Resolving problems

If you have a problem concerning your declaration or the calculation or payment of your tax, you should first contact your tax office to try to resolve it. 

Contact details for your tax office can be found via impots.gouv.fr/contacts. If you wish to flag up an error or to inform the tax office that you have difficulty paying, you can do this via your personal space on the tax website.

Under Nous contacter, click for Ma messagerie sécurisée. 

Place your cursor over Écrire à l’administration for choices such as: 

• Je signale une erreur sur le calcul de mon impôt (I am pointing out an error in the calculation of my tax), then Ma demande concerne l’impôt sur le revenu ou les prélèvements sociaux. You will then have to click to select which year’s declaration you are querying.

• J’ai un problème concernant le paiement de mes impôts, or

• Je pose une autre question/j’ai une demande.

It is also possible to visit the tax office in person. In this case you will be given a slip called a fiche de visite formalising the visit. 

Alternatively, you may set out the issue in writing, including proof such as copies of your avis d’imposition, letters from the tax office, or documents proving income. It is advisable to use a lettre recommandée avec avis de réception, which gives legal proof of sending and delivery.

You may lodge a réclamation (complaint) concerning your tax up to the end of the second year following the date of the tax you are contesting. This means that if you are contesting a tax bill in 2026, you have until the end of 2028. 

The taxpayer must usually make the complaint or request themselves or on behalf of their partner in their tax household. Someone else may do so only if you have given them a legal mandate.

This does not dispense you from paying the bill if you have not made a request to defer the payment. However, while your complaint is being dealt with, you can ask for a sursis de paiement (a deferment of payment). You will be required to provide a financial guarantee if the deferred amount exceeds €4,500. You do not have to wait for the request for deferment to be accepted, but if the substance of your claim is later not accepted, then 10% late payment penalties will be payable.

If your problem relates to difficulties in paying, you may request longer to pay without penalties (un délai de paiement) or une remise gracieuse. The latter means being let off all or part of the tax and is usually requested if you are unable to pay, rather than simply needing more time.

You can make either request via an online message from your personal space, in person (taking relevant documents such as your avis d’impôt tax assessment, bank RIB details, and pay and rent slips), or by letter. 

In the latter case, you should include a copy of form 4805-QP-SD (available via the tax website), which relates to payment difficulties and sets out key elements of your financial situation. Your tax office may request this form in other cases as well. 

Make sure to inform the tax office if there are special circumstances involved.

The tax office will respond to requests relating to payment difficulties within two months. If you do not hear within this period, you must assume a refusal. This period may be extended to four months if the situation is complex but the tax office should inform you of this.

With regard to contesting an error, the tax office has up to six months to provide a response, giving its reasoning, unless it notifies you of an extension of up to three months. If your complaint is accepted, the tax office may refund all or some of your tax.

Taking a complaint further and mediation

If your complaint about an error is rejected - or if you receive no response after six months (which is treated as a tacit refusal) - you officially have two months to contest the decision in court (in the tribunal administratif).

You should consider mediation first but bear in mind that the two-month deadline begins from the moment the rejection is issued. 

For mediation, which can run in parallel with applying to the court, contact the conciliateur fiscal (tax mediator) for your department. 

This option is also available if a request for help with payment has been refused. 

The rejection letter from the tax office normally contains the conciliateur’s contact details. If not, they can be found by clicking the Contact et rdv button at impots.gouv.fr and then selecting Particulier > Une autre démarche fiscale.

You can apply to the mediator for issues relating to your taxation and also if you wish to complain about poor service in general. 

The mediator should respond within 30 days and may be able to obtain a modification of the original decision made by the tax office.

Another option is to request mediation from the Economy and Finance Ministry, which has overall charge for the tax system, however this process can take several months (tinyurl.com/med-eco-fin).