Declaring French rental income in Ireland.

carmel65

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Hoping to get some help declaring French rental income in Ireland.

We have had an apartment for some time in France but only started renting it out in the last few years. I now want to declare this to the Irish tax office. I know I should have done this earlier but the Income is low, the French taxes are high and we are on the lower rate of tax in Ireland, so very little in the pot to pay for an accountant.
I have found out lots from this site, so thanks to everyone who contributes here.

I am reasonably happy preparing the profit and loss account. But I have questions regarding the taxes due In Ireland. We have paid, French tax (20%) and also Solidarity tax 7.5%. So the total French tax is higher than the tax due in Ireland.

Can I offset the solidarity tax against Irish income tax due on the rental income?
Can I offset earlier social taxes (CSG/CRD) against Irish income tax due on the rental income?
Can I carry forward any excess French taxes paid to the following year?

In terms of declaring the income, the apartment is purchased in joint names via a marriage contract, but all the rent is declared by my partner in France.
In terms of our Irish income, can my husband declare it, or do we need to split the income between us and if so, presumably 50/50?

In terms of PRSI due, am I right that, if the net rental income is less than €5000 no PRSI is due? Is this limit per person? Per couple? Is the net income before capital allowances?

One other question, in terms of justifiable personal expenses, can we take a deduction for flights to France to meet with the letting agent ?
 
I add all taxes and social security charges paid on our rental income in the year, whether they were for previous or current year (the French have now changed to a PAYG type system) and declare it the line on Form 11 Foreign Taxes paid
You can't claim credit for taxes paid in previous years in the current year - although you could re-open your tax declaration for 2017 and 2108 and declare them along with the rental income.
You will get some credit for taxes paid in France - whether it is full credit or not depends on if your Effective Irish Tax Rate is higher or lower than the tax rate in France - which is 20% + 7.5% Solidarity tax. If your Irish Rate is lower, then the credit is restricted to the tax at the Irish Rate

You could split the income between yourselves - normally for a couple, it doesn't make any difference

You should find that little or no additional tax is due in Ireland

When you fill in the Form 11, it will calculate what tax and PRSI you need to pay - you can experiment with this to see if declaring it jointly or not is better. Although as it is jointly owned, you might be better advised to declare it split 50/50

As regards travel expenses - I wouldn't go overboard on this as they are likely to say that you could do all this by post or email these days.

Capital Allowances - capital spending is treated differently by the two tax authorities - so what's allowable in one jurisdiction may not be allowed in the other or be allowed differently.

If you use a proper letting agent they should be able to help with the French side of things
 
If your travel expenses are solely to deal with the property they should be deductable. It is a tricky area though. If you decide to also have a holiday in France than it wouldn't be deductable. An accountant is not very expensive plus tax deductable. Even if you only hired one for one year it would be worth it.
 
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Thanks for your help jpd and Bronte.
I didn't know that I could use Form 11 online to estimate the taxes due, that could be very helpful, I am going to give that a try.
I got an accountant in France to do the return for the first year and then I did the rest myself, so finding an accountant here may also be an option.
As a ballpark figure, how much might it cost to get an Irish accountant to complete one year and would they need to have knowledge of the French tax system?
 
I get an Ireland based company that specialises in submitting international property returns to submit my accounts in France. Costs about €400-€500 per year for the French accounts. My Irish accountant submits it here.
 
Thanks Guys, but I am ok for the French tax returns.
I am looking for help for the Irish rental returns.
 
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