How tax credits and social charges are dealt with

Tax credits or reductions are applicable in relation to gifts to charity or for the employment of a gardener or home cleaner. These are for the most part not factored into the calculation of tax-at-source rates and are instead regularised (with a refund if too much tax has been paid) once your declaration for the tax year in question has been made.

More details on which payments are eligible are available on the Economy Ministry’s website and in chapter 4 of this guide.

To help with cash flow partial payments for most tax credits or reductions for 2025 income were made in January 2026. The amount was equal to 60% of the tax credit/reduction applied in 2025 for 2024 income. It appeared on bank statements as AVANCE CREDIMPOT.

It applies to tax credits for certain expenses deemed to be recurrent such as for home help, childcare or union membership, and for reductions for dependency expenses in a retirement home, gifts to political parties or charitable causes, or for investing in eligible buy-to-let property.

The remainder will be regularised in July/August 2026 once income for 2025 is declared. You may have to repay some money if you had fewer expenses in 2025 than in 2024. From autumn 2026 (and by mid-December at the latest) you can reduce or cancel the expected 2027 RICI January payment via your tax site personal space under Gérer votre avance de réductions et de crédits d’impôt if you had fewer eligible expenses in 2026 than 2025. 

Certain credits/reductions are not included in the system of partial payments, such as a reduction for investing in small businesses. If you detail such investments made during 2025 in your 2026 declaration, this will be regularised this summer.

Any tax credit amount owed to you which cannot be regularised by lowering your tax liability (because you do not owe enough tax) will be paid directly into your bank account. This does not apply to tax ‘reductions’ which can only reduce tax actually due. People employing home help workers have the alternative option of deducting the tax credit for this immediately and in full from money they pay out (see chapter 2, 'PAS questions and answers'). 

Tax benefits given in the form of an allowance (deduction from taxable income) are integrated into people’s PAS rates, including the automatic 10% for professional expenses or allowances for professions such as childminders and journalists.

What about social charges?

French ‘social charges’ (see chapter 6) have always been deducted directly from French salaries. Social charges payable on French pensions are also deducted at source by the pension caisse (body managing the pension). Income from most French investments will usually have social charges deducted by the bank/provider. In the case of bank interest subject to the 31.4% ‘flat tax’ (PFU), social charges at 18.6% are part of this. 

Note that the regulated tax-free savings accounts (Livret A, LEP and LDDS) do not have social charges applied to them. 

In the case of regular income from abroad subject to direct debit instalments, social charges are also factored into these.

As with income tax, your avis d’impôt in late summer will indicate any remaining social charges that are payable, including on income that cannot have the charges deducted at source.