Living in France for 6 months (less than 183 days).

That is what I am doing. As long as you do not work in France and your income is from the US you do not have to pay taxes except if you buy a house. Occupation Taxes and Property taxes.  Income from
the Internet is tricky it has to stay in the US and not do biz in France. But I still filed out the forms and got a letter stating that if we did not stay over we are good. The answer takes 3 months plus 2 weeks.

https://www.impots.gouv.fr/portail/form … es-revenushttps://www.impots.gouv.fr/portail/particulierhttps://www.welcometofrance.com/en/fill … tax-return

Cerfa no. 2042 is the form number as a PDF

It is a project to go through it all and check the US - French tax Treaty  and IRS F-Bar

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-bu … ounts-fbar 

If the total value of all your French bank accounts is greater than $10,000 at any time in a year you have to report it on your income tax 1040 and form 8938. And if it goes over $100,000 at any time in the yr you must also do the F-Bar filing.
https://bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/NoR … lFBAR.html

John

" As long as you do not work in France and your income is from the US you do not have to pay taxes except..."

If I trade stocks in France using my brokerage account in the US, are the capital gain or loss generated in France or in the US? Or sometimes I exchange a mutual fund in my 401(k) in the US for a different mutual fund. If I do this in France through the internet connection, do I have to report such transactions to French Government?

Thanks.

USE VPN so you are in the US. But I do not believe they a watching you. Respect is very important in France. And not giving information not asked for is totally ok. The internet is only a problem if you receive the money in France sent by customers, not in France. Or customers in France if do not have the right work. I do things for people that need help for goodwill. So sometime, if I need help I can accept some. And it is OK to move money from your bank in the US to your bank in France, but for it to work it is good to tell you French Bank. The Banks are very worried about strange transactions. They are expected to Police their accounts. I send money every year before I come to France and about the same amount but notify respectfully my banker. Don't ask but warn them. They will tell no if they need to because your trouble will be theirs also. Remember all forms are demands. Demands with respect are normal. Asking if you can is not understood.

Thanks for your information.

I am planning to withdraw cash from ATM using Schwab Bank because they don't charge any ATM fees. Should I open a bank account in France? If I should open a bank account in France, HSBC is a good one? Unless I buy a real estate property, all I need is some cash and credit cards. I use a credit cards which don't charge foreign transaction fees.

Good luck with opening a bank account in France! In 2019 while in Paris, I needed to setup an account to deposit Euros on a monthly basis. A BNP branch on Boulevard Haussmann rudely and categorically refused. I hold dual citizenships: 2 passports, but  living presently in Florida.  Thank God for Schwab! In my youth I had 2 bank accounts at  a Societe Generale and at a BNP in Paris.  They  could not care less! France is living in the Middle  Ages. Granted there may be attempts of suspicious activity but my funds were coming from a respectable French retirement source.  Vive  l'Amerique!

I have a French wife that has had a Credit Agr account since she was a child. And I was not able to get my SS number or Carte Vitale until I had my own I-BAN #. But our bank is in a smallish village. And were not inclined to let me in until I got my Carte Sejour. Now I can have as many as I want.  I personally only use a card except at the cafe. And it has my wife's name on it. She did not change her name when we married in the US. And that gives her trouble because her French papers now have my Nom on them. But not her Bank and the cars. The Government seems to have problems taking payment from you for the carte Vitale if the I-BAN does not come from a "real" French bank.  So you need to check with HSBC  I understand they are having some trouble. Even in the US because of money movements that Governments want to control.  As a noncitizen, you cannot own a car. So you have to look around and ask questions.

John

If you move money you should talk to your banker first. You do not want to surprise them. Because they get in trouble with the bosses. The boss's rules are unquestioned and the help gets the blame. Have your own contact at the bank. At Credit Arg, they give you one. And it is best to at least tell them when you are going to do it with some warning. Respect the worker pays. They smile.

They make up the transaction fees with the rate of exchange. I had a euro account in the US and traded in euros to build enough for the yearly trip and wired it to my wife's French bank, emailing them in advance. They do not like surprises so I respect them and warn them, I do not ask because that is not understood. It is your right. Now the US Bank charges me for keeping the euros. So I sent them all to France. And warned the French Bank 3 working days in advance so no problem, not a peep.

Hi John,

Thanks for your stories. But do I need a French bank account? I can use my Schwab debit card to get cash at any ATM in France. Schwab reimburses any ATM fees in the world.

Do you live in France more than 183 days? If so, you must be paying taxes there along with taxes to IRS in the States.

If you are only doing this 182 days one time and not buying a car, house, or land. No, you do not need a bank account. Your Schwab card will likely do fine. Since you can get cash from the ATM. I was thinking that like we retired ex-pats were going to do the back and forth. Which is where all my experiences are about. But if you hook up with a French person and try to kind of immigrate my stories will fit. Do you have a Long stay Visa?  Are you already in France?

I am planning to move back and forth between the States and France.  We'll need a car. I may move my Chevy Suburban from the States to France. I am planning to keep our current house (I am still in the States). I am not sure whether we (my wife and I) will be just renting an apartment or but a small apartment in France. But I want to make my tax situations as simple as possible. So tax issues are very important. Thanks.

Nice is big and Nice. But the streets are small and parking is a problem. You can lease a car for 6 months in France. It is a way around buying or shipping a Suburban. Ok for the 4 lanes and the large department Highways. Ship it the second year if you need it. That is not simple. So you can make the France connections. before you back home. You will need Long Stay Visa's which are for a year, and you have to get them in the US Fr    https://france-visas.gouv.fr/en/web/fra … -d-un-visa
Google translate works on most government forms the are PDFs.   It is a adventure.
You can go to Monaco for Lunch.
John

And to Ventimiglia's market for the best fresh Mozzarella cheese I ever ate!

Do you live in the States 100% of your time now?

Yes but I've been thinking a lot about France lately.  Back in the 80's I used to own property in Cannes
and the taxes/maintenance were high. I wouldn't do that again. I'd like to hook up with an honest Realtor to find a decent rental for a few months each year. Nice is OK but  I prefer Menton. If the  renowned artist, R. Altman, was alive, we could ask him. He divided his time between Pittsburgh and Paris.  Brittany and Normandy are lovely and closer to Paris but not so sure about the climate.  I do miss a good Camembert!

R. Altman means the film maker who directed MASH?

As you just said, renting an apartment for a few months a year will be safer. I live in a suburban area of Minneapolis, so winter is not an easy season. But it's a safe place. If I can spend some months in Spain or France, it will be ideal.

My graduate work was finance but my undergraduate study was French Literature. So my heart is still in France and its culture.

Sorry, I meant Harold Altman, the painter.

Do you have an opinion about Airbnb? I do not trust Realtors and many are more interested in selling than renting. With an  Airbnb appart one may not need to sign a lease? It may require paying cash upfront with face to face negotiation. I'm not sure about this scenario.

My name is Nicole and my background is in publishing.

Hi Nicloe,

Since we are still in this pandemic, my guess is that we have to wait for two more years till we can visit any foreign country safely.

But for my dream setting I am planning to visit and stay there for about 3 weeks. I will choose a decent and safe hotel first before jumping into renting.

Thanks for mentioning "Menton". Looks like it's a good place to stay. I like it's setting close to Italy.

T Max

Hi Nicole again,

I've never used Airbnb. Friends in Montreal often let others use their house and they use other people's houses thru Airbnb when they go to Europe. But I prefer hotels.

T Max

Hi T Max,

The comfort of a very clean hotel (no bed bugs please) is more important than ever. My husband used to say.. his idea of camping was checking in at the Marriott.

Unknown Airbnb may not be ideal given what we are faced with: Covid-19, and possibly on the cusp of another world wide war with Putin.  Not sure which one I'm most afraid of!

Everyone being so discontented with inflation; Europeans are affected by it too.  Price of gas, etc. Traveling on the railroad may be better than renting  a car at this time.

There is also the hassle of proving that one is vaccinated, boosted, masked, tested and what not, in itself would be a travel deterrent to any sensible tourist right now.  This too shall pass but at what cost?

Hi Nicole,

I started studying French again. My wife put L’Existentialisme est un Humanisme by Sartre on my desk. Dans le Cafe de la Jeunesse Perdue by Patrick Modiano is also on my desk. I have tried to regain my knowledge of French. It’s very interesting to know that I still remember a lot.

My wife will retire from university teaching in 2 years. My work, macro economic analysis and trading, does not have retirement. I can continue doing it until I die. I am in a very fortunate situation where I don’t have to have anyone who orders me.

The problem for us is books. We have about 4,000 books. If we move to a foreign country, what are we going to do with these books? We also have a licensed therapy dog. How can we take him abroad?

I just found a very interesting villa near Cannes, [link moderated] . If we sell our current house, we can buy it.

But my wife does not want to move permanently to France. So, many things have to be worked out before moving /staying in France issue.

T Max

p.s. Do you speak French very often?

Hi T Max,
Sorry for the delay.

Yes, books! I may own more than you (English and French) and  deciding what to do with them is a time-consuming problem. My local library does not accept donations anymore. One suggestion would be to contact your Alma Mater. 

Group them by authors, lookup the ISBN and the pub dates. You may be surprised to realize that you are in possession of first editions and Out-of-Print ones. It also seems  many paperbacks are more valuable that Hardcovers. Who knew, right? Last year, I've tried to open a Seller's Account at Amazon Books but it became complicated and gave up for now.

a Frenchman called from Paris  2 weeks ago about a delivery fiasco. As we were discussing the best way to resolve the issue, it became obvious my vocabulary was rusty. The struggle in trying to catch up to his level was so irritating but we laughed about it.  Just to say that a big laugh, and a smile with Bonjour! while fumbling in this exquisite language will go a long way.  I'm more than ever conscious of finding humor, especially  in the uncertain times we all live in.

ps. You may keep in mind that the next 2024 Olympics are scheduled in Paris.

N~

I think it is 180 days and stay 90👍

fill the form tour package

Forget your Suburban here in France… it’s much too large for the roads. My advice is to look at Sixt car rentals in Nice. Look at  subscriptions as opposed to regular rentals. You could rent a car long-term by the month at a good rate. I found it to be the best way to go I’m now in my six month of a subscription rental from their agency out of Nice.

Thanks for your advice.

Hi Nicole,

Thanks for your response. I have been quite absorbed in Russian invasion into Ukraine issue. Though Ukrainians have shown their outstanding resilience, Europe is so vulnerable.

I have been thinking where I should put my stepping stone in Europe for some time. At first I thought Spain would be a good place. But Spanish tax system is not good for US citizens. They even tax on Roth IRA if we stay there over 183 days. Wealth tax limitation is 750,000 euros (including financial resources and real estates) in Spain. In this sense France is better. Average Spanish household disposable income per month is $2,400. No wonder with around 200,000 euros you can buy a decent apartment in Southern Spain. Living cost in Spain is very reasonable, so it can be a good place for an American who has just social security income and no assets.

Regarding your comment about books, it’s useful to listen to you. But selling some thousand books through Amazon can take 10 years. Maybe taking unimportant books to Half Price Books will be better.

Anyway, it’s very interesting to communicate with you. So, keep in touch.

T Max

p.s. Putin’s tank just hit the Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in South East Ukraine.