Wealth & non-residents — UK resident guide
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UK resident with interests in France: your obligations on both sides of the Channel

Owning a property, receiving income or considering settling in France while resident in the United Kingdom means dealing with two administrations that now automatically exchange their information. The firm Bensaid Avocats, admitted to the Paris and Geneva Bars, secures your reporting position on both sides and steers your compliance.

Request a confidential first exchange Your obligations
Tax lawyers admitted to the Paris & Geneva Bars — offices in Paris, Geneva, Marseille, Cannes and Lisbon. Support for non-residents, international families and holders of cross-border assets.
— In brief
French income return
Form 2042 and schedules via the Non-Residents Tax Office (SIPNR)
Rental income and capital gains
Return 2044, then 2048-IMM on a property sale
IFI (real estate wealth tax)
Due on real estate located in France from €1,300,000 of net real estate assets
Automatic exchange
CRS since 2016: accounts reported each year between France and the UK
Tax representative
Mandatory for real estate capital gains, exemption if price ≤ €150,000
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Overview: what remains taxable in France when you are UK resident

As a UK tax resident, you remain taxable in France on your French-source income, within the limits set by the treaty of 19 June 2008. This notably concerns rental property income, dividends from French companies, and real estate capital gains realised on properties located in France.

This income is reported using form 2042 and its schedules, with the Non-Residents Individual Tax Office (SIPNR). Property income falls under return 2044; the capital gain realised on a sale is the subject of a return 2048-IMM filed, most often, through the notary or the tax representative.

Beyond income, a UK resident remains liable for the Real Estate Wealth Tax (IFI) on real estate located in France, once the net value of this real estate exceeds €1,300,000, subject to the treaty rules. This combination — income tax, capital gains and IFI — calls for an overall view that the firm builds with you.

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Issues and obligations

Automatic exchange: why transparency is now the rule

France and the United Kingdom both apply the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), the OECD's common reporting standard. Both are among the early adopters: entry into force took place on 1 January 2016, with first exchanges in 2017. In practice, financial accounts held by a French tax resident in the United Kingdom — and, symmetrically, by a UK resident in France — are automatically reported each year from one administration to the other. The French framework is set out in the BOFiP (BOI-INT-AEA-20). This transparency changes everything: reporting omissions, even old ones, are now very easily detected by cross-checking. For a UK resident with assets in France as for a French person keeping accounts in the United Kingdom, the only tenable strategy is proactive compliance. The firm checks the consistency between what is declared on each side and, where appropriate, regularises past situations before an audit does so.

Step-by-step compliance

Securing your position follows an orderly method that the firm carries out with you. It aims to establish a coherent file, enforceable against both administrations. Step 1 — Map residence. Establish unambiguously your State of residence in light of article 4 of the treaty and the British Statutory Residence Test, documenting days of presence and personal ties. This is the foundation of the entire analysis. Step 2 — Inventory assets and income. List French real estate, financial accounts, holdings and French-source income, then identify what is taxable in France, in the United Kingdom, or in both States with a tax credit. Step 3 — Regularise French obligations. File or correct returns 2042, 2044 and, in the event of a sale, 2048-IMM; check liability to the IFI; appoint a tax representative for property disposals where the price exceeds €150,000. Step 4 — Align both sides. Ensure that income declared in France is correctly reported across the Channel, and vice versa, so as to eliminate any double taxation through the tax-credit mechanism provided for by the treaty. The firm coordinates, where necessary, with your British advisers. Step 5 — Document and archive. Assemble a supporting file (proof of residence, tax notices, returns, deeds) that can be mobilised immediately in the event of a request from either administration.

Points of vigilance and opportunities to know

Several pitfalls deserve particular attention. The 1963 succession treaty does not cover gifts: a cross-Channel gift may therefore be exposed to a double taxation that no treaty neutralises. Moreover, the British notion of domicile, and its recent evolution towards a residence criterion for Inheritance Tax, must be analysed on a case-by-case basis. On real estate capital gains, retention of the CSG-CRDS exemption (i.e. 7.5% instead of 17.2%) remains subject to three cumulative conditions. Britons who wrongly paid 17.2% can claim a refund of the overpayment, within a period running until 31 December of the second year following payment — a systematic review is called for on recent disposals. Finally, settling in France or returning from the United Kingdom raises sequencing questions: articulation with the "4-year" FIG regime on the British side, a possible exit tax in the event of a subsequent departure, and the treatment of transitional income. The firm, present in Paris and Geneva, designs these trajectories over time and incorporates, where the situation requires, the Swiss dimension of the estate.

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Lead counsel — Me Jonathan Bensaid

Me Jonathan Bensaid, founding partner, advises UHNWIs, family offices, executives and non-residents on international wealth taxation and cross-border compliance. The firm is admitted to the Paris & Geneva Bars.

  • UK resident in France
  • non-resident reporting obligations
  • CRS automatic exchange
  • non-resident IFI
  • tax representative
  • property capital gain France
  • tax lawyer Paris Geneva
— Frequently asked questions

Transparency demands anticipation

I am resident in the United Kingdom and I let a flat in France: must I report in France?

Yes. French-source property income remains taxable in France. You must file a return 2042 together with the 2044 with the Non-Residents Individual Tax Office (SIPNR). This income is then taken into account in the United Kingdom, double taxation being neutralised by the tax credit provided for by the 2008 treaty.

Am I liable for the IFI if I live in the United Kingdom?

Yes, on your real estate located in France, once the net value of this French real estate exceeds €1,300,000, subject to the treaty rules. Real estate assets located outside France are not included in the base for a UK resident.

Can the French administration see my British bank accounts?

Yes. France and the United Kingdom have applied the Common Reporting Standard since 2016: financial accounts are automatically reported each year between the two administrations. An omission is now easily detected by cross-checking, which makes proactive compliance indispensable.

Must I appoint a tax representative to sell my property in France?

In principle yes, since the United Kingdom is outside the European Union and the EEA following Brexit. The appointment of an accredited tax representative is mandatory for real estate capital gains, with an automatic exemption where the sale price does not exceed €150,000 or in the event of full exemption.

I paid 17.2% in social levies on a sale: can I recover part of it?

Probably. If you meet the three conditions (affiliation to British social security, national or lawful resident of France-UK-EEA, not affiliated to a French scheme), you owed only 7.5%. A refund of the overpayment may be claimed until 31 December of the second year following payment.

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Bringing your situation into compliance, with peace of mind

A UK resident holding assets in France, or in the process of a cross-Channel move: the firm Bensaid Avocats establishes a coherent file enforceable against both administrations, regularises past obligations and secures your future returns. Our Paris and Geneva offices coordinate all of your contacts.

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Content of an informative nature, up to date with the texts known as at the date of publication and subject to the applicable finance act. It does not constitute personalised advice. Each situation must be the subject of an individual analysis. Bensaid Avocats, Paris & Geneva Bars.