax resident.
