French tax website crashes just a day before property form deadline

The site, impots.gouv.fr, was unavailable on Wednesday afternoon but was partially functioning on Thursday

France’s tax website was partially working on Thursday after major problems on Wednesday
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Technical problems bugged the French tax site as homeowners raced to make their mandatory property declarations before Thursday’s deadline.

All property owners, including second-home owners, those who rent out their homes and those who own their home through a company - SCI (société civile immobilière) must complete the form before midnight on August 10.

However, on Wednesday (August 9) afternoon the impots.gouv.fr showed an error message, meaning homeowners were unable to log on to the website and complete their declarations.

A spokesperson for French tax authorities, the Direction générale des Finances publiques (DGFiP), told French news website BFMTV the deadline for the form would not be delayed again, saying “the campaign definitely ends tomorrow (Thursday)”.

As of 08:30 on Thursday, the website was partially down, officially due to maintenance. Many sections were unavailable but it was possible to access the property declaration form.

Ongoing problems

The deadline, initially June 30, has been pushed back several times. The latest postponement was to August 10.

The most recent delay was due to technical issues with the website and the number of people having difficulty completing the form.

There is a potential fine of €150 - per property you own - for not completing it. However, the tax authorities have stated they will “show goodwill towards latecomers acting in good faith” and “that no penalty will be applied this year”.

Below you can read our step-by-step guide – with photos – on completing the declaration.

Read more: Updated step-by-step guide to France’s property form (with pictures)

Additional help

If you are still looking for an answer to a question relating to the declaration, we may have written about it before.

Below is a collection of articles written by our team, including information for second-home owners about the form, questions behind the reasoning of the form, and an FAQ.

Read more: Key points to help you complete France’s new obligatory property form

On top of this, in June The Connexion also dedicated a week of its reader questions to the topic. You can find a selection down below:

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