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LIVING IN FRANCE

How to file your 2023 French income tax declaration

From who needs to complete it to what income you need to declare, here's your guide to the 2023 income tax declaration.

How to file your 2023 French income tax declaration
It's tax time! Photo: AFP

Tax declarations in 2023 opened on April 13th, and you have until late May or early June (depending on where you live) to complete the declaration.

Do I have to do it?

Probably, yes. France’s tax system has everyone declare their taxes in the spring for the previous year. That means that your 2023 tax declaration is based on your 2022 income – the French tax year runs from January 1st to December 31st.

Previously everyone resident in France had to fill in the income tax declaration (déclaration des revenus) but that has recently begun to change, following the introduction of ‘taxing at source’ for employees.

This only affects employees, not self-employed or retired people, and only a few categories are concerned – if this affects you, you will receive a notification by email, or been exempt from last year’s declaration.

If you belong to this group but something has changed since your last fiscal declaration (anything at all – income levels, address or other) you will still need to declare your taxes.

Everyone else needs to fill in a declaration, even if you don’t earn any income in France (for example people who get a pension paid from another country).

READ ALSO: What the French government doesn’t tell you about filing taxes

Property tax declaration

Please note that the income tax declaration – déclaration des revenus – is not the same thing as the property tax declaration – déclaration d’occupation. The property tax declaration is a one-off form that must be filled in in 2023 by everyone who owns property in France, including those who live in another country.

Find full details on the property tax declaration HERE.

When is the deadline?

Tax declarations opened on April 13th

The deadline to have the return completed depends on where you live and how you file

  • Monday, May 22nd for people who do the declaration on paper – the process is now largely online but there are exemptions for people who do not have internet access, while most people filing for the first time will also file on paper. The declaration must be posted by the end of May 22nd
  • 11.59pm on May 25th for non-residents and people who live in départements 1-19
  • 11.59pm on June 1st for people who live in départements 20-54
  • 11.59pm on June 8th for people who live in départements 55-96 and France’s overseas territories

Can I only do it online?

The government has vowed to render tax declarations paperless, although if you are filing a declaration for the first time you may have to do it on paper.

Exemptions for online filing include groups like elderly and people without internet access – for example those living in so-called ‘white zones’ – who may make their declarations on paper and send them in by post.

You can get your tax form at your local tax office, or download it and print it from the tax site.

If you are having trouble you may call 0809 401 401 for help.

First time declaring? 

If this is your first year filing a tax declaration in France, you will first need to get a tax number (numéro fiscal) and then set up an online account on the tax website of impots.gouv.fr.

READ ALSO How to get a numéro fiscale

Once you have received the number, you then need to register with the tax website.

If you are already registered online for property taxes such as the taxe d’habitation, you use the same site.

Visit the site impots.gouv.fr and go to the section that says “votre espace particulier“.

This is where your recent declarations and tax bills will be found. 

If you are not registered, you first need to set up your online account – head to impots.gouv.fr and click on votre espace particulier, if you have not created an account previously you will be given the option to set one up by entering details such as your name, address and social security number.

Once registered, head to the blue button ‘Accéder à la déclaration en ligne‘ to begin filling in the online form.

READ ALSO Ask the expert – what to put in each section of the French tax declaration

What do I need to declare?

Everything, basically.

People often assume that anything they have already declared to the tax authorities in their home country does not need to be included on the French tax form, but this is not the case.

The French taxman is asking for all of your assets, which includes income from rental properties in another country and income on financial products such as shares or ISAs in the UK.

All bank accounts must also be declared, even if they are dormant. New information-sharing rules between international banks mean that your bank can and will tell the French taxman what accounts you have in your home country, and if that information doesn’t match what is on your French declaration you could find yourself in trouble. 

Tax credits are available against tax you have already paid in another country – so you don’t end up paying twice on the same income – but you must still declare it.

International tax specialist Jason Porter explains more here.

What if I forget something?

If you realise too late that you have made a mistake on your tax declaration, you have until mid December 2023 to correct it on the government’s website, impots.gouv.fr.

Taxed as a household 

In France you are taxed by household. So if you are a married couple or if you are pacsé (in a civil partnership) then you should make one joint declaration rather than two. If you got married halfway through the year you can now declare one common declaration for the whole year.
 
And if you have any children living with you that are earning then you’ll need to declare their earnings too…and that includes any summer jobs. 

Tax deductibles

There are some professionals, including journalists, who receive tax breaks from the French government. 

The French can also claim tax breaks for house improvements, child care and gifting so it’s worth asking if you think you might be able to benefit.  Find out more about the deductions available here.

Visit the English page of the tax authority’s website

The tax section is less labyrinthine than some French government websites, and there is a section in English.

This can be found here.  

Member comments

  1. What if I move to france in the middle of the tax year? Do I have to declare income before I arrive?

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SECOND HOMES

What second-home owners need to know about French taxes

If you have a second-home in France you will need to get involved in the French tax system - here's what you need to know about bills, declarations and deadlines.

What second-home owners need to know about French taxes

Spring is tax season in France and even if you are neither a full-time resident nor a tax resident, if you own property here you will still need to understand the French tax system. 

For second-home owners there are three main things to be aware of; tax declarations, property tax bills and property-related income. 

Tax declarations

There are two types of tax declaration in France and you’ll definitely have to do one, but probably won’t have to do the other.

Income declaration – The first one is the annual déclaration des revenus (income tax declaration) which comes round every spring – this year declarations open on April 11th with the deadline to have completed in May or June, depending on your address.

Everyone who lives in France has to do this (even if they have no income in France) and second-home owners may have to complete it in certain circumstances.

The first is to do with length of stay in France – France requires the declaration for people who ‘live in France’, and this can apply to anyone who spends more than six out of 12 months here. This won’t apply to most second-home owners, but it can become applicable to people who pay multiple short visits here (especially those who hold a short-stay visa) which can add up to more than six months in 12.

The second category is to do with income in France – if you have French income, including from renting out your property on platforms such as Airbnb for short periods, then you will need to declare it in France. In this case you fill out the déclaration des revenus for overseas residents.

You can find full details on how to find and complete the form HERE.

Property tax declaration – this second declaration is the déclaration d’occupation or property tax declaration. This is a one-off task so you don’t need to do it every year, only when your circumstances change.

It was introduced as a new requirement in 2023 and must be completed by everyone who owns property in France, including those who live in another country.

If you filled it out last year you don’t need to do it again unless your circumstances change, but if you either didn’t do it last year for whatever reason or you have bought a property in the last 12 months, you will need to complete the declaration this summer. The exact deadline is still TBC, but last year it was July. 

This form is much more straightforward than the income tax declaration and just asks for basic details about you and your property including its size.

The crucial section (because it determines how much tax you pay) is what your property is used for – main residence, second home or rented out. If the property is mainly used by you as a second home then you list yourself as ‘owner-occupier’, even if you are not in full-time residence there. 

You can find full details on how to fill out the form HERE.

The 2024 French tax calendar

Impots online 

Both of these forms are usually completed online and to do this you will need to create an account on the French tax website impots.gouv.fr – find our guide on how to set up the account HERE.

The property tax declaration is described as an ‘online only’ process – in truth there are exemptions for people who either don’t have internet access or don’t feel confident completing procedures online.

However as a second home owner it will be much more convenient to declare and pay online if you can, since this doesn’t require you being physically present at your French property at tax time. 

Property taxes

If you own property in France you will be liable for property taxes and as a second-home owner you will pay two taxes; taxe foncière and taxe d’habitation.

Taxe foncière is the property-owners’ tax and is paid by everyone who owns property in France – French or foreign, whether the property is a main residence, second-home or rented out.

Taxe d’habitation is a little different. It used to be referred to as a householders’ tax and was paid by the occupant of the property (similar to council tax in the UK), however in recent years the system has changed and taxe d’habitation has been gradually phased out for almost everyone.

This means that tenants in France now pay no property tax at all, while people who own their own home pay only taxe foncière.

The only people who still pay both taxes are second-home owners (both French and foreign).

The bills arrive in the autumn, usually taxe foncière first in September or October and taxe d’habitation later in October or November.

They are calculated according to a complicated formula that takes into account the value of your property, the tax rate set locally and the national tax rate, which means that bills vary quite widely between different areas of France.

You can find the most recent breakdown of average tax bills HERE and if you think your bill is wrong, you can find how to challenge it HERE.

Extensions, alterations and swimming pools

If you are having work done on your property you may also be liable to an extra one-off tax, known as the building tax – more detail HERE.

If you do work that significantly affects the value of your property – such as building an extension or adding a swimming pool, then you need to notify authorities. Because property taxes are partly based on the value of your property, you can expect your bills to rise after major works. 

If you have a pool, it will be listed separately on your property tax declaration. 

What to know about installing a pool at your French property

Rental income

Many second-home owners rent out their property for a few weeks of the year, in order to help cover the running costs. This summer plenty of people who own property in or around Paris are considering renting it out on Airbnb during the Olympics or Paralympics, to make a bit of extra cash.

If you want to do this it is perfectly legal, but there are some things that you need to know.

The first is that, as described above, having any kind of income in France – including rental income – means that you need to complete the annual property tax declaration. 

Even if you’re just renting it as a one-off during the Olympics you will need to declare it on the spring 2025 declaration – and be aware that Airbnb sends information on hosts directly to the French tax authorities.

If you’re renting out your property you may also have to register it as a holiday rental with the maire – the rules here vary according to area but most mairies in tourist areas require registration. If you’re using Airbnb, the platform itself has a helpful guide to registration requirements, otherwise the best thing is to go to the mairie and ask what the rules are in your area.

Some areas have extra restrictions on the number of days that second homes can be rented out each year, while the city of Paris has a total ban on renting out second homes.

READ ALSO 5 things to know about renting out your French property

You can find more information about taxes in our 2024 French Tax Guide, or our tax section here

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