Completing all relevant sections

In Section 3, Revenus et charges, you need to make sure that you have all the sections and ancillary forms you require. Some common rubriques (sections/boxes) will be shown automatically, but others need to be generated by making use of the search box at the top under Sélectionnez-ci-dessous les rubriques que vous souhaitez voir apparaître (select the sections that you wish to appear). There is more on this part of the declaration in our Step-by-Step guide section (see chapter 10).

This stage also invites you to click to generate any ancillary forms you may require. This brings up another list, from which you should select the items you require. In the example shown below, the person has selected to declare some foreign income and to notify the fact that they hold a foreign bank account.

In recent years, a reminder popped up to declare any relevant income from online platforms, such as selling on eBay, and noted that care should be taken to perform conversions to euros if earnings information from these sites is given in another currency.

If you forget any sections or forms you turn out to need, you can add them later. If you have signed off the declaration, it is possible to reopen it and make corrections until your deadline date. Make sure all relevant declarable income is entered in the appropriate boxes.

If you do not have time or all the information you need to finish the declaration in one go, just click to disconnect, and what you have done so far will be saved.

It can be a good idea to start by completing the ancillary forms if appropriate to your situation (the 2047 foreign income form, for example), since figures from these need to be transferred to the relevant part of the main declaration. You may be given an option to click to reporter (carry over).

With some sources of income, figures may transfer automatically to the main declaration from one of the ancillary forms, but additional French-sourced income of the same kind may need to be added manually.

Selecting the individual form tab opens the first page of that form, normally at the sections relevant to your declaration. As you advance through the online forms, the page layout changes to request information based on your earlier selections.

Some parts of the main declaration may be pre-filled. This could include personal details such as name, marital status, and number of dependent children, as well as certain known incomes such as French salaries, French bank interest, and French social security benefits. You still need to check that these details are correct and amend them if necessary.

French banks and other financial bodies, such as online share account providers, often provide an imprimé fiscal unique (IFU) showing any declarable interest and the boxes in which to declare the figures. This is usually sent by post and/or available in your personal online banking account.

In this part of the declaration, you can also select allowable deductions, such as part of your CSG charge on the previous year’s investment income (6.8%). This only applies to people who opt for taxation by the ordinary bands and not the flat tax.

Deductions known to the French tax office should already have been inserted, but it is advisable to check. There are also boxes for tax credits and reductions for which you may be eligible.

Those declaring under the réel system should find that a calculator is provided for working out expenses (kilométrage) from driving to work. You enter your vehicle type, its power, and the number of kilometres travelled for work. The calculation is then done automatically.

If in doubt as to where something should be declared online, it can help to consult the equivalent paper form. You can download this from the tax website as a PDF. You can then use the word search in stage 3, using the applicable box name and number from the form.

You can also input relevant words such as locations (furnished rentals), intérêts (interest), and pension de retraite (retirement pension).

Ensure you complete all relevant sections, including, if necessary, ticking the 8UU foreign bank accounts and investment schemes box at the end of the main declaration. You will not be able to sign off the 2042 form unless all selected income sections have been completed.

Note that you should tick box 8UU and complete the 3916–3916 bis each year to declare the existence of foreign bank accounts and investments, if applicable. 

If you completed this last year this will probably be pre-selected for you. Last year there was also a reminder that some online accounts such as Paypal and Wise may be declarable - see Step-by-Step section for more about this.

Previously declared foreign accounts are usually pre-filled for you to check and retain and you may be given the option to reporter (carry over) the information from the previous year.

Remember to complete the relevant sections for any sums spent on items eligible for tax credits, such as employing people in your home. To do this, click the appropriate option in the charges section, which is part of stage 3 where you select the required rubriques.

For example: Réductions et crédits d’impôt: dons, frais de garde, emploi à domicile.

Box 7DB is used to declare home services expenses eligible for tax credits. You should click on the pencil symbol to the right of the box to open additional sections for specifying the type of service.

Some additional details will also be required this year, including information about the worker or organisation that carried out the eligible work. This was expected to come in from the declaration of 2024 income in 2025, but it was put off a year. 

Note that if you benefited from the avance immédiate (immediate advance) tax credit system in 2025 then the amount of the benefit to you should have been prefilled in box 7HB. You should check this appears to be correct.

In the example image below, a pop-up box is reminding the declarer that the section for declaring foreign accounts has been pre-selected for them in the 'rubriques' choice, as they declared such accounts in the previous year.