Living in the UK but working in France

[weepingwillow22]

My DH has just been offered a job with a company based in France. Due to covid however they are going to allow him to work from the UK in the short to medium term.

Does anyone know how this will work with regard to taxation? In which country will he be liable to pay income tax and social security/ni. He doesn't want to be liable in both. Most of the advice I have seen seems to be geared at people doing the opposite so we are unclear on how this will work.

I believe he could potentially be double taxed but I think it depends on the number of days he will be working in both the UK and France, and also what payroll will he be on. I would advise him to go back to his employer and ask as they should have advisers in mobility who can determine the taxation situation. He should also ask if the employer will pay the tax in the event of double taxation.

Thanks Darling. He is waiting hear back from the company on this. He will be working from October full time for the French company but 100% from the UK. I don't think he will be moving there until next spring/summer so after the end of the UK tax year. Until now he has been working for a UK company and living in the UK.

Do the company have a legal entity in the UK as well? Will he be on the french or UK payroll? His company need to be very careful as they could get into trouble if they do not handle this correctly although I understand HMRC are being a little more lenient due to the current circumstances we find ourselves in. Good to get it checked out!

He will remain UK tax resident and taxable on worldwide income (assuming he's a Brit), plus will remain liable to UK NIC for so long as he is living and working in the UK. He will need an A1 to keep him out of French social security but I'm not sure what the position will be post Brexit transition ending.

If and when he moves to France, his personal tax and social security position may change, however this will in part be dependent on whether you and the family move with him.

PP who said that the French company may need to operate PAYE in UK even if he is on French payroll is absolutely correct - depends on company structure and any UK business.

To further complicate things it is a US company with an office in France. It does not have any UK business. It is a fairly large company so I assume it could sort out UK paye even if based in France?

I may move with him next summer but have not decided yet. I may just spend holidays over there.

If the company has no business in the UK then there will be no PAYE obligation. He'll be on French payroll and likely subject to French withholding tax, and will then need to file tax return in the UK. UK tax bill will be payable via self assessment and he'll need to be prepared to make payments on account if there is no PAYE.

He needs proper advice - France is a complex system and I'm familiar enough with it to know whether or not the French withholding tax can be stopped at source, or if he needs to file a French return to reclaim it. If he needs to go the tax return route then you may well have cash flow issues trying to get a refund from France and paying a UK bill at potentially the same time.

If you stay in the UK and he moves to France but is back and forth to see family then he'll likely remain UK treaty resident, meaning that he'll be filing and paying taxes in two locations, again a complex situation. France also imposes a wealth tax - I assume you know about that? Based on value of property etc.

He also needs advice on the social security position - if no uk payroll then he needs to work our how he's going to pay uk NIC.