Do you know the difference between a social charge and an income tax? Between real estate taxes and the habitation tax? Tax rates in France are not always high – sometimes they are significantly lower than in other countries. But you won’t know how the French system will affect your finances unless you understand what these charges are and when they apply. So, we’ve put together a quick decoder for you below on the basic charges you might see as a resident in France.

Back in June last year, we published a post on why you might want to close out your living trust before moving to France. At that time, a new ruling from France’s Conseil d’État had dramatically changed how French tax authorities were going to have to treat money received from a trust. And everyone was left with some pretty significant questions. One year on, we received guidance back from the Ministry of Economy and Finance on one of the cases we were following. So what do we know now?

Going over a few basic facts about what you need to report, how to report it, and best of all, how to do it as painlessly as possible.

French gift tax laws for American expats.