When to consult a tax adviser: the five moments to prepare, from the purchase to an audit
A tax adviser is not consulted at any old time: some moments are worth the appointment, because the decision taken then changes what follows. Before buying, at each change of residence, before a gift, before selling, in an audit: part of the work is prepared alone, with method, and another part is played out with a professional. This dossier goes through these moments one by one.
By Jean Mascla, founder of Home SelectUpdated · 6 min read
Before buying: why is it the structuring moment?
This is where everything is decided, because what is settled before the signature is settled well, and what is patched up afterwards is expensive. The questions to raise early are well known: the holding structure, direct ownership or ownership through a company, depending on your transmission goals and your country of residence; the financing, because a loan taken out from abroad follows its own logic; and finally the calendar, because the date of acquisition cuts up your obligations.
What you can prepare alone: the honest list of your goals, intended holding period, personal or rental use, transmission project, country of residence and its constraints. What an adviser changes: they qualify your project in the light of the applicable rules, compare the holding schemes and alert you to the points that are hard to reverse. The principle is simple: the more the decision binds the future, the earlier the consultation takes place.
At every change of residence: why is this appointment essential?
Every transfer of residence, in either direction, moves the anchoring point of your obligations. Returning to France, or arriving in a new country, raises the symmetrical questions, and treaties vary across jurisdictions: the country-by-country guides give their principles.
What you can prepare alone: the factual account of the transfer, dates, home, activity, family, and the file of documents supporting it. What an adviser changes: they date the events, qualify the transfer and secure the declarations that accompany it. It is the moment when error is most expensive, precisely because everything moves at once.
Gifts and inheritance: why prepare them earliest?
The transmission of a property located in France rarely escapes France, whatever the residence of the heirs or of the donees. The available tools, a partial gift, a division of ownership, life insurance, each has its effects and is decided long in advance, never on the day of signing.
What you can prepare alone: the map of your wealth, the identity of the intended beneficiaries and your wishes, put in writing. What an adviser changes: they arbitrate between the tools in the light of your double anchoring, country of residence and French situation, and anticipate the questions of applicable law between countries. On these subjects, haste is the enemy: the best transmissions are prepared when nothing is pressing yet.
Chambéry, Rhône-Alpes
Before selling: how do you anticipate capital gain, representative and levies?
The sale of a property held by a non-resident strings together obligations that follow one another: calculation of the gain, levies due on resale, the question of the fiscal representative depending on your jurisdiction, filing deadlines. They are dealt with in order, before the signature, not in the rush of handing over the keys.
What you can prepare alone: the sale file, dates and modes of acquisition, documented works, residence history, and the reception of the sale proceeds on a suitable account: opening a non-resident bank account is also prepared. What an adviser changes: they assess the consequences of the sale on your complete situation, organise the obligations in the right order and identify what can be optimised within the rules, without ever promising a quantified saving.
Audit or doubt: how to react with method?
A letter from the administration, a question about a declaration, a doubt born from an internet read: the rule is the same, improvise nothing. Gather the documents, date the facts, answer the question asked, in proper form and to the right person.
What you can prepare alone: the chronology and the documented file, which you are in any case well advised to keep up to date permanently. What an adviser changes: the right tone, the knowledge of administrative practice, and the art of answering precisely without opening other questions. In the event of an audit, the partner tax adviser becomes the administration’s natural contact, and it is often there that their intervention proves most valuable.
The following table recaps the whole:
Moment
What is at stake
What an adviser changes
Before buying
Holding structure, financing, calendar
They compare schemes and flag the irreversible points
Change of residence
Date of transfer, exit tax, treaties
They date the events and secure the declarations
Gift or inheritance
Transmission of the property, choice of tools
They arbitrate between tools and anticipate applicable law
Before selling
Capital gain, levies, representative
They assess the consequences and organise the obligations in order
Audit or doubt
Documented answer, respect of forms
They answer precisely, to the right person, without opening other questions
What Home Select organises for choosing your tax adviser
Home Select is not a tax adviser, which is precisely why the question comes up early: before the offer, we introduce a tax lawyer or an accountant used to owners who live in your country, so that the way you buy and hold is decided with full knowledge.
After the signing, you know who handles each of your French obligations: the adviser for the returns, the tax representative where one is required, the concierge service for the post. Each acts under their own responsibility; our role is that you know, before signing, what the property will cost you every year.
Frequently asked questions
What budget should I plan to see a tax adviser?
Fees depend on the complexity of the file and on the professional. What depends on you is a clear, chronological, documented file: it makes every consultation more effective.
Where can I find the rules for my country of residence?
For a reading applied to your file, the arbitrage is made with a partner tax adviser.
Before buying: why is it the structuring moment?
This is where everything is decided, because what is settled before the signature is settled well, and what is patched up afterwards is expensive. The questions to raise early are well known: the holding structure, direct ownership or ownership through a company, depending on your transmission goals and your country of residence; the financing, because a loan taken out from abroad follows its own logic; and finally the calendar, because the date of acquisition cuts up your obligations.
At every change of residence: why is this appointment essential?
Every transfer of residence, in either direction, moves the anchoring point of your obligations. Returning to France, or arriving in a new country, raises the symmetrical questions, and treaties vary across jurisdictions: the country-by-country guides give their principles.
Gifts and inheritance: why prepare them earliest?
The transmission of a property located in France rarely escapes France, whatever the residence of the heirs or of the donees. The available tools, a partial gift, a division of ownership, life insurance, each has its effects and is decided long in advance, never on the day of signing.
Before selling: how do you anticipate capital gain, representative and levies?
The sale of a property held by a non-resident strings together obligations that follow one another: calculation of the gain, levies due on resale, the question of the fiscal representative depending on your jurisdiction, filing deadlines. They are dealt with in order, before the signature, not in the rush of handing over the keys.
Audit or doubt: how to react with method?
A letter from the administration, a question about a declaration, a doubt born from an internet read: the rule is the same, improvise nothing. Gather the documents, date the facts, answer the question asked, in proper form and to the right person.
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