The currency blog

French Mortgages

by Mylène Crocquevieille

With interest rates at an all time record low, now is the time to be investing in France!

A great time to take the plunge and buy that property that ticks all the boxes.

Take the plunge? Buy a property in a foreign country? Yes! It is possible and French banks are lending. Not only are they lending but with variable rates as low as 2.5% you couldn’t choose a better time to buy.

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If you’re one of the 1.2 million British pensioners planning to enjoy your retirement abroad, it’s really important to protect your inheritance by understanding the tax implications for your inheritance which are not only affected by UK law but also by taxation law in the country you are now resident in. Forewarned is forearmed!

Every country has its own rules affecting inheritance tax(IHT) and the result of an altered domicile status without clearly planned tax mitigation strategy could be financially disastrous. Spain and France remain top choices for retirement but IHT rules in these countries are well known to be punitive for expat Britons. For example if a couple retire to Spain to live in a jointly owned property there will almost certainly be a very costly ISD charge (Spain’s version of IHT) upon the survivor when the first dies. Not only do you need to be aware of taxation laws abroad but also be aware that you may still be liable for IHT in the UK.

Putting a strategy in place will help to mitigate against potential double paymentof IHT. There are expert tax consultants available who are well versed in the needs of expat Britons living abroad who can help ensure that assets already created or created in future are not overtaxed. Using a specialist foreign exchange company such as Currencies Direct helps clients to save money on their transfer but we recommend that they also use the services of an expert tax consultant to protect the assets they have purchased.