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Final deadline looms for French tax returns

Midnight on Thursday marks the final deadline for the majority of people in France to file their annual tax declaration.

Published: 4 June 2020 10:25 CEST
Updated: 10 June 2020 12:09 CEST
Final deadline looms for French tax returns
Photo: AFP

Deadlines for completing the annual tax declaration are staggered depending on the areas where you live and began last week on June 4th. Midnight on Thursday, June 11th marks the last deadline for online returns, and applies to everybody living in the greater Paris area.

Everyone who has their main residence in France, or who earns income in France through businesses such as holiday rentals, is obliged to fill in the annual declaration.

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Retirees or others who do not earn an income in France need to fill in the declaration too, and all your income and assets – whether earned in France or elsewhere – must be declared, although most countries have double taxation agreements with France which means you will not be taxed twice on the same income.

Two weeks before the final deadline, Public Accounts Minister Gérald Darmanin told France 2: “We already have 15 million taxpayers who have filed their income tax returns and there are still about 10 million taxpayers who have not yet fulfilled this obligation.”
 
 
Tax declarations are made by household in France.
 
Due to the lockdown, French authorities have extended the original deadlines, so the new deadlines are; 
  • For départements 1 to 19: Thursday June 4th, 2020 at 11.59pm
  • For départements 20 to 54: Monday June 8th, 2020 at 11.59pm
  • For départements 55 to 976: Thursday June 11th, 2020 at 11.59pm

Those filing their taxes on paper have until June 12th, but only certain groups are exempt from the online declaration only rule – these include the elderly and people who live in zones blanches without internet access.

The French tax system is undergoing a change and from January 2019 salaried employees have had their income taxes deducted directly from their wages, meaning that many will have nothing to pay after filing the declaration.

However most employees still have to fill in the declaration, although this too is expected to change in the upcoming years.

This year round 12 million employees whose circumstances have remained unchanged since last year are exempt from the declaration – these people have already been contacted by the tax office to tell them they do not need to file.

If this is the first year you have filled in a tax declaration, you first need to request a numéro fiscale (tax number) to allow you to create an online account.

READ ALSO  How to fill in your 2020 French tax return

 
 

 

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TAXES

Explained: France’s exit tax

Planning on leaving France? You may, depending on your circumstances, be charged the 'exit tax'.

Published: 11 April 2024 11:28 CEST
Explained: France's exit tax

Like some other European countries, France does have an exit tax for those (French or foreign) who are leaving the country. It’s known by the English name l’Exit tax.

However, it won’t affect most people.

Only those who have been tax resident for a minimum six years of the 10 years immediately before they permanently move out of the country are liable to pay an exit tax – if, that is, they own property, titles or rights worth a minimum of €800,000, or that represent 50 percent of a company’s social profits.

If that affects you, the best advice is to seek expert individual financial advice before moving out of France for good. The relevant page on the French government’s impot.gouv.fr website says it is possible to defer payments, and some relief is available.

Because of the relatively high figures involved, this tax is irrelevant for most people. That said, however, you will still have to inform tax authorities that you are moving out of the country because you may still have income, property and capital gains taxes to pay.

Income tax

You must inform the tax office that you are moving and give them your new address so that your tax declarations can be transferred to your new address.

You are liable for tax on everything you earned in France prior to your departure as well as on any French earnings that are taxable in France under international tax treaties that you earned after your departure.

The year of your departure, you declare your previous year’s earnings as normal – declarations in spring 2024 are for earnings in 2023.

A year later, you will have to declare any earnings taxable in France from January 1st up to the date of your departure, and any French-sourced income taxable source until December 31st of the year of your departure.

If you continue to have any French-sourced income – such as from renting out a French property – you will have to declare that income annually, using the non-residents declaration form.

Property taxes

You will have property taxes to pay if you own a French property on January 1st of any given year – whether it is occupied or not. 

Property tax bills come out in the autumn, but they refer to the situation on January 1st of that year, so even if you sell your property you will usually have the pay a final property tax bill the following year.

Moreover, if you receive income from property in France or have rights related to that property (such as shared ownership or stock in property companies), as well as any additional revenue connected to the property, during the year you leave France, you will be required to pay taxes on these earnings.

If any property assets in France exceed €1.3 million on January 1st of a given year, you may also have to pay the wealth tax (IFI).

READ ALSO What is France’s wealth tax and who pays it?

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Capital gains tax 

If you sell your French property or share of a French property, you may be liable for capital gains tax at a rate of 19 percent. It will also be subject to social security contributions at the overall rate of 17.2 percent.

Capital gains tax varies depending on how long you have owned the property and whether it was a second home or your main residence.

READ ALSO How much capital gains tax will I have to pay if I sell my French property?

The good news is, if you move to another EU country, or any country that has a specific tax agreement with France, you may be exempt from capital gains tax for non-resident sellers on the sale of a property that was your principal residence in France.

If you move elsewhere, you may be able to claim exemption on capital gains tax up to €150,000. As always, you should seek expert financial advice.

Tell Social Security

Inform social security that you are leaving France permanently – and return your carte vitale if you have one. If you do not, you may be liable for any benefits you receive to which you are no longer entitled.

More mundane tasks involve informing utility and water companies, your internet provider, if you have one, the phone company, your insurance companies, banks – and La Poste, who will be able to forward your mail for up to 12 months, for a fee…

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