Do I have to declare credit cards?
It is generally unnecessary unless in rare cases such as if you have a salary or pension paid to it
Several Connexion readers have asked whether overseas credit cards must be declared as an account on the 3916 form or online section.
This is a grey area, with some tax experts stating it is generally unnecessary unless in rare cases such as if you have a salary or pension paid to it and so run a positive balance on it as a result.
However we checked the point twice with advisers on the general French tax helpline and they say that all overseas credit cards are considered to be accounts to be declared.
If you do declare one and find you cannot complete every line, leave blank those which are not appropriate to your credit card.
If in doubt we suggest sending a query in French to your tax office via your personal space at impots.gouv.fr or, if you wish, making a mention expresse in your online declaration to say that you, for example, have a UK credit card but you have not included it on your 3916 - 3916 bis and giving the reason.
The issue sometimes comes up as to whether overseas private pension plans must be declared.
A tax specialist working with the English-speaking community stated this is not the case, as they are not seen as comparable to a bank account, but once you start to draw income from them, this must be declared as pension income.
However, this would be assuming that it is a structure that France would consider a pension as opposed to just being an investment fund.