Millions of people across France will receive a tax rebate either a direct bank transfer or a cheque (by mail) over the next few days. The first round of reimbursements will be sent out on Wednesday, July 24th, and the second will be sent on Wednesday, July 31st.

If you filed your taxes online via the impots.gouv.fr website, then you can expect your reimbursement to be sent between July 24th and 31st. 

Those who filed on paper may have to wait a little longer. They could receive their rebate sometime between July 24th and August 20th, Actu France reported.

READ MORE: 7 top tips for dealing with the French tax office

The most common scenario for people receiving a rebate is salaried employees whose income is deducted at source, but who are entitled to tax credits, rebates or refunds for things like childcare, domestic help or charity donations.

However money may also be sent to people who are found to have overpaid, or who qualify for other types of rebate.

How does the rebate work?

Most people will receive the payment directly into their bank account, as that information should already be shared with fiscal authorities.

It should appear under the wording ‘REMB IMPOT REVENUS’ and it will be coming from ‘DGFIP FINANCES PUBLIQUES’, according to the French government.

To ensure that the reimbursement goes through smoothly, you may want to check your tax account to verify that the bank account information is correct.

You can do this by going to the Impots.gouv.fr website and clicking ‘Prélèvement à la source’ and then ‘Mettre à jour vos coordonnées bancaires’.

Tax bills

Not everyone will be getting money, some people will be getting bills.

For employees this may be because they were being taxed at the wrong rate, or because they have declared extra income in addition to a salary (eg income from rental property including Airbnb rentals) or they received too much in tax credits earlier in the year and now need to pay back a sum.

Self-employed workers will be getting a tax bill based on the income they have declared for the year. This is in addition to their more regular URSSAF contributions.

How to pay

If you owe up to €300, then you will be automatically debited (from the bank account linked to your tax account) on September 26th.

For those who owe more than €300, the payment will be taken in four separate installments. The first will be on September 26th, then October 25th, November 25th and December 27th.

Beware of scams

Fiscal authorities have warned that people should beware of scams circulating around this time of year, as bad actors may be seeking to impersonate the DGFiP (Directorate General of Public Finances). 

These might include false notifications of refunds, accusations of tax fraud, or requests for payment.

The DGFiP has warned people on their website that tax authorities “will never send emails inviting you to visit an online form to obtain a refund without first logging into your authenticated personal space.”

Tax authorities also warned that they only use email addresses with the domain “@dgfip.finances.gouv.fr”.

As for SMS scams, the DGFiP states that it “never sends out text messages for non-payment.”

It advises that “as a general rule, do not click on the links you receive in text messages telling you that you have to pay a bill, fine or tax. If in doubt, contact the relevant department using another channel (via your personal account, by email or by telephone).”