Expat Community > France

hellopeterduran
Joined 2013
Posts: 1

double taxation, etc

11 years ago

Greetings, Expats:
I'm new to the forum. American would-be freelancer, currently in Lyon (been here for around half a year, expect to be here for two-and-a-half more.)

I'm looking to get set up as an Auto-entrepreneur and I've got a slew of questions and concerns, some of which I've had trouble finding answers for.

Here's one:
I fear I may be weirdly situated right in the "catch-22" zone of the non-double-taxation treaty.
--For my work (voiceover), I will be physically situated in France. (*What France cares about, in terms of taxation*).
--However, most if not all of my clients will be in the U.S., paying dollars into my U.S. bank account. (*What the U.S. cares about, in terms of taxation*).

My money may not ever even enter France, as my partner is the one "paying the bills" at the moment.
It seems to me, from what I've read, that the money that I earn in this work would not be considered "Foreign Earned Income" by the IRS, and therefore would not be eligible for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, regardless of whether or not it was taxed by France (which it surely will be).

[Note: I'm also an EU citizen (Spain) and thus legal to work in France.]

And while we're on this subject, a slightly different question that I've not been able to find the answer to:
How hard, i.e. how much of a royal hassle, will it be for my U.S.-based clients to hire me as a contractor and pay me, as a registered AE with a France-based SIRET/SIREN, that is, NOT a U.S. Employer Identification Number?
(I wasn't planning to incorporate in BOTH countries, other than getting a "Doing Business As" certificate in my home city, but maybe I should?)

OK thanks for ANY AND ALL pointers, feedback, etc. If folks aren't too annoyed, there's more where this came from.
--Peter

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