French income tax - the forms are on their way!

I received this morning my French income tax return. If you haven’t received yours yet, it will be in your letterbox soon! Don’t worry, the French tax man won’t forget you!

If you have never declared your income in France, you won’t receive a form automatically. You will have to pick one up from your local tax office. You can get one from your local mairie, but if you have overseas income, you will need to get another form that most mairies don’t have.

If you don’t know where your local tax office is, you can either ask your mairie or look at your last “taxe fonciere”. The address of the tax office will be on the bill. You can also look in the French yellow pages under ‘centre des impôts’.


You will need a blue form called ‘déclaration des revenus’ (Form No 2042) and a red one'déclaration des revenus encaissés à l'étranger' (2047). If you have income from your gite in France, you will also need an extra form (2042 CK), ‘déclaration complémentaire’.

If you are unsure about how to fill it in, you can visit the tax office, they will help you. You can also employ an accountant.

If you are looking for an accountant in Brittany, please feel free to contact me. I will be happy to point you to the right direction.

From next year onwards, the ‘déclaration de revenus’ (income tax return in France) will be sent out to you automatically. Your details (name and address) will already be printed on the form.

If you move within France or back to the UK, don’t forget to write to the tax man so tax bills and any other correspondence can be sent to your new address.

For any assistance with drafting letters, you can contact me here.