Tax notices will soon arrive for millions of households in France

Households across France will soon receive their official notices relating to this spring’s income declaration, an important stage in the income tax process. 

Deadlines for the spring declaration (for 2025 income) are now long passed – although those who missed original deadlines are still required to declare – and tax authorities have used this information to make final calculations for that financial year. 

This new information is contained in the tax notice (avis) sent to households across the country. 

Everyone who needed to file an income declaration in the spring (those who have their main residency in France or have declarable income derived from French sources) should receive an avis.

When will notices arrive?

Your avis will arrive between July 24 - 31 if you completed this spring’s declaration online. 

A digital version will be available in your personal log-in space (espace Finances publiques on the French tax site) and you will also receive an email informing you that the document has arrived.

From this year, online declarants automatically receive only an online avis, but were able to request a paper version if they wished. The deadline to request a hard copy of this year’s avis was June 15, but declarants can opt-in to receive future versions this way.

For those who completed paper declarations, a physical version of the document should arrive in the post between July 23 and August 28.

The tax authorities note that in exceptional circumstances an avis may not arrive until December, but this would be unusual.

What does the notice contain? 

The avis contains all the necessary information relating to your spring declaration.

It is a finalised version of the preliminary statement (avis de situation déclarative), that may have been provided in your personal log-in space if you completed your declaration online.

Note that the information on the preliminary avis may be different to the final version, and it is this upcoming summer document that is the definitive notice.

The name of the document will be ‘Avis d’impôt 2026 sur les revenus 2025’ (for this summer).

On the left-hand side, the document contains information about the declarant, including address and numéro fiscal (tax number). 

It also provides information about the document itself (the tax office and officials who prepared the document), in case you have further questions, as well as general contact information and your nearest tax office.

The main piece of information in the centre of the first page relates to your income tax status for the year. 

It will show if you have any additional tax to pay, are due to receive a refund, or if neither of these apply and no further actions are required. 

Refunds will be paid either into a linked bank account or via posted cheque (if bank information for the household has not been given online), between July 23 and July 31. This means for some that refund amounts will be sent before the avis arrives. 

For those with more tax still to pay, payment schedules are based on the level of this. 

Amounts of up €300 have a payment deadline of September 25. If the authorities have your bank details, they can collect this automatically via a prélèvement (direct debit).

For amounts over this, it is split into four equal payments on the following dates: September 25, October 26, November 25, and December 28 (also via direct debit).

If you do not have automatic payments enabled or the authorities do not have your bank information there are alternate methods to pay.

These include bank transfer, using an authorised tabac, or online through the impots.gouv.fr website or mobile app.

Payments by cheque are set to be phased out starting next year, and official sources differ on whether they can be used in 2026. However, the government’s ‘payment method’ FAQ, updated March 2026, continues to cite cheque as a legitimate way to pay.

Further information about refunds and additional payments can be seen in our article here. 

The first page of the document confirms that your tax-at-source rate (prélèvement à la source) will be updated based on the information provided in the spring declaration.

It also shows your household Revenu fiscal de référence (RFR), an important tax number as well as the number of ‘parts’ in your household. 

This information is used to define eligibility for several aids, often those aimed at low-income households, and your avis is the easiest place to find this information. 

The other pages of the document contain information on how the authorities reached their final calculations, based on household income, deductions, tax credits, etc. 

Further updates available

The ability to make changes to your initial spring declaration ended on June 25. 

However, a corrections service will reopen on July 29, lasting until December 2026 (the exact deadline is yet to be announced).

In this case, you will have a later, corrected avis sent out to you to account for these changes, if it alters the tax you need to pay or your RFR. 

If you have trouble paying additional tax required by the avis, read our article here for options.