French tax return 2021 : the deadlines

7 April 2022

French tax return 2021 : Deadlines for 2022

The declaration platform will open on April 7, 2022.

The deadlines are as follows:

  • For declarations via paper form: Thursday, May 19, 2022, postmarked.
  • For online declarations:
    • Zone 1 (departments 01 to 19 and taxpayers not resident in France): Tuesday, May 24, 2022 at 11:59 pm.
    • Zone 2 (departments 20 to 54): Tuesday, May 31, 2022 at 11:59 pm.
    • Zone 3 (departments 55 to 976): Wednesday, June 8, 2022 at 11:59 pm.

The brackets of the progressive scale used to calculate income tax are revalued by 1.4% as of January 1, 2022.

As stated in Article 2 of the Finance Act for 2022, taxpayers declaring an income of more than €10,225 in 2021 will be liable for income tax for that year (instead of a threshold of €10,084 in 2021).

French tax return 2021: Scale and tax rates

The Article 197 of the French General Tax Code sets the minimum tax threshold and the applicable tax brackets for the 2022 income tax in France.

The 2022 Schedule of Income Tax is as follows:

Tax brackets

Rates
Up to €10,225 0%
From €10,225 to €26,070 11%
From €26,070 to €74,545 30%
From €74 545 to €160,336 41%

Over €160,336

45%

How is income tax calculated ?

According to the Article 193 of the French General Tax Code, the tax amount is calculated in 3 steps, applied to the net taxable income of the taxpayer’s household:

  • Division of the income by the number of shares included in the household. The taxpayer’s household is composed of themself, their spouse or PACS partner, as well as people considered as being dependent on them or attached to their household by option. The couple of taxpayers represents 2 shares, to which are added the dependents’ half and full shares.
  • Application of the progressive scale of tax per bracket to this result.
  • Multiplication of this amount by the number of shares in order to obtain the total tax amount of the household.

For example, a married couple or PACS partners with two minor children has a net taxable income of €55,950 : This couple has 3 shares (2 shares for the couple and half a share for each child). It should be noted that the first two children represent half a share each, while the following ones will bring to the tax household a full share. The net taxable income of €55,950 is divided by 3 = €18,650. The scale is then applied to the €18,650: Income bracket up to €10,225 taxed at 0% = €0. Income bracket from €10,225 to €26,070 taxed at 11%: €8,425 (18,650 – 10,225) x 11% = €926.75. The total result obtained is equal to 0 + 926.75 = €926.75. This family having 3 parts of family quotient, we will multiply €926.75 by 3 = €2,780.25 rounded to €2,780. This family will therefore have to pay €2,780 in income tax. The tax rate for this family is 11%. However, all their income aren’t taxed at 11%. Indeed, in the calculation of the income tax, other elements can modify this rate or this final amount, such as the family quotient, the rebate in case of low resources, the exceptional contribution on high incomes of 3 to 4%, the tax reductions or credits, etc. Some specific incomes are also taxed separately, such as income from investments subject to the flat tax.

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