Do you need to file a French tax return?
If you are tax resident in France — meaning France is your main place of residence or you spend more than 183 days per year here — you must file an annual income tax return (déclaration de revenus), even if your income is zero. The tax year runs from 1 January to 31 December. The declaration is filed the following spring (typically April–June).
What income do you declare?
As a French tax resident, you must declare your worldwide income — not just what you earned in France. This includes:
- Salary and self-employment income earned in France
- Salary earned abroad if you're a French resident
- Rental income (French and foreign properties)
- Investment income, dividends, interest
- Pensions
- Overseas income, even if also taxed abroad
💡 Avoiding double taxation: France has signed bilateral tax treaties with around 100 countries. These treaties determine which country taxes which income — you generally don't pay taxes twice. Check the specific treaty with your home country.
Your first return: getting set up
For your first French tax return, you likely don't yet have a tax number (numéro fiscal). You'll need to file on paper (cerfa 2042) and send it to the Service des Impôts des Particuliers (SIP) responsible for your home address. Your tax number will appear on the response. In subsequent years, you can file online at impots.gouv.fr.
The 2026 deadlines
Deadlines vary depending on your département and how you file:
- Paper returns: mid-May (check impots.gouv.fr for exact date)
- Online filing, zones 1 (départements 01-19): late May
- Online filing, zones 2 (départements 20-54): early June
- Online filing, zones 3 (départements 55-976): mid-June
Mistakes foreigners commonly make
- Forgetting overseas income: salary from a foreign employer, rental income from a property abroad, dividends from foreign investments — these must all be declared
- Not declaring a bank account abroad: if you hold a bank account outside France, you must declare it on form 3916 — even if you barely use it
- Waiting too long: late filing incurs a 10% surcharge; very late filing (more than 30 days after notice) incurs 40%
What if you made a mistake?
You can correct your return online until 15 December of the tax year. After that, you must file a contentious claim (réclamation contentieuse) by recorded letter. Self-correction attracts only a 10% surcharge — much lower than what you'd face if the error were discovered by the tax authority.