Millions of people in France to receive tax refund by end of July

Millions of people are set to receive a refund from France’s tax authorities this month, based on their spring income tax declaration. 

Officials began reviewing taxpayers’ declarations, relating to their 2024 income, after the period to make changes online closed at the end of June. 

Final notices (avis) will begin arriving from July 25, the same date that refunds will start to be paid out. 

These avis will inform taxpayers if they will receive a refund that will arrive between July 25 and August 1. 

Up to 15 million people will receive payouts, which averaged €900 last year.

Two reasons for refunds 

Refunds are paid out for one of two reasons. 

The first and simplest is that the taxpayer paid too much income tax in 2024. 

This is usually due to France’s tax-at-source method, which uses previous information (in this case, from 2023, declared in spring 2024) to alter tax-at-source rates each year.

If a person’s financial situation changed in 2024 – such as if they changed their job and made less money – they will have paid too much income tax at source. 

However, authorities usually only know about this once the declaration is made in the following spring (although they can be informed in advance). 

Therefore, the amount is only refunded after this, and once the figures are finalised. 

The second reason you may receive money is if you are in line to receive tax credits, again relating to the 2024 tax year. 

An estimated 60% of the tax credits covering 2024 are paid out in January 2025, using information from your most recent declaration (at that point, from spring 2024 that covers income from 2023). 

The payouts assume your situation is the same. Authorities then use the declaration from this year to adjust their calculations and pay out the rest of what you are owed. 

This is then repeated the following year, and so on until you no longer receive any. 

To ensure you receive payments to your correct bank account, check that the details the tax authorities have for you are up to date. 

You can modify them in your personal space on the French tax website. 

If the authorities do not have any bank account information and you filed your tax return by paper, you will receive a cheque, sent to the address French officials have for you. 

Those who did not pay enough tax and now owe money will make payments through direct debit between September and December, depending on the amount they owe. 

Read our article on upcoming important tax dates to find out more.