OWN A French property and haven’t been opening your post? Better do so quick – there are just three days to the May 31st deadline to file your French income tax return.
And don’t think this doesn’t apply to you because you don’t rent out your property.
Barry O’Donnell of Foreign Tax Returns, a Dublin company which has been filing returns for Irish investors since 2006, reminds us that the French tax authorities are out in force to clamp down on undeclared rental income from non-resident property investors.
Those who do open their post will know that they are sending out letters looking for tax, basing their estimates on market rents in the area multiplied by the size of the property.
If you don’t let your property, a letter saying that will get the French taxman off your back – but you have to send it back within 30 days of getting the letter, or he will demand payment.
If you do rent out your property but haven’t been filing returns, you may be penalised for late payment plus, of course, having to pay backdated tax. O’Donnell says that in many cases property owners do not have anything close to the kind of tax liability being claimed due to expenses that can be claimed against rental income. But if you don’t open your letters in the first place, you may not get the chance.
www.foreigntaxreturns.ie
