You have to complete a French income tax form, Impôt sur le revenu, if you were a French resident in 2013 or if you had income from a French source in 2013, such as property rental, dividends, business income.
The French income tax system is not based on a pay as you earn system, except for auto entrepreneurs under régime micro fiscal, and we declare and pay our income tax one year down the line. We are therefore about to declare the income earned in 2013 and will start paying this tax in October 2014. If you have declared any French income in 2012, you should automatically receive an Impôt sur le Revenu form via the post.
If you registered your auto-entrepreneur in 2013, you should receive an income tax form in the post. However sometime there are mishaps and you may not receive the right form. You will need Declaration préremplie revenus 2013 - 2042 K and Declaration complementaire revenus 2103 - 2042 CK PRO for your business income. If the second form is missing you can ask a copy from your Trésor Public office.
In this article I will explain how auto-entrepreneurs and micro-entreprises complete the 2042 CK PRO tax form. If you have an entreprise individuelle under régime réel simplifié or an EIRL, EURL, SARL or SAS, I would advise you to get in touch with your accountant. This declaration is normally included in their yearly accountancy fees.
All French tax offices, called Centre des Finances Publiques or Trésor Public, provide free advice if you need help with your income tax forms. If you have any doubt about declaring various sources of income, such as interests from accounts abroad, pension, dividends earned abroad, I'd advise you get in touch with them.
1. Deadlines to complete your 2013 French income tax
All paper declarations have to be sent back by 20th May 2013 at midnight, posted to Centre des Finances Publiques. The address of your nearest office is listed on the 1st page of your 2013 2042 K.
For online declarations the deadlines to return your French income tax are:
- 27th May for departments 01 to 19.
- 3rd June for departments 20 to 49 (including Corsica).
- 10th June for departments 50 to 976.
Note that you will only be able to declare your 2013 French income tax online, provided you have already completed at least one paper declaration for your 2012 income tax.
You will need several references from your 2012 declaration, including numéro fiscal, numéro de télédéclarant and revenu fiscal de référence (all listed on your 2012 income tax attestation). Go to www.impots.gouv.fr to create your account. After you have submitted this information, a certificate will be issued to you. You will be able to log in within 24 hours and complete your declaration.
2. 2013 French income tax bands
The income tax of a family will vary according quotient familial, i.e. the number of persons within the household. The French income tax system lowers the amount of tax payable depending on this family quotient. An adult will for instance reprensent 1 part fiscale and a child will represent 0.5 part fiscale. A married couple or a couple under a civil union (PACS) will complete the same declaration (Déclarant 1 and declarant 2), while and a couple living together with no legal link will have to complete two separate forms. A married couple with two children will for instance have 3 parts fiscales. Here is a table summarising the quotient familial.
The household income divided by the number of family quotient will then be submitted to a tax band, with a different taxation rate being applied as the income increase. Here are the 2013 income tax bands called barème d’imposition des revenus:
- 0 to 6,011 euros - income not taxable
- 6,011 euros to 11,991 euros taxed at 5.5%
- 11,991 euros€ to 26,631 euros taxed at 14%
- 26,631 euros to 71,397 euros taxed at 30%
- 71,397 euros to 151,200 euros taxed at 41%
- Over 151,200 euros taxed at 45%
3. Income tax forms you might need
Here is a list of the various forms that you'll need to declare your income according to your personal situation:
- Declaring employees’ income: Déclaration Preremplie de Revenus 2013 (Example of the 2012 form form 2042. The 2013 form will be available early May)your 2013 income tax form.
- Declaring your auto-entrepreneur, micro entreprise, house rental or entreprise individuelle income: complémentaire de revenus 2013 professions non salariées.
- Declaring income earned and taxed abroad: des revenus encaisses à l’etranger 2013 (Form 2047)
- Declaring income from rented properties: fonciers 2012 (Form 2044)
4. Adding your auto-entrepreneur turnover on form 2042 CK PRO
If you have opted for the income tax paid at source, impot libératoire, also called régime micro fiscal, you have already declared and paid your income tax on a monthly or quarterly basis for your income earned in 2013. However, you still need to declare your overall turnover on the Déclaration de revenus complémentaire professions non salariees form 2042 CK PRO.
You will not be taxed again, but Impôts will take into account your business income, in order to assess your overall household income, called Assiette de revenus. This will for example be taken into account to check that you can remain within the regime micro fiscal in 2015. The maximum income threshold ineablign you to opt to regime micro fiscal in 2012 was 26,420 euros maximum for a single person, 5,2840 euros for a couple without children and 79,260 euros for a couple with 2 children. Caisse d’Allocations Familiales will also take this amount into account tw work out your family allowance (housing or child allowances).
4.1 Attestion fiscale 2013 regime auto-entrepreneur
If you registered as an auto-entrepreneur, you should also have received a form from URSSAF or RSI entitled Attestation fiscale 2013 régime auto-entrepreneur. This form confirms the turnover you declared in 2013 and confirms the amount that you should add to your French income tax form. The table also lists the cell reference in which you have to add your turnover, for instance 22,000 euros in cell 5HQ.
Double check with your own URSSAF / RSI turnover declarations that the turnover indicated for 2013 montant des recettes is correct. If not, get in touch with URSSAF / RSI and ask them to correct and re-issue the attestation fiscal. You will not have to return the attestation fiscal with your income tax declaration, but you will need to keep a copy as a proof for the future.
4.2 General information
If the 2042 CK Pro form was not pre filled for you, start by adding in the first section entitled Revenus et plus values des professionnels non salaries – Identification des personnes exerçant une activité non salariée:
- Your name and surname (prénom, nom de l’exploitant).
- Your business address (adresse de l’exploitation).
- Your SIRET number.
- Tick your type of income, i.e. BIC Benefices Industriels et Commerciaux for trade and manual services or BNC Beneficie Non Commerciaux for professions liberales.
- Tick your tax regime regime d’imposition i.e. auto-entrepreneur or micro entreprise.
- If you closed your business down in 2013, indicate the closure date.
If you're married or pacsed and have a micro entreprise or auto-entrepreneur each, you will fill in the same form and used both columns across the form declarant 1 and declarant 2.
4.3. You chose regime micro fiscal
Go to page 1 on the section titled auto-entrepreneur ayant opté pour le versement libératoire de l’impôt sur le revenu. turnover cashed in 2013 in the appropriate box according to your activity.
For Trading Activities go to Revenus Industriels et Commerciaux Professionnels (BIC):
- 5TA Vente de marchandises: add your total sales for goods.
- 5TB Prestation de services et locations meublés: add your total sales for manual services and furnished houses rented.
For Professions Liberales go to Benefices Non Commerciaux, e.g. teaching, translating, consultants, manual services.
- 5TE revenus son commerciaux.
4.4. You did not choose regime micro fiscal
If you have not opted to pay your income tax at source, you will come under regime micro entreprise. Here is how to declare your 2013 business income on form 2042 CK PRO.
For Trading Activities go to page 2 under Revenus Industriels et Commerciaux Professionnels (top page). Go to regime micro entreprise, add your turnover cashed in in 2013 chiffre d’affaires brut under the relevant box:
- 5KO Vente de marchandises: add your total sales of goods.
- 5KP Prestation de services et locations meublés: add your total sales here for manual services and furnished houses including gites and chambres d’hotes.
For Professions Liberales , e.g. teachers, translators, consultants, go to page 3 under Revenus Non Commerciaux Professionnels (BNC). Go to the sub-section titled Regime declaratif special ou micro BNC, add your 2013 turnover in box 5HQ Revenus imposables.
Do not apply any rebate to your turnover.
How impots calculates your income tax under regime micro entreprise
You are requested to add your 2013 sales called recettes or chiffre d’affaires, without applying any deduction or rebate. Impôts will then apply a standard rebate to your turnover, based on your activity type, in order to calculate your taxable income called revenu fiscal. Rebates applied to micro entreprise based on your activity are:
- Rebate of 71% for trade (vente de marchandises).
- Rebate of 50% for services (manual services).
- Rebate of 34% for professions liberales (BNC).
If you are not sure how to declare your income, get in touch with your local Impot office to get help. Impots will clarify how to add you pension, property rental, tax credit, investments, dividends, etc. They are usually very helpful at this time of the year.