Your Questions

My british passport is still valid for several years but it says Euro­pean Union on the cover – will this cause problems after Brexit? D.W.

Is there still a bonus for buying an electric bike this year? G.S.

I’m British, have lived and worked in France for more than 40 years, and have children and grandchildren here. Something I’ve been querying recently is, if I request French nationality and remain resident here in France, would property I own in England come under French inheritance law? I believe at present, as a British national, this would come under UK law? A.B.

My neighbours have several very large trees just over one metre from our property boundary, but they hang far over our property and block the view. I believe that we can ask them to trim back the tree – at least the part that overhangs our property – can you explain what we can do? M.T.

We are starting a chambres d’hôtes at our farm and are unsure about just declaring the small income or registering a business (eg. micro-entrepreneur). 

I have discovered that as of next autumn we will be unable to pay our local property taxes by cheque (we were fined last time for doing so). I have previously tried to pay online via the tax website, but could not do so as I did not have a numéro fiscal. We are resident in the UK and do not complete a French tax return, although we do have a French bank account. How can we sort this out?  K.T.

My UK occupational pension started paying out each month from January 2018, significantly increasing my income. With the introduction of prélèvement à la source (PAS) in 2019 is there anything I have to do to notify the tax authorities before I complete my tax return in May 2019? I imagine that this will be classified as an exceptional change and I want to avoid being levied a surcharge for not advising the tax office in advance.

I have had an account with Crédit Agricole for over 10 years and it was opened with thoughts of buying a property in France. Now I do not think this will happen and I am only withdrawing cash from it on holiday. Will it be safe and uncomplicated to keep doing this in the case of Brexit or should I withdraw the money and close the account? C.B.

We moved to France last year. We have paid taxes (foncière and habitation) and now are wondering about formalities to complete for income tax. Can we declare online? Do we have to visit the tax office? We are both retired and only receive a UK state pension paid in the UK. N.S.

I am unclear what may happen about taxation in either a deal or no-deal Brexit scenario? We are taxable in France but our income is from the UK. Would the UK continue not taxing our income as long as we are declaring it in France?

We are selling up in France to return to the UK and have found a buyer. At what stage do we receive the money? What fees and taxes are due? Should we involve an English solicitor?

We had a geometric survey advising boundary shifts but cannot get our mairie, which owns the adjoining land, to sign them off, so we cannot sell our house. What can we do?  P.M.

As an independent worker in France, I believe I do not have any right to unemployment benefit, but that this is changing. When will it happen and how will it work? Is it definite? How will the amount we receive be worked out?  J.S.

I am an artisan micro-entrepreneur. I bill customers for labour and materials. I pay tax via the libératoire method quarterly. Do I have to declare the amount I am paid for the materials?

I started my artisan business in 2018 - how will this work with the tax at-source system which started this year?  F.I

I have taken French nationality but my wife, who is also British, has not. Does my double nationality simplify things to make sure she can stay in France as well?  G.M.