Useful vocabulary to understand

Abattement forfaitaire

A fixed allowance, such as set expenses sums which may be deducted from the work income of certain professions

Acompte

An instalment payment. This is relevant, for example, to people with rental income that France cannot tax literally at source

Assiette de l’impôt

Total sources of income that can be assessed for a particular tax

Avis d’impôt 

A statement sent in late summer after declaration, showing taxable income and tax payable, and by when; also for social charges

Avis de situation déclarative à l’impôt (ASDIR)

Estimate of tax liability received after making an online declaration. For those with no tax payable it replaces the avis d’impôt

Célibataire/veuf/pacsé/marié/divorcé 

Single, widowed, in a French civil partnership (UK ones are recognised as equivalent), married, divorced

Crédit d’impôt

Tax credit, a lessening in tax which can include money paid back to you if the benefit of the credit is more than your tax due; a réduction d’impôt is similar but no excess amount can be paid back

Charges

Expenses that can be claimed as deductions from taxable income

Déclarant

Person declaring income

Demandeur d’emploi

Registered jobseeker

Déménagement

Moving home/change of address

DINR

Central body in charge of tax for non-residents, the Direction des impôts des non résidents. Its tax office is called the Service des impôts des particuliers non résidents (particulier means a member of the public, eg. as opposed to a company)

Don/donation

Un don is the ordinary word for a gift (eg. to charities); donation refers to more formal, usually larger, gifts, which may involve a notaire to draw up paperwork, especially if real estate is involved

Fisc

Everyday term referring to the French tax authorities. Note that the official name of the central tax authority is the DGFiP.

Forfait/forfaitaire

Noun and adjective referring to fixed, as opposed to variable, amounts. For example the flat tax on investments at a fixed 30%  (note: this has now risen to 31.4% in the 2026 social security finance law) is officially the prélèvement forfaitaire unique (PFU)

Foyer fiscal

Your household for tax, who make a joint income declaration

Frais réels 

Real work-related costs which, as an option, employees can claim as a deduction instead of the set 10% (you need to keep receipts)

Government pension (also called a public service pension)

Paid to former employees of the (eg. UK) government; in French une pension de retraite de la fonction publique

Imprimé fiscal unique

Annual bank statement of any income to declare from accounts

Immobilier

A term meaning relating to land and property; literally, things you own that cannot be moved. The opposite terms are mobilier or meuble, relating to assets that can be moved in some sense.

Location meublée 

This is furnished rental; short-term holiday rentals are called locations saisonnières (holiday rentals) 

Libératoire

‘Liberating’; refers to tax levies that are definitive and are not subject to a later reassessment or confirmation. For example, micro-entrepreneurs can opt to pay income tax as a versement libératoire. 

Numéro fiscal 

Your tax number, which is found on the avis d’impôt and in your personal space at the tax website. It is also used to sign into the site

Numéro d’accès en ligne 

Number identifying you for purposes of internet declarations

Parts

A figure related to the number of people in your tax household

Pension alimentaire

Money that you give to someone to help with their expenses because they are a close relative in need or because a court has ordered it, for example, in the case of an ex-spouse

Personne à charge

A dependant

Plus-value 

A capital gain

Prélèvement à la source (PAS)

France’s tax-at-source system. Strictly speaking it mainly concerns French pensions and salaries. Tax on other types of income is paid ‘on-account’ and then checked and adjusted later after the income has been declared.

Prélèvements sociaux

Social charges applied to many kinds of income including investments and some pensions. They go towards funding the social security system. For workers, these are levied along with the cotisations that go towards their healthcare, pension etc. which together are referred to as cotisations sociales.

Quotient familial (family quotient)

System which divides household income by a number of parts so as to reduce tax for larger families

Quotient system

A way to declare large one-off incomes that can help people avoid rising sharply into a new tax band

Rattachement

‘Attaching’ people to your household who are financially dependent on you, such as adult students, so they do not need to make their own declaration and you benefit from an extra part or parts

Revenus fonciers

Income from land and unfurnished renting of property

Revenu imposable

Income assessable, and possibly taxable, by France

Services à la personne

Home help services, usually eligible for a tax credit

A titre onéreux

A term to reflect that you have paid for the right to something

Titulaire

Holder (of a disability card etc)

Traitement

Wages, bonuses, sick pay, paid holiday and other payments received due to being a private or public sector employee

Valeurs mobilières

Securities/stocks and shares