French residency

The concept of tax residency links a person to a particular territory for the purpose of determining questions of law (including tax law) that applies to him. In practice, a person's tax residency is not always obvious or easy to determine, despite its being a crucial element of his relationship with a particular legal system.

The concept of tax residency links a person to a particular territory for the purpose of determining questions of law (including tax law) that applies to him. In practice, a person's tax residency is not always obvious or easy to determine, despite its being a crucial element of his relationship with a particular legal system.

Some countries adopt the same principle, perhaps with a different name, while others do not link a person's legal and tax treatment o his residence but use other concepts such as domicile or citizenship.

There are different types of domicile/residence under internal law, each of them will determine your domicile/residence for tax
purposes, whether your remain resident in the uk or not.

Under the French system and article 4b of the General Tax code, a person will be deemed to be tax resident in France if one of the following four ties applies
to him:

- France is his main residence and the place where the family home is
- France is his principal place, it does not mean that he has his main residence there but lives there more than 183 days per calendar year
- France is the place of the person's main activity
- France is the place where the person has his economic interests

As far as the UK is concerned, the statutory residence test was introduced in 2013. The system was put in place by the British government to strengthen the
residence criteria and allow taxation of the income of certain British citizens who had left the territory in order to escape. This rule also applies to foreigners who, after having lived for several years in Great Britain, decide to leave.

Indeed, internal rules are overruled in the presence of a double tax treaty. For instance where a person is regarded as UK domiciled but is also regarded as domiciled/resident in another country, provisions of the treaty will apply to ensure that the person concerned is treated in both countries as domiciled in only one of them for the purposes of the treaty.

Some double tax treaties apply a “tie-breaker” test to resolve cases of dual domicile. This looks first at the place where a person has a permanent home. If there is such a home in both countries the test next looks for the place where a person has his “centre of vital interests”.

Before electing residency in one country it is important to wonder whether you would also be considered resident/domicile in another country for tax purposes.

The concept of tax residency links a person to a particular territory for the purpose of determining questions of law (including tax law) that applies to him. In practice, a person's tax residency is not always obvious or easy to determine, despite its being a crucial element of his relationship with a particular legal system.

The concept of tax residency links a person to a particular territory for the purpose of determining questions of law (including tax law) that applies to him. In practice, a person's tax residency is not always obvious or easy to determine, despite its being a crucial element of his relationship with a particular legal system.

Some countries adopt the same principle, perhaps with a different name, while others do not link a person's legal and tax treatment o his residence but use other concepts such as domicile or citizenship.

There are different types of domicile/residence under internal law, each of them will determine your domicile/residence for tax
purposes, whether your remain resident in the uk or not.

Under the French system and article 4b of the General Tax code, a person will be deemed to be tax resident in France if one of the following four ties applies
to him:

- France is his main residence and the place where the family home is
- France is his principal place, it does not mean that he has his main residence there but lives there more than 183 days per calendar year
- France is the place of the person's main activity
- France is the place where the person has his economic interests

As far as the UK is concerned, the statutory residence test was introduced in 2013. The system was put in place by the British government to strengthen the
residence criteria and allow taxation of the income of certain British citizens who had left the territory in order to escape. This rule also applies to foreigners who, after having lived for several years in Great Britain, decide to leave.

Indeed, internal rules are overruled in the presence of a double tax treaty. For instance where a person is regarded as UK domiciled but is also regarded as domiciled/resident in another country, provisions of the treaty will apply to ensure that the person concerned is treated in both countries as domiciled in only one of them for the purposes of the treaty.

Some double tax treaties apply a “tie-breaker” test to resolve cases of dual domicile. This looks first at the place where a person has a permanent home. If there is such a home in both countries the test next looks for the place where a person has his “centre of vital interests”.

Before electing residency in one country it is important to wonder whether you would also be considered resident/domicile in another country for tax purposes.