Explained: What to check on 2024 French tax statements

Most people will have received their avis d’impôt (tax statement) from this spring’s declaration by now - an important document for anyone who declares income to France.

It allows you to check if you still owe tax on 2023 income and is also a vital document for many administrative requests (particularly as a proof of income). 

Below, we look at what to look for on the notice, as well as why it is important to keep for a number of years. 

When will I receive the notice? 

If you made your 2024 tax income declaration (for 2023’s income) online, the document should already be available through your personal space on the French tax website. 

These were issued between July 24 and August 2, regardless of whether you were in line to receive a tax rebate, had additional taxes to pay, or were not set to see any further changes. 

However, if you declare via a paper form, you will receive your avis via the post, which can arrive as late as August 29 (but began to be posted from July 24).

If you do not receive the notice contact the tax authorities via the secure messaging system in your personal space on the French tax site to inform them. 

Alternatively, you can go to your local tax office.

What should I check on the avis? 

The main information your avis will show is your tax situation – if you have more to pay or are due to receive as a rebate. Or if there is nothing to pay or receive.

Make sure this largely matches the figures you were given when you initially submitted your declaration. This allows you to see that no major changes have taken place and that it is comparable to the income declared and your bills in previous years, assuming your returns are similar most years. 

Check that any tax taken at source (retenue à la source), for example deducted by a French employer before you receive your salary, looks correct. This information can also be found in your online account in the Gérer mon prélèvement à la source.

While the calculations used to determine the rate of tax you pay can be complicated, you can use your avis to check they are largely correct, by comparing the information on previous tax notices.

These previous notices can be found online (if you usually declare online), or via older paper versions.

Read more: How long do I need to keep old French documents?

The level of tax you have paid at source in 2023 will reflect your 2022 income and other key information should be similar, provided your income levels have not changed greatly. 

This includes your revenu fiscal de référence (RFR, net taxable income), which is shown on the document. 

You can also check your impôt net (net tax bill). However this may be subject to some tax ‘at source’ paid during the year (or estimated instalments for some kinds of income), so is more variable than your revenu fiscal de référence.

As a reminder, there is not a standard English translation available for French tax statements. You can of course pay a translator to put the document into English for you, but this should not be necessary if you know what the key terms mean. 

What can I use a French tax statement for? 

The information on your avis, particularly the RFR, is very important to retain. 

This is because it is an official proof of a household’s income levels, and is requested by a host of both private and public organisations. 

This can include your local prefecture, and the caisse d’allocations familiales (Caf) family benefits office, which uses it to calculate recipients’ child benefits. 

It will also be required if you wish to apply for a mortgage to purchase property in France. 

It also shows your numéro fiscal which is required to log into your personal space on the French tax site, or to log into a host of official public service websites through FranceConnect. 

If you have queries about your bill, the simplest solution is to send a message to the tax office via the private secure messaging service in your online account. 

Read more: What is the ‘FranceConnect’ button used for on websites?