Since the beginning of April, the tax declaration campaign has been open. As a reminder, taxpayers must respect a calendar differentiated, established according to their place of residence: May 26 if your department is between 01 (Ain) and 19 (Corrèze), June 1 for departments ranging from 20 (Corsica) to 54 (Meurthe-et-Moselle ) and finally, June 8 for the other departments, i.e. from 55 (Meuse) to 976 (Mayotte).
Additional dependent, formation of a new tax household through marriage… Certain events in personal life have repercussions on the income tax return. So many changes that affect the calculation of your income tax. Capital offers you a short summary of frequent situations:
If you got married or entered into a civil partnership in 2020, you must have reported your change in situation in your personal space on impots.gouv.fr. This made it possible to immediately recalculate your withholding tax rate, taking into account the reality of your new tax household (2 parts of the family quotient). However, this spring, for the first time, “you must make a single joint declaration including all the income and expenses of both spouses for the entire year”, recalls the General Directorate of Public Finances (DGFiP) . Namely, a declaration on your income received in 2020.
The rest under this advertisement
The rest under this advertisement
But, taxpayers are still offered the possibility of choosing to declare their income separately for their year of marriage (marriage in 2020, income 2020, possibility of a separate declaration this spring). Each spouse then completes their own declaration online in their personal space on the impots.gouv.fr website. This choice of activating the separate declaration option must be subject to arbitration, depending on the couple’s income. Marriage, it must be remembered, gives rise to a new tax household made up of 2 parts of the family quotient, against one part, as a single person without children. To make your choice, it is possible to use the simulator set up by Bercy.
>> Our service – Test our life insurance comparator
In practice, Bercy recalls that:
In the event of a joint declaration : income tax is paid by the couple. The easiest way is to make your declaration via the private space of one of the spouses on impots.gouv.fr. Another solution is to complete the pre-filled paper form from one of the spouses.
The rest under this advertisement
In case of separate declaration : each spouse completes their own declaration and must mention the date of the marriage or civil partnership (box X), the tax number of the other declarant, the share of joint income and expenses. Don’t forget to check box B which indicates that “You opt for the separate declaration of your income”.
Like a marriage, a divorce, breakdown of civil partnership or separation must be reported online to the tax administration within 60 days. Once indicated in Bercy, via your particular space, the withholding tax rate is recalculated. If such an event occurred in your life in 2020, you can file your own tax return this spring provided, explains the DGFiP, “that you are separated from property and do not live under the same roof; to be in the process of divorce or legal separation and to have been authorized to reside separately; to have their own income and one of the spouses has abandoned the marital home; to be divorced or to have broken up their civil partnership”.
The rest under this advertisement
The rest under this advertisement
Furthermore, if you pay alimony or a compensatory benefit or receive one, be careful not to forget them when making your declaration. Alimony must be indicated in the box deductible charge from your income tax return (6EL, 6GU or 6GI depending on the case). Conversely, the parent who receives alimony must also declare it in the “Alimony received (1AO)” box. Finally, the payment of a compensatory allowance entitles you to a tax reduction. Its amount must be entered in the “Compensatory benefits” section of form 2042 RICI (box 7WN to 7WP depending on the case).
>> Also read – Income declaration: real, micro-real estate, how to choose the taxation of your SCPI
- The death of a spouse
If unfortunately your spouse died in 2020, you must complete two different tax returns this spring: the first corresponds to the time of year when you were in a relationship and the second to that of widowhood. If the conditions allowed you to do so, you may have reported this event to the tax authorities within 60 days after the death. Your withholding tax rate could then be recalculated.
The rest under this advertisement
In practice :
For the couple’s income tax return (period between January 1 of 2020 and the date of death), Bercy specifies that this must include the following information: “The entire income of the deceased person, even if this income was received after the death, your income, any income of dependents up to the date of death, the total amount of the advance of tax reductions and credits, withholding tax on the deceased’s income (…)” . Deductible expenses must be prorated between January 1 of the tax year and the date of death.
For the widowed spouse’s income tax return : it concerns income which accrued from the date of death to December 31, 2020. It is therefore necessary to add deductible expenses and dependents over the period, as well as withholding tax. The declaration can be made online or via a paper form. It is not pre-filled.
Important point: “For the period after death, you benefit from the same number of shares as for the period before death,” explains Bercy. If you have a child attached to your tax household, you continue to benefit from the same number of shares as a married couple (2.5 family quotient shares).
The rest under this advertisement
The rest under this advertisement
>> Our complete tax guide. How to declare your income? How to reduce your tax bill through investments? What to do in the event of an administrative audit?
- The birth of a child
As for other changes in situation, if you welcomed a child in 2020, you normally reported their birth within 60 days to Bercy via your personal space on impots.gouv.fr. This adjusts your withholding tax rate. As a reminder, the birth of the first two children entitles you to an additional half share of the family quotient and to a full share from the third child. “The increase in the number of shares applies for the entire year regardless of the date of birth,” underlines Bercy. A year of birth that must be indicated in the “Dependants” section of the income tax return.
Furthermore, if you have chosen to have your child looked after outside your home in 2020 (childminder, crèche, etc.), you can benefit from a tax credit for childcare costs for children under 6 years. This amounts to 50% of the expenses incurred up to a limit of 2,300 euros per year per child (i.e. a maximum of 1,150 euros of tax credit per child, half as much in the case of shared custody).
The rest under this advertisement
Finally, the birth of a child has repercussions on your housing tax. It allows you to benefit from a reduction for “family responsibilities”. Bercy takes into account the situation on January 1 of the tax year. Clearly, if your child was born in 2020, this reduction applies to your 2021 housing tax.
>> Our service – Save money by testing our Consumer Credit comparator
If you have moved in recent weeks (or in 2020), you must report your change of address to the General Directorate of Public Finances (DGFiP). To do this, you have three channels:
Via your private space on the impots.gouv.fr website : you must click on “My profile”. In the “My personal information – my means of contact” space, you must press “Show my postal address”, then “modify”. Once the manipulation has been carried out, Bercy specifies that the “Postal address” field will display the following message: “Your change of address is being processed”. Another online solution, you can change your address from the secure messaging of your particular space. You must then click on “Write”, then “I am reporting a change in personal situation” and finally “I am changing my sending address”.
The rest under this advertisement
The rest under this advertisement
Via a letter addressed to your former public finance center “on which your address depends on January 1 of the tax year,” explains Bercy. You must then indicate your old and new addresses. The DGFiP emphasizes that the letter must also mention “your tax number, your first and last names, date and place of birth as well as your telephone number”.
Via telephone at 0 809 401 401.
>> Our service – Find your new home, old or new, to buy or rent, much more easily thanks to our geolocated ads!
For the income tax return, a change of address in France has no impact on the tax itself. Because the IR is calculated at the tax household level. For housing tax, a minority of households still pay local tax (reduced by 30% in 2021) on their main residence. Bercy specifies that “monthly direct debit contracts are linked to tax households and not to homes, they can therefore ‘follow’ the taxpayer in the event of a move”. But we must, of course, remain vigilant.
The rest under this advertisement
On the other hand, for property tax, the monthly deduction contract is not automatically transferred, except if you move within your municipality. Otherwise, you must indicate to your new public finance center that you have such a direct debit contract.
Our services to optimize your real estate investments
Receive our latest news
Every week, the key articles to accompany your personal finance.