fr-personal-income-tax

France — Personal Income Tax (Impôt sur le Revenu) — Comprehensive Guide v1.0

Based on work by Romain Simon (@romainsimon), licensed under MIT. Adapted for the OpenAccountants format.

Disclaimer: This skill is for informational purposes only and does not constitute tax advice. All positions must be reviewed and signed off by a qualified expert-comptable or avocat fiscaliste before filing. Get this reviewed at openaccountants.com.

Section 1 — Quick Reference

Quick Reference table

Field	Value
Country	France (République française)
Tax	Impôt sur le Revenu (IR) + Prélèvements sociaux + CEHR + CDHR
Currency	EUR only
Tax year	Calendar year (1 January – 31 December)
Primary legislation	Code Général des Impôts (CGI), art. 197
Tax authority	Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFiP)
Filing portal	impots.gouv.fr (espace particulier)
Filing deadline	Late May / early June (varies by département, online)
Key forms	2042, 2042-C, 2042-C-PRO, 2042-IFI, 2047, 2074, 2086

Section 2 — Full IR Computation Sequence

Never skip a step. Each intermediate must be computed.

1. Revenus bruts par catégorie
   ↓ abattements spécifiques (10% salaires, 10% pensions, 40% dividendes if barème…)
2. Revenus nets catégoriels
   ↓ somme
3. Revenu brut global (RBG)
   ↓ déductions (PER, pension alimentaire, CSG déductible N-1)
4. Revenu Net Imposable (RNI)
   ↓ ÷ nombre de parts
5. Quotient
   ↓ application du barème progressif
6. Impôt par part
   ↓ × nombre de parts
7. Impôt brut
   ↓ plafonnement du gain QF
8. Impôt après QF
   ↓ décote (if impôt < threshold)
9. Impôt après décote
   ↓ − réductions d'impôt (floor at 0)
10. Impôt après réductions
    ↓ − crédits d'impôt (refundable — can be negative)
11. Impôt net
    + Prélèvements sociaux (separate, on capital income)
    + CEHR (if RFR > thresholds)
    + CDHR (if effective rate < 20% floor)
    = Total tax liability

Section 3 — Progressive Rate Table (Barème IR)

2025 Brackets (revenus 2025, déclaration 2026) — per part

2025 Brackets table (art. 197 CGI)

Revenu net imposable (EUR/part)	Rate	Cumulative tax at top of bracket
0 – 11,600	0%	0
11,601 – 29,579	11%	1,977.69
29,580 – 84,577	30%	18,477.09
84,578 – 181,917	41%	58,386.49
Above 181,917	45%	—

Tranches LFI 2026 (revenus 2025, indexation +0.9%). Source: art. 197 CGI.

Worked Example — Single, RNI = EUR 40,000, 1 part

Worked example table

Bracket	Calculation	Tax
0 – 11,600	11,600 × 0%	0
11,601 – 29,579	17,979 × 11%	1,977.69
29,580 – 40,000	10,421 × 30%	3,126.30
Total		5,103.99

Section 4 — Abattements (Standard Deductions) by Income Category

Abattements table

Income type	2042 box	Abattement	Min / Max	Notes
Salaries (salaires)	1AJ/1BJ	10%	min EUR 509, max EUR 14,555	Or opt for frais réels
Pensions / retirement	1AS/1BS	10%	min EUR 450, max EUR 4,446 per household
Unemployment (ARE)	1AP/1BP	None	—	Common trap: never put in 1AJ
Dividends (option barème)	2DC	40%	—	Only under barème option
Dividends (PFU)	2DC	None	—
Micro-BNC	5TE	34%	min EUR 305, ceiling EUR 77,700
Micro-foncier (bare rental)	4BE	30%	ceiling EUR 15,000
Micro-BIC LMNP long-term	5ND	50%	ceiling EUR 77,700
Micro-BIC furnished tourism unclassified	5ND	30%	ceiling EUR 15,000	Loi Le Meur
Micro-BIC furnished tourism classified	5NG	50%	ceiling EUR 77,700

Salary terminology trap table

Term	Where found	Value
Salaire brut	Pay slip — top	Before contributions
Salaire net	Pay slip — deposited amount	After contributions, before non-deductible CSG
Salaire net imposable (1AJ)	Pay slip — dedicated line	Amount declared in box 1AJ
RNI (after abattement)	Avis d'imposition	1AJ × 0.9 (standard range)

Section 5 — Quotient Familial (Family Quotient)

Parts de base (base shares)

Parts de base table

Situation	Base parts
Single, divorced, separated	1
Married / PACSed (joint filing)	2
Widowed without children	1
Widowed with child(ren)	2 (+ child parts)

Majoration for children

Majoration table

Child rank	Additional parts
1st child	+0.5
2nd child	+0.5
3rd child and each subsequent	+1.0 each

Special cases:

• Shared custody (résidence alternée): half the above values (0.25 / 0.25 / 0.5)
• Disabled child (carte CMI-invalidité): +0.5 additional part
• Single parent (parent isolé, case T): +0.5 on first child

Examples

Examples table

Household	Total parts
Single, no children	1
Single, 1 child	1.5 (or 2 if parent isolé)
Married, 0 children	2
Married, 2 children	3
Married, 3 children	4

Plafonnement du gain QF (QF capping)

• Cap per half part (revenus 2025) — EUR 1,807 EUR (revenus 2025) (art. 197-2 CGI)
• QF capping algorithm — tax_with_all_parts = normal calculation with all parts tax_without_children = calculation with base parts only (1 or 2) actual_gain = tax_without_children − tax_with_all_parts cap_per_half_part = EUR 1,807 (revenus 2025) nb_supplementary_halves = (total_parts − base_parts) × 2 max_gain = cap_per_half_part × nb_supplementary_halves final_tax = tax_without_children − min(actual_gain, max_gain) (art. 197-2 CGI)

Critical mechanism often forgotten. The tax benefit from supplementary half-parts (children) is capped.

Practical consequence: above approximately EUR 90,000–100,000 RNI for a couple with 2 children, the QF benefit plateaus at EUR 3,614 (2 × EUR 1,807).

Parent isolé (case T): the half-part for single parents has its own higher cap (EUR 4,273 for the first child-related part). Widowed with children: cap EUR 4,273.

Section 6 — Décote (Low-Income Smoothing)

• Décote application order — Applied after QF plafonnement, before reductions/credits. (art. 197-4° CGI)

Formulas (revenus 2025)

Décote formulas table (art. 197-4° CGI)

Situation	Condition	Décote formula
Single	Impôt brut < EUR 1,982	897 − 0.4525 × impôt brut
Couple	Impôt brut < EUR 3,277	1,483 − 0.4525 × impôt brut

• Décote floor — The décote cannot make the tax negative (floor at 0). (art. 197-4° CGI)

Effective marginal rate in the décote zone

In the décote zone, each additional euro of income:

• Increases tax at the bracket rate
• Reduces the décote by 0.4525 × that amount

Effective marginal rate ≈ bracket_rate × 1.4525. A household in the 11% bracket can face ~16% effective marginal rate in the décote zone.

Section 7 — CEHR (Contribution Exceptionnelle sur les Hauts Revenus)

• CEHR base and applicability — Base: RFR (revenu fiscal de référence), not RNI. Added on top of IR net. (art. 223 sexies CGI)

CEHR thresholds table (art. 223 sexies CGI)

Situation	3% bracket	4% bracket
Single	EUR 250,001 – 500,000	> EUR 500,000
Couple	EUR 500,001 – 1,000,000	> EUR 1,000,000

• CEHR smoothing — Smoothing possible over the average of the 2 preceding years. (art. 223 sexies CGI)

Section 8 — CDHR (Contribution Différentielle sur les Hauts Revenus)

• CDHR mechanism overview — Distinct from CEHR. Imposes a 20% floor on effective tax rate for high-RFR households, created by LFI 2025 (loi n° 2025-127), extended by LFI 2026 until deficit < 3% GDP. (art. 224 CGI)

CDHR thresholds table (art. 224 CGI)

Situation	RFR threshold
Single, widowed, separated, divorced	> EUR 250,000
Couple (married or PACSed, joint filing)	> EUR 500,000

• CDHR mechanism formula — if (IR + CEHR) / adjusted RFR < 20%, the CDHR tops up the difference. (art. 224 CGI)

Automatic calculation by the administration after filing. Advance of 95% due between 1–15 December via impots.gouv.fr PAS service.

Typical profiles affected: executives with large PFU dividends (effective IR ~12.8% while RFR > 250k), business angels with large capital gains, RSU/BSPCE vesting years.

Section 9 — Prélèvement à la Source (PAS — Withholding at Source)

Two mechanisms

Two mechanisms table

Mechanism	Income types	Collector
Retenue à la source (withholding)	Salaries, pensions, unemployment	Employer / pension fund / Pôle Emploi
Acompte contemporain (advance payment)	BIC, BNC, BA, rental income, received alimony	DGFiP via bank debit (monthly or quarterly)

Rate types

Rate types table

Rate type	Description
Personalised (default)	Calculated by DGFiP from last filing
Individualised (couples)	Separate rates per spouse — same total, different split
Neutral (non-personalised)	Grid for single with no children — confidentiality option

Modulation

• Downward modulation — Allowed if estimated gap > 5%. Penalty 10% if gap > 10% and unjustified. (art. 1729 G CGI)
• Upward modulation — Allowed without minimum threshold.
• Life change signal deadline — Marriage, PACS, birth, divorce, death — signal within 60 days. days (art. 204 I CGI)

Annual settlement

PAS is an advance, not final. Declaration in Apr-Jun N+1 leads to:

1. Definitive IR calculated on year N income
2. Compared with total withheld in N
3. Balance due (September N+1, spread if > EUR 300) or refund (July-August N+1)

January advance for tax credits

• January advance mechanism — DGFiP pays a 60% advance mid-January based on N-2 expenses (emploi à domicile, garde d'enfant, dons, Pinel). Adjusted in summer N+1. Option to renounce in December if expense won't recur. %

Section 10 — Deductions, Reductions, and Credits

Fundamental distinction

Fundamental distinction table

Mechanism	Acts on	Refundable if excess?	Calculation step
Déduction	Taxable income (RNI)	N/A	Step 3
Réduction	Tax due	No — floor at 0	Step 9
Crédit	Tax due	Yes — refunded	Step 10

A EUR 1,000 deduction at TMI 30% saves EUR 300. A EUR 1,000 credit saves EUR 1,000.

Key deductions (act on RNI)

Key deductions table

Deduction	Limit	Notes
PER (épargne retraite)	10% of professional income, min EUR 4,710, max EUR 37,680	Report unused caps 3 years; couple mutualisation
Pension alimentaire (child support)	Capped annually	Proof of need and actual payment required
CSG déductible	6.8% of capital income CSG	Only if barème option on capital in N-1; zero under PFU
Frais réels (actual expenses)	Replaces 10% salary abattement	Must document every expense

Key reductions (floor at 0)

Subject to the EUR 10,000 global cap (plafonnement des niches fiscales):

Reductions inside cap table

Device	Rate	Notes
Pinel	Spread over 6/9/12 years	Last vintage 2024 — in extinction
FCPI / FIP	18% – 25% of investment	Separate investment ceiling
Denormandie	Similar to Pinel, older housing	Targeted to degraded town centres

Outside the EUR 10,000 cap:

Reductions outside cap table

Device	Rate	Notes
Dons associations (charitable gifts)	66% standard; 75% for poverty relief (up to EUR 1,000/year)	Excess above 20% of taxable income reportable 5 years
Cotisations syndicales (union dues)	66%	Cap: 1% of gross salary
Girardin industriel (overseas)	Variable	Specific conditions

Key credits (refundable)

Key credits table

Credit	Rate	Ceiling	Notes
Emploi à domicile (home help)	50%	EUR 12,000/year (max credit EUR 6,000); +EUR 1,500 per child or person 65+ (max EUR 15,000)	CESU+ instant advance available since 2022
Garde d'enfant hors domicile (childcare)	50%	EUR 3,500/child (max credit EUR 1,750/child)	Child under 6 at 1 January

Global cap on tax incentives (plafonnement des niches fiscales)

• Global cap on tax incentives — EUR 10,000 per year (EUR 18,000 for specific overseas investments) EUR (art. 200-0 A CGI)
• Excess treatment for devices inside cap — Devices "inside the cap" (Pinel, FCPI, etc.) are summed. If total exceeds EUR 10,000, the excess is lost (not reportable). Devices "outside the cap" (charitable gifts, home help credit) are unlimited by this mechanism. (art. 200-0 A CGI)

Section 11 — Special Cases

Revenus exceptionnels — Quotient mechanism

• Exceptional income quotient formula — supplementary_tax = [IR(ordinary_income + exceptional/4) − IR(ordinary_income)] × 4 (art. 163-0 A CGI)

Smoothing for one-off income (RSU vesting, departure indemnity, exceptional bonus) that would artificially push through multiple brackets.

Conditions:

• Income exceeds the average of taxable income over the 3 preceding years
• Exceptional, non-recurring character
• Explicit request on the declaration

Useless if the household is already at TMI 45% — the marginal rate doesn't change with division.

Non-residents

• Non-residents taxation scope — Taxed only on French-source income. (art. 164 A CGI)
• Minimum rate for non-residents — 20% on fraction ≤ EUR 27,519 and 30% above (revenus 2025) %
• No QF or décote for non-residents — No quotient familial beyond 2 parts; no décote. Tax treaty analysis required — out of scope for complex cases.

PUMA — Cotisation subsidiaire maladie

PUMA thresholds table (art. L. 380-2 CSS)

Condition	Threshold (2025)
Professional income below	~20% PASS ≈ EUR 9,420
Capital income above	~50% PASS ≈ EUR 23,550

• PUMA rate — 6.5% on (capital income − 50% PASS) % (art. L. 380-2 CSS)

Affects individuals with low professional income but significant capital income. Collected by URSSAF, not DGFiP. Non-deductible from IR.

Trap: commonly forgotten in FIRE / early-retirement simulations — adds ~6.5% on top of PS.

Year of marriage / PACS

• Marriage/PACS filing rule — Joint filing for the entire year (since 2011), or separate filing on option. Compute both to find more favourable.

Year of divorce / separation

• Divorce/separation filing rule — Separate filing for the full year. Case T (parent isolé) available for the parent with sole custody.

Year of spouse's death

• Death of spouse filing rule — Joint filing from 1 January to date of death. Separate filing for the surviving spouse for the remainder.

Statute of limitations (droit de reprise)

Statute of limitations table

Tax	Standard period
IR	3 years
IFI	6 years
All taxes (undisclosed activity / fraud)	10 years

• Document retention period — minimum 6 years (recommended: 10 years) years

Section 12 — Conservative Defaults

Conservative defaults table

Ambiguity	Default
Filing status unknown	Single, 1 part
Number of children unknown	0
Regime unknown	Barème progressif (no PFU option)
Credit eligibility unclear	No credit applied
PAS rate unknown	Standard personalised rate
ARE vs salary unclear	Classify as ARE (no 10% abattement — conservative)

Section 13 — Key Legal References

Key legal references table

Rule	Article
Progressive brackets	art. 197 CGI
Quotient familial	art. 194–195 CGI
QF capping	art. 197-2 CGI
Décote	art. 197-4° CGI
10% salary abattement	art. 83-3° CGI
CEHR	art. 223 sexies CGI
CDHR	art. 224 CGI
PAS	art. 204 A to 204 N CGI
Exceptional income quotient	art. 163-0 A CGI
PER deduction	art. 163 quatervicies CGI
Non-residents	art. 164 A to 165 CGI
Tax residence definition	art. 4 B CGI
Charitable gifts	art. 200 CGI
Home help credit	art. 199 sexdecies CGI
Childcare credit	art. 200 quater B CGI
Global cap (niches)	art. 200-0 A CGI
PUMA	art. L. 380-2 CSS

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