Do non-French residents pay social charges on letting income?

Reader question: I live in the UK but own and rent out a property in France via an agency. I declared this as micro-bic income on the tax return but box 8HX for social security charges was already prefilled with €100 and I could not change it. I am not sure if I should have been paying these social charges, and at what rate?

BOX 8HX relates to instalments of social charges already taken from your bank account in relation to 2022 French property income and would usually be in addition to instalments of income tax in box 8HW. This is why it cannot be changed.

Standard practice

This is usual, where you have recurring French income that is known to the tax authorities but which they cannot directly tax ‘at source’.

The levies are provisional, based on previously declared incomes and you will obtain a refund if, after your declaration is assessed, it is found that you did not make as much as expected.

Possible underpayment

If the levies were insufficient, you may have more to pay.

You can check the amount inserted was correct in your personal space on the tax website under Prélèvement à la source and then Consulter l’historique de tous mes prélèvements

If you think the amount is wrong you can tell the tax office by private message.

Social charges on the property income of non-residents are 17.2%, or 7.5% if they are linked to EU/Swiss/UK social security (in the latter case, you should also select box 8SH to confirm this).

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