US and French taxes your first year? We map both so nothing catches you out.
A clear US-France tax calendar for your first year. Know what to prepare, and when.
Your first tax year in France isn't hard because the forms are hard. It's hard because you have two countries, two systems, two sets of deadlines, and no map of how they connect. Most Americans find the gaps too late. We build you the map before filing season, so you don't.
Two countries, two systems, one year you can't redo
Your first tax year as an American in France isn't complicated because any single form is hard. It's complicated because you're suddenly inside two systems at once. France wants to know what you'll declare and when you became a tax resident. The US still wants things from you even though you've left, and some of those obligations have teeth.
The traps are the ones you don't know exist. The FBAR for your foreign accounts. Form 8938. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion you have to claim correctly to benefit from. The exact day you became a French tax resident, which changes what you owe where. Most people discover these after the deadline, when the only options left are penalties or expensive cleanup.
And here's the quiet cost: people walk into a CPA's office confused and disorganized, then pay that professional's hourly rate to sort out things they could have prepared in advance. The bill for being unprepared is real.
How we run it
One process for every move. You book the call, we take the French side from there.
Map your situation
It starts with a free 20-minute call. You tell us your arrival timeline, your household, and your income picture. We tell you what your first tax year actually involves on both sides, no pressure to commit.
Build your calendar
Once you decide to work with us, we build a month-by-month timeline tailored to your arrival and income. It covers the French filing rhythm and common US expat obligations, so the dates that matter are in front of you.
Organize your documents
We create a checklist of every document to collect, how to label it, and a clean folder structure you can maintain. When you hand this to a professional later, it is immediately usable.
Coordinate the handoff
When your situation calls for a licensed professional, we make the introduction, prepare a summary, and deliver a document package. You walk into that first meeting organized and efficient.
What you get
A clear map of your first tax year on both sides of the Atlantic. We review your situation, flag the dates and obligations that matter in France and the US, build a practical month-by-month calendar, and give you a document checklist so you know exactly what to collect, how to organize it, and when to act. And when you do need a licensed professional, we hand them a complete summary so your engagement is fast and cheap instead of slow and confused.
One thing we're upfront about: this is preparation and orientation, not tax advice. We don't file returns and we're not your CPA. What we do is make sure nothing surprises you, and make the professional you eventually hire far more efficient.
Everything we handle
Situation mapping
We review your arrival timeline, household, and income categories to pinpoint when you become a French tax resident, what France expects you to declare, and what the US still requires from you abroad, in plain language.
Practical calendar
A month-by-month timeline covering the French filing rhythm and the common US expat obligations (FBAR, Form 8938, FEIE), so you plan ahead instead of reacting under pressure.
Checklist & folder
A tailored checklist of every document to collect, how to label it, and a clean folder structure you can maintain month by month without effort.
Handoff coordination
If you need a CPA, a French accountant, or a bilingual advisor, we coordinate the introduction, prepare a summary, and deliver a document package that makes the engagement efficient from the first meeting.
Is this the right fit?
Who maps your year, and who backs it up
Maxime & Aurelio run your tax orientation and stay your single point of contact through your first filing season.
Aurelio is the strategist. He knows where the US and French calendars collide, which obligations Americans abroad routinely miss, and how the timing of your arrival changes what you owe where. He builds the map so you're not discovering an obligation after its deadline.
Maxime runs the operational front: the calendar, the checklist, the folder structure, and the coordination when it's time to bring in a professional. He makes sure your file is organized and your summary is ready, so the handoff is clean.
Because this service stops where licensed advice begins, the network matters here more than anywhere:
We coordinate the right introduction and hand them a complete package, so you get value from the first conversation instead of paying to get organized.
Questions, answered
Get ahead of your first filing season
Tell us your arrival date and your income picture. In 20 minutes we'll show you what your first tax year really involves and whether we can map it for you. Free, no pressure.
Book a free 20-minute call