# Tax confusion



## mem1476

Hi all, I'm trying to figure out if I even need to file French taxes this year. 
My situation:
-US Citizen
-Moved to France on long stay visitor visa March 2021 (PACSed w French citizen). 
-Maintained US and France dual primary residences, moved back and forth several times over the year... (also, maintained US Medicaid and claimed residency there for that, if that matters).
-Renewed visitor TDS for the upcoming year, but plan to leave France shortly - might never even retrieve renewed TDS. 
-No income in either country (I am a student in a US university). 

My main questions:
-Do I need to file in France at all? I had zero income there (didn't have the right to work), don't own assets there, and never got on CPAM/secu/other social benefits.
-Do I need to tell the US I was also semi-living in France? Will this affect my US taxes at all or be a problem? Perhaps for keeping my US Medicaid? I will admit I never know how to answer questions on my "primary residence" - I maintained addresses in France and the US over the course of the year, being hosted long term by various family and friends. Essentially, couch surfing for a year... 

I want to be sure to report everything legally and not risk future tax issues in either country, but also don't want to overly complicate things. I'm wondering if it's easier to just claim the US as my "primary residence" and claim that France was short term visits (which it was in essence) but I don't know if that will be seen as shady given I had a France long stay visa. 

Any advice or tips would be helpful!
-M


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## Bevdeforges

For tax purposes, your "residence" is a completely independent matter. If you are a US citizen, you are always considered "tax resident" in the US, no matter where in the world you live. So that side of things is really pretty simple.

A far as France is concerned, you probably don't need to file a declaration if you really had no income from anywhere - but don't forget that both the US and France expect you to declare your worldwide income on your tax forms. If you supported yourself entirely from your own savings while you were in France, then fine, you can probably survive not filing in France.

Except for that little matter of being PACS'd with a French national. Take a look at the Fisc information on filing in the year that you PACS - because it affects your filing status here (as well as that of your PACS partner). What is going to happen to your PACS partner when you return to the US? Will they be going with you? Or will you be dissolving the PACS? You may want to take a look here: Pacte civil de solidarité (Pacs)


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## mem1476

Thanks for the tips, Bev. 

I am actually in the US currently until March 1. Then back to France (partner is still there) for a few months, but planning an imminent move to Canada (together). It will near certainly happen this year, so this will be both of our last years in France (for awhile at least, not necessarily forever). We actually PACSed in 2020, so my partner already declared me on his French taxes last year, before I lived there. 

Here's the confusing part: because I was not residente fiscale when he declared the PACS in 2020, his status on his avis d'imposition is listed as "divorced" now - apparently this was due to being PACSed with someone living outside of France. For 2021, I was a residente fiscale for part of it (I think? I was there for more than 183 days), but am not anymore and probably won't be again. So for declaring this year, will he need to list me as residente fiscale? And will this trigger me needing to declare? 

Thanks,
M


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## Bevdeforges

You've lost me on this one. So is your PACS still in effect or not? (I'm not real familiar with the tax aspects of a PACS.) Have you formally dissolved the PACS? (See here for information on that: Dissoudre un Pacs ) Perhaps we can flag down someone here who has a bit of experience with the tax side of a PACS.


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## mem1476

Thanks, Bev. Sorry, I wrote that out in a confusing way. Yes, we are still PACSed and plan to stay PACSed. It's just that when we first PACSed (2020), I didn't live in France. My partner therefore claimed me as a non-resident PACS partner on his 2020 taxes. Now that I was a resident in 2021, I'm wondering if he'll need to re-claim me as a resident fiscale (there is apparently a form to fill out for this). However, I won't be a resident fiscale moving forward so I'm wondering if we can just bypass this and not worry about, claiming that I am still a non-resident (which is currently true). Does that make more sense?

Many moving parts! It's hard to know if I'm overthinking things or if we do need to take action to avoid future penalties or issues...

Thanks,
M


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## Bevdeforges

France taxes based on households rather than individuals - at least in the case where individuals live together as PACS partners. There are considerable advantages to filing your taxes together, particularly if one of you is "supporting" the other. Technically, your "resident fiscale" status doesn't really have much bearing on your tax situation.

And there is no requirement in the US for you to be "consistent" in any significant regard between what you file for the IRS and what and how you file for the Fisc.

I really think that you are overthinking this.


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## mem1476

Ok, thanks for the tips, Bev. I'm sure I am overthinking it, because that's what I tend to do...

So, I'm thinking I won't file anything, and then my partner will just continue to say he is PACSed with a foreigner, despite the fact that I lived in France for a portion of 2021, with him. That seems easiest, as long as it doesn't risk us in trouble somehow with my visa or other.


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## Bevdeforges

mem1476 said:


> then my partner will just continue to say he is PACSed with a foreigner, despite the fact that I lived in France for a portion of 2021, with him.


I'm not sure why you think that is the better route, but hey, you do what you have to do. I only wonder about this because for a married couple, there is an obligation to maintain a home (i.e. residence) in common and except in certain specific instances, the couple files together as a "household." You need to be certain that filing as "separated" won't somehow jeopardize the recognition of your PACS should you want to return to France later. It's not an area I have much knowledge or experience with, so you should perhaps check things out with the local tax office.


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