Guides
US home sale proceeds: explain the funds to a French notaire
Use the final settlement statement, bank credit and any Form 1099-S to explain US home sale proceeds for a Burgundy purchase.
Contents
Your US home has sold, and you intend to use the proceeds to buy in Burgundy. You open your bank statement, the final settlement paperwork and, if you received one, Form 1099-S. They show different amounts. That does not necessarily mean a document is wrong: each describes something different. Before sending files to the French notaire, work out which question each document can answer. The useful connection is between the completed sale, your entitlement to its proceeds and the credit in your account.
A bank balance does not explain the whole story
The Notaires de Picardie explain that a notaire checks the origin of funds. In this situation, a bank statement records a credit; the sale documents explain the event behind it. Tell the office that the funds come from a completed US property sale, identify the sellers and explain which account received them. Ask what evidence the office needs for its review.
This is not a request to assemble your entire US tax history. The aim is to connect a particular sale with the money intended for the purchase. The appropriate documents depend on the transaction; the reading method below does not replace the notaire’s requirements or establish that a file will be accepted.
Why Form 1099-S may not match the bank credit
The IRS instructions for Form 1099-S describe a gross figure in box 2. Selling expenses do not reduce it, and it can include a mortgage paid off at settlement. It is therefore not, by itself, the net amount deposited in your account.
If you have the form, retain its actual name and purpose. Do not describe it as a certificate of available cash. Nor should you assume that every sale produces the same paperwork. Ask which documents from your completed transaction are available and which the French office wants to see. A short explanation can help a French reader understand a US document without assigning it a different legal or accounting function.
Find the seller’s calculation in the settlement paperwork
For transactions using the relevant form, the Closing Disclosure separates amounts due to the seller from amounts charged against the seller, including costs and mortgage payoffs. Its seller section reaches a net figure. If your sale used a different settlement statement, ask the US professional who handled it to identify the corresponding entries.
Use the final version. Locate the property, completion date, sellers and amount allocated to you. If an entry is unclear, ask its issuer to explain it rather than translating the label approximately. A holdback, a distribution between sellers or a later adjustment needs its own explanation. Those differences should remain visible until the relevant professional accounts for them.
Make a reconciliation another person can follow
On a separate sheet, use three lines. The first identifies the amount payable to the seller in the final statement, with the file name and page. The second identifies the actual account credit, its date and transaction description. The third records the documented explanation for any difference. Keep the original currencies: converting both figures into euros yourself will not explain a discrepancy between two dollar amounts.
If the credit does not match the final statement, leave the question unresolved until you have an answer from the appropriate professional. Do not insert a balancing entry called miscellaneous fees. Your sheet is a reading aid, not independent evidence or a certification of where the money came from. Its value is that the reader can return to each original document.
What if the home was sold some time ago?
The original credit and today’s balance answer different questions. If the money has since moved between accounts or been combined with other resources, explain that history and ask the notaire what continuity of evidence is needed. A recent balance does not automatically replace the statement showing the original receipt.
Before sending documents, confirm translation requirements and the office’s chosen submission channel. Preserve the originals and ask what may be redacted from copies without removing information needed for the review. Our separate guide to paying for French property from abroad covers the payment process. For your Burgundy property search, contact Shawez Ali, agent immobilier; financial evidence should go to the professionals responsible for examining it.