This article covers the 2024 French income tax deadlines and basic reminders to help you get ready for the tax season. We are about to start declaring the income we earned between 1st January and 31st December 2024. This declaration has to be completed between the 21st May and 5th June 2025.
Key French income tax reminders
You are expected to file a French income tax declaration if:
- You’ve earned some income in France in 2024: rental income, salary, business, dividends, and pension.
- You are a resident in France. If your visa states that you are a French resident, you need to file a declaration, and this will be very important for your visa renewal.
- You’ve opted for the income tax at source “impot liberatoire” as a micro entrepreneur.
Every year, I see micro entrepreneurs who forget to file their French income tax, because they:
- Think that all is done and dusted once they’ve declared to URSSAF.
- Have opted for the income tax at source and therefore believe that nothing else needs to be done.
Spoiler alert for both: Nope! You still need to file a personal income tax return the following year (i.e in May 2025 for your 2024 income). If you’ve paid your income tax at source, you won’t be taxed again on this income, but you may still have other sources of income. For instance, a private pension, dividends or rental income.
Income tax declaration online or by paper
If you are new to France, you will have to file your 1st income tax declaration by paper and post - I’m afraid so! You are unlikely to receive the forms by post and will therefore need to download them from impots.gouv.fr. These will be published after 11th April 2025, but it could even be a bit later, as they are usually slow.
This means:
- Downloading all the required forms online (2042, 2042C, 2047, 3916 at least for most expats with a business and income from abroad).
- Print them (about 4 pages each) and fill them in.
I strongly recommend getting help from an accountant or the tax office. The tax office “Service Impôts particuliers (SIP)” tends to have specific appointments for the whole of May to help you. Contact me if you want an introduction to an English-speaking accountant (describe your situation and list the type of income to declare).
If you’ve declared at least once on paper, you will have to file online from this year. Grab your TIN number and fiscal income reference from last year’s “avis d’impôts” to activate your online account.
French income tax deadlines 2024
The 2024 French income tax deadlines vary based on where you live.
2024 French income tax declaration deadline
- 21st May 2025 at midnight: Paper tax return.
- 22nd May 2025 at midnight: Departments 01 to 19 and non-residents.
- 29th May 2025 at midnight: Departments 20 to 54.
- 5th June 2025 at midnight: Departments 55 to 974/976.
2024 French income tax timescale
- 10th April 2025: Online tax return opens.
- 18th July 2025: You start receiving your income tax attestation “avis d’impot” if you’ve declared online.
- August-December 2025: Online tax return correction service opens.
- 24th September 2025: You start paying your income tax (unless you’ve opted for impot liberaotire)
How to get ready for your 2024 French income tax declaration
You can get ready for the tax season. Here's what to do:
- Gather proofs of all your sources of income received in 2024 (rent, salary, pension, dividends, business income).
- Make a list of your foreign bank accounts, as you will have to declare them.
- Gather attestations for expenses generating a tax credit (home-based services/ services à la personne, financial donation to charities, investments in PER/ Plan Epargne Retraite).
- List your income earned and taxed abroad, as you will have to declare it too (you won’t get taxed on this).
How does French income tax work
If you’ve never heard how French income tax works, I recommend watching this video where I explain the basics. You’ll understand key words such are: parts fiscales, revenu, barème fiscal, avis d’impôts.
Income tax brackets for 2024
Once you’ve watched this video explaining French income tax, you may want to know what the progressive scale applicable to your 2024 income is. This is referred to as “barème fiscal” or the tax rate for each bracket of income.
Make sure you watch my income tax video first to understand how your income is calculated, or you will scare yourself! As a micro entrepreneur, it won’t be your turnover, as a standard rebate will be applied first.
2024 Tax rate for each income bracket - Bareme Fiscal 2024
- Up to €11,497: 0%
- From €11,498 to €29,315: 11%
- From €29,316 to €83,823: 30%
- From €83,824 to €180,294: 41%
- Over €180,294: 45%
I will write another article on French income tax mid-April, once the forms have been published. Make sure you subscribe to my newsletter to receive it.
