Newbie. Looking for an accountancy service for UK/France complexities

[KevinTheB]

First post so excuse any duplication with existing threads - did a search and didn't see anything relevant.

I work as an IT PM and my LtdCo is UK based. All my work is UK based. I typically sleep 4 nights in UK Airbnb and 3 in my only house in France (i.e. don't have a UK residence)

UK considers me to be taxed in UK. France considers part of me to be taxed in France. Very complex and anyone who says differently hasn't tried to declare honestly in both countries. There is double dipping on dividends so while it is efficient in the UK it probably opens me up for French taxes.

Can anyone in a similar position please recommend a service that:

• can process my UK Limited Company accounts and monthly services such as payroll and VAT;
• can handle my UK end of year self assessments with tax minimisation advice and practices
• can handle my French end of year tax submissions (which run to a different tax calendar!!) and tie UK and France together in a way that is tax efficient in both.

Any clues? I'm currently payin £144 pcm inc VAT for this service in the UK only.

Thanks

[craigy1874]

First post so excuse any duplication with existing threads - did a search and didn't see anything relevant.

I work as an IT PM and my LtdCo is UK based. All my work is UK based. I typically sleep 4 nights in UK Airbnb and 3 in my only house in France (i.e. don't have a UK residence)

UK considers me to be taxed in UK. France considers part of me to be taxed in France. Very complex and anyone who says differently hasn't tried to declare honestly in both countries. There is double dipping on dividends so while it is efficient in the UK it probably opens me up for French taxes.

Can anyone in a similar position please recommend a service that:

• can process my UK Limited Company accounts and monthly services such as payroll and VAT;
• can handle my UK end of year self assessments with tax minimisation advice and practices
• can handle my French end of year tax submissions (which run to a different tax calendar!!) and tie UK and France together in a way that is tax efficient in both.

Any clues? I'm currently payin £144 pcm inc VAT for this service in the UK only.

Thanks

You will be struggling to find a contractor accountant who also advises/deals with French tax. Your probable only option is to use a big firm like KPMG etc. and they will certainly charge you more than £144 per month.

[Maslins]

I can't see you realistically finding a small, affordable firm who can comfortably deal with both UK and French tax affairs...though you may get lucky. Going to be 1 in 1,000 firms though.

I'd suggest 3 options:
1) use a big multinational accountancy firm, and begrudgingly accept you'll pay way more than £100/month.
2) have two separate accountants, one in UK, one in France, and they liaise with each other. This won't be overly easy either, and some accountants in both countries will be reluctant to get involved.
3) change your work pattern (eg stop living in France, so everything's in UK, or stop working in the UK, so everything's in France).

None are massively appealing I appreciate.

[gasca]

Or just do your accounts yourself. You will have to invest some time into learning accounting basics in both countries and accept that you may not achieve the same tax efficienty as a pro accountant would. But having done that for my UK company I can tell you it is not nearly as difficult as it is usually made out to be. The procedures are very simple for small business and you can do everything online. My overall impression is that micro-entity accounting workflow (which you will do for UK) is designed for non-acountants like us.

[craigy1874]

Or just do your accounts yourself. You will have to invest some time into learning accounting basics in both countries and accept that you may not achieve the same tax efficienty as a pro accountant would. But having done that for my UK company I can tell you it is not nearly as difficult as it is usually made out to be. The procedures are very simple for small business and you can do everything online. My overall impression is that micro-entity accounting workflow (which you will do for UK) is designed for non-acountants like us.

Please DO NOT do this.

[northernladuk]

Please DO NOT do this.

+1

[saptastic]

Or just do your accounts yourself. You will have to invest some time into learning accounting basics in both countries and accept that you may not achieve the same tax efficienty as a pro accountant would. But having done that for my UK company I can tell you it is not nearly as difficult as it is usually made out to be. The procedures are very simple for small business and you can do everything online. My overall impression is that micro-entity accounting workflow (which you will do for UK) is designed for non-acountants like us.

I think doing DIY accounts in this particular scenario is an accident waiting to happen.

[Brussels Slumdog]

I pay Mazars, an international accounting firm a yearly amount to complete my Belgian tax return. I also pay them additional fees if I require advice on working outside Belgium, which is normally the case.You shouldn't need to pay monthly.

[gasca]

Please DO NOT do this.

Personal experience? Or just a strong opinion on something you never tried or seriously looked into?

[gasca]

I think doing DIY accounts in this particular scenario is an accident waiting to happen.

I think you cannot really say before you look into it, but probably not. OP's company is a UK entity that operates in the UK only, so it has nothing to do with French business taxation. This leaves us with just personal income tax that is French. It is ridiculous to assume anyone working in two countries requires an accountant to do work out their personal income tax. Especially someone with enough mental capacity to work as PM in IT. Though it may make financial sense to retain an accountant for tax optimisation.