Am I French Tax Resident?

Question

I moved to London from Paris in March 2021 while my wife and son are still in Paris. I was assuming that I am a UK resident for tax purposes till I came across "the definition of 'domicile fiscal' in French tax law is enshrined in Article 4B of the Code Général des Impôts (CGI)".

In particular www.french-property.com claims that

The 'foyer' is generally meant to refer to the place where the family resides, which permits the authorities to consider that someone who lives temporarily outside of France because of their work remains resident in France if it is the country where their family resides.

I should add that both I and my wife and Indian citizens.

Answer 1

This information from the French Government should address your query.

Tax residency is not a matter of choice; it depends on internal regulations or reciprocal agreements and treaties.

Irrespective of nationality, you will be considered to be resident in France for tax purposes if one of the following criteria is met:

• Your permanent place of residence is in France, i.e. your habitual place of residence or that of your family (spouse and children). If you have dual permanent residence, the center of your financial and personal interests is in France.
• If your center of interests cannot be determined, your primary place of residence is in France (residence in France for more than 183 days in the same year).
• In the absence of any other deciding criteria among the above (primary place of residence or no place of residence in either country), your tax residence will be in France if you hold French nationality.

Failing which,

• the tax authorities in the two countries may be asked to decide upon your tax residency.

Reference