The Sunday Times - UK (2022-05-01)

The Sunday Times May 1, 2022 11

CÔTE D’AZUR

€509,000

TOULON

On a hill above the town, this five-bedroom, 117 sq m

house faces southwest, with partial sea views. It has

large gardens filled with fruit trees, and several outdoor

entertaining areas. leggett-immo.com

€3.3M

CARQUEIRANNE

This five-bedroom, newly renovated villa dates from the

late 19th century and has high ceilings and parquet floors,

as well as solar panels, a sauna, a summer kitchen and an

annexe. home-hunts.com

ON THE MONEY: TAX UPDATE

In a sign that some of our pre-Brexit

status quo may continue after all,

the French government announced

some tax cuts. Expat retirees and

British second-home owners will

benefit from a reduced social

charge rate for capital gains and

investment and rental income.

Earlier this year European and

French courts ruled that the 17.2 per

cent social charge had been

wrongly paid by British citizens since

the new rules for the UK leaving the

EU started on January 1, 2021 —

these charges should not be paid

by individuals if they are already

contributing to another European

country’s social security system.

UK residents with homes in

France will instead pay a 7.5 per cent

social levy when selling or renting

their property, as will British retirees

who live in France and receive a UK

state pension.

So how big are the savings? A

holiday home generating a net

rental income of €10,000 per year

would, since January 1, have

incurred a social charge of €1,720.

Now the owner will have to pay

just €750. The savings for British

citizens selling a second home or

investment property will be greater.

British citizens who have sold a

property since Brexit can apply for

a refund.

However, following our departure

from the EU, sellers of homes over

€150,000 need to appoint a

professional fiscal representative.

This costs between 0.5 per cent and

1 per cent of the sale price.

Liz Rowlinson

Main: the movie

was filmed at the

Villa Rocabella.

Right: boats in Le

Lavandou. Below

inset: Tuppence

Middleton and

Allen Leech in

the film. Bottom,

from left: the

Downton stars

Harry Hadden-

Paton, Laura

Carmichael,

Middleton and

Leech