Income tax declaration abolished in France next year?

It is true that as of 2020 there will be no declaration to make for many households – though not all.

Those concerned are some 12 million tax households who usually do not make modifications to the pre-filled declaration supplied to them (online in their personal space at the tax website and on paper).

This notably concerns people with French employment incomes and French pensions whose amounts are known.

As of 2020 such people will simply receive a short document listing the incomes known to the tax office and, if they have nothing to add, they will not have to submit a declaration, but will be taken as having done so tacitly.

However if they have changes or additions to make then they will be able to make a declaration in the usual way.

If necessary, they will also still be able to make a corrective declaration or réclamation if they realise that they should have declared something additional.

Anyone who does typically make changes and additions, or who has not declared before (eg. someone who moved to France recently) or for whom the tax office does not have ‘exhaustive and precise’ information such as self-employed workers and people with property incomes which can vary, will have to continue declaring in the usual way.

The Public Accounts Minister Gérald Darmanin has described the move towards tacit declaration as “an enormous simplification” for both taxpayers and the tax offices – and following on from the change to at-source tax this year it continues a move towards a system which will be more familiar to Britons moving to France.

This question was answered by Olaf Muscat Baron who is a Fellow of the Chartered Association of Accountants UK, a French expert comptable and an International tax advisor.

He is the principal accountant of Fiscaly, an accountancy firm based in the Dordogne.

See www.fiscaly.fr or call 09 81 09 00 15

Email your tax questions to news@connexionfrance.com