French tax authorities increase fraud checks on 2025 income declarations

French tax officials are intensifying their investigations into spring income declarations, using AI to help uncover cases of tax fraud and to cross-reference information between different state departments.

Around one million investigations were conducted on declarations in 2024 (for 2023 income), compared to 850,000 in 2023.

This included over 120,000 checks on businesses within certain sectors, such as hotels, restaurants, and shops where higher levels of VAT irregularities are seen.

An estimated €6 to €10 billion is reported to be lost to VAT fraud by businesses annually.

The checks in 2024 brought in an extra €16 billion in tax revenue through fines, penalties, and corrected tax amounts. 

The government sees the continued recovery of these funds as a potential way to help raise part of the additional €40 billion identified in this year’s budget as necessary to address an ever-increasing debt. 

By 2027, the Finance Ministry hopes to increase the number of checks on income declarations by 25% compared to in 2024. 

AI tools used to help catch irregularities

Alongside traditional checks – where tax officials can look for irregularities in documents submitted during declarations or ask for additional documentation from individuals or companies – AI is also being used.

Among other things, this AI can scan social media to check whether an individual’s lifestyle is in keeping with the tax declarations they have made.

This is the first year such technology has been authorised in France. Officials can only use publicly available posts on social media sites and not messages or other private content. 

AI can also be used to improve cross-referencing between government departments, which in several cases do not share information with each other. 

The tools can help see if information handed to other departments such as Urssaf (which handles self-employed workers) matches with that handed over during spring declarations. 

In a similar vein AI is also being used by tax officials to check that property extensions / improvements such as swimming pools and conservatories are also being correctly declared. 

Should I be concerned? 

Provided you have correctly completed your tax declaration, there is nothing to worry about. 

Ministers have stated that the focus will mainly be on high net-worth individuals, and is looking to work with notaires to see more documents related to inheritance digitised to check for irregularities.

Tax officials do not need to inform you that a control is being undertaken into your declaration, and will only make contact if they want you to provide additional documents relating to it, for example an expense you have submitted for which you are claiming a tax reduction.

If you are contacted by tax officials as part of a check and they require extra information, you will be sent an email or letter using the information provided in your personal space on the French tax website. 

The official will explain what is being checked and what additional documentation is needed.

Read more: How do tax inspections work in France, are foreigners more at risk?

A Connexion staff member was contacted this way following a check on their 2023 income declaration, and asked to send a copy of a document to their local tax office.

They sent the document and received a follow-up message on the secure messaging portal of their personal space on the French tax site asking for a different version of it, which was able to be sent digitally through the system.

If you do not hear back from the authorities, you can assume the case is closed and no irregularities were found. 

Further contact is only made in cases where authorities believe that they have uncovered error or fraud, explaining their reasoning; people are given the ability to contest.

Our article here provides examples of irregularities which may increase the chance of a check into your affairs being undertaken.