How do I declare my French taxes as a widow?

Reader question: My husband died in March 2021. How do I access the right forms to complete a tax return? We always did this online, signing in with my husband’s numbers. L.C.

It is recommended that spouses each have their own tax space. If you do not have one, it is easy to create one with the FranceConnect service if you have the log-in details for another partner organisation, such as ameli.fr.

Otherwise, you can use your numéro fiscal (unique to you) and the revenu fiscal de référence from your last tax avis statement and numéro d’accès en ligne.

The latter will be at the top right of the online declaration on your husband’s space, if you log into it.

If not, you can ask the tax office for it, for example by secure online messaging in your husband’s space (you could include a copy of your carte de séjour to identify yourself).

You need to do two declarations and officials ask that both be done in your own space. If this proves difficult, we suggest seeking advice from the tax office. Paper forms may be the solution (the main 2042, and others, can be searched for at the impots site).

One is for the couple up to the date of your husband’s death. Online, click oui under the section that asks if you wish to notify a death (décès), give the date of death, and click confirmer votre choix.

Click Commencer la déclaration commune to do the shared declaration. You declare the income of all household members from January 1 up until the date of the death (or after this for further incomes of the deceased).

The family ‘parts’ are based on Janu­ary 1, or the date of death if the parts were higher at that point.

Regarding the declaration for yourself, a button will appear online after the joint declaration is done. Declare income for yourself and dependants from the death of your husband to the end of the year. Your family quotient will be based on January 1, 2021, and does not change due to the death.

You will receive two tax assessments, one up to the date of the death and one from the date of death to the end of the tax year.

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