It is perfectly legal to open accounts abroad, in particular through online applications such as Revolut, N26, eToro, Wise or Degiro.
However, they must be declared every year to the tax authorities (administration fiscale) using form 3916 - 3916 bis. Box 8UU of return 2042 must also be ticked.
And be careful, because the tax authorities receive information automatically transmitted by Revolut, N26, eToro, Wise or Degiro.
This is the myPOS system of the French tax authorities.
The information automatically transmitted to the French tax authorities each year is as follows:
- Your name;
- Your address;
- Your country of tax residence (even if merely presumed);
- Your tax identification number(s) issued by your country or countries of tax residence;
- Your place and date of birth;
- Your account number (or substitute account number, identifying the funds you hold);
- The balance of your account or its value as at 31 December of each year during which the account is held;
If you have forgotten to declare your Revolut, N26, eToro, Wise or Degiro accounts, don't panic!
In principle, the tax authorities are entitled to impose fines: €1,500 per year and per account, over a maximum of 4 years.
In practice, however, a voluntary declaration of the foreign account, even if late, may in some cases lead the tax authorities to show more leniency regarding these fines.
In any event, it is always possible to regularise your situation voluntarily.
The expression "regularisation of a foreign account" refers to the process by which a taxpayer voluntarily fulfils their tax obligations in order to comply with the legislation in force. The regularisation procedure must be voluntary: that is, the taxpayer must, on their own initiative, declare the assets held abroad to the French tax authorities before a tax audit is initiated. To do so, the taxpayer must submit a foreign account regularisation file to the tax office.
With regard to an undeclared foreign account, the principle is a 10-year limitation period (reduced to the ordinary limitation period if the total credit balances of the foreign accounts did not exceed €50,000 during the year). The longer the limitation period, the greater the role of the tax lawyer, since the potential reassessments will be all the more significant.
Since the end of September 2017, France has been a participant, together with some fifty other States at the time of the first exchanges (more than a hundred today), in the system of AUTOMATIC exchange of banking data. All EU Member States are concerned (Directive 2014/107/EU, known as DAC 2), as well as many other States (Switzerland, the United Kingdom, etc.).
In practical terms, the French tax authorities have automatic access to foreign banking information, without having to go through lengthy procedures for the exchange of information with other foreign authorities. The system has therefore become automatic and computerised. It has become simple and fast.
This is the myPOS system of the French tax authorities.
