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TAX RULES Those who move to France must pay income tax (Impôts sur le Revenu) if they fulfil any of these conditions: • live permanently in France • have a residence permit • spend more than 183 days in the country during the calendar year • hold most of their wealth in France • have their main professional activity in France TAXES The French tax year runs from 1 January to 31 December. You must declare all your earnings from the date of your arrival, which you do in the annual Déclaration des Revenus form available at your local tax office. The declaration deadline is around 20 May. Everyone with property in France must pay two additional taxes. The Taxe d'Habitation is the tax for living here, and the Taxe Foncière is the property tax. Invoices for both are usually sent to you in September. As everyone's financial circumstances are different, it is best to consult a tax specialist for advice. EDUCATION If you move here with school-age children, they will integrate far more easily than you! Initially, you should enrol them at the Mairie. School isn't compulsory before the age of six, but most French children begin Ecole Maternelle at three years old. Ecole Elémentaire then takes them from 6 to 11 years of age. From there, they move to Collège (11 to 15 years old) and then Lycée (15 to 18). Boarding accommodation is often offered from Monday to Friday for rural Lycée students. Although pupils can leave school at 16 years old, 94% choose further education. The only entrance requirement to a French university is the appropriate baccalaureate. Students do not pay tuition fees. Schoolchildren have five holidays each year: two weeks in October, at Christmas, in February and in April – and most of July and August. DRIVING English cars are usually covered by their UK insurance at first. However, you'll need to change to French registration within six months. If you choose to keep English
egistration and insurance, this will require regular return trips to the UK. You can drive on your English licence until it expires, at which stage you must obtain a French driving licence from a Prefecture or Sous- Prefecture. Considerable paperwork is involved. You'll need photocopies of your birth certificate, passport and proof of a French address. Acquiring French registration is complicated. First, get a Certificate of Conformity from the garage representing your car's manufacturer. Then change your headlights and pass the Contrôle Technique – the French version of the MOT. After this, ask for the tax certificate, or Quitas Fiscal, from your local Centre des Impôts. You can then apply for your French log book – the Carte Grise – from your local Prefecture or Sous-Prefecture. Take all your paperwork with you, plus your French chequebook. They will give you an exportation slip, which you must send to the DVLA immediately. Your new Carte Grise will arrive by registered post within a fortnight. You can then change your English car registration plates to French ones. YOUR INCOME If you are on a fixed income or pension from the UK, remember that conversion rates fluctuate. It is useful to establish a relationship with a good currency exchange company. Don't make the mistake of calculating your income when the euro is high. A FINAL WORD Regulations may differ by département, so it's always worth seeking expert advice, especially for financial questions. See Leggett Immobilier website for more helpful advice
Bonjour! Welcome to the winter issu
contents Features 8 A tale of two c
P 88 88 give aways Win a row of gor
The Medieval City of Carcassonne Th
The inside track The Medieval city
Left: Le Parc Franck Putelat restau
astide saint-louis Back in the midd
The weekly market (Tuesday, Thursda
information Getting to Carcassone:
When Louis XIV visited Orange, he s
The theatre at Orange continues to
The inside track The centre of Oran
Stay at: Au Vin Chambré is a lovel
There’s a little on-site shop whe
But the famous golf courses of the
If you arrive in Nimes via train as
More Roman stuff Two thousand years
The Inside Track Late night dinners
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