Filing your first French tax return as a foreign resident
A first French tax return is different from later pre-filled online returns. New residents may need to obtain a tax number, file through a different route and add forms for foreign assets and income.
The French income tax return generally covers the previous calendar year. A newcomer may need to register with the tax office before filing online, or use a paper return if online filing is not available. Contact the office for your address early enough to confirm the route and deadline that apply to you.
Getting into the system
Ask the tax office what it needs to register you and enable online access. A tax number and an online account are related but separate steps. When a return is pre-filled, check the figures and add what is missing. Foreign income and tax may require information from statements that the French return does not already contain.
Deadlines fall in the spring and are staggered by department for online filing, with a separate and earlier date for paper. They change every year. They are published by the tax authority for the year in question, and they should be read there rather than taken from any secondary source, this page included.
The forms required for your income and assets
The main return is form 2042. Foreign income may also require form 2047, while reportable foreign accounts and policies use form 3916–3916-bis. Capital gains and other income can require additional forms. The correct set follows your situation; nationality alone does not determine the annexes needed.
Tax deducted at source is only a payment on account
Tax withheld during the year does not generally remove the need for an annual return. The return establishes the final position and may lead to a balance or refund. If no French payments have been made towards tax on foreign income, plan for the amount due and any instalments that will follow. Any tax deducted abroad must be examined separately under the treaty.
Filing late, and correcting
Late filing and an incorrect return follow different procedures. Penalties and interest depend on the facts, deadlines and steps already taken by the administration. If you find an error, use the correction or claim procedure that applies. A voluntary correction can receive favourable treatment under conditions, but it does not guarantee that every penalty disappears.
What to assemble before the first filing
Your residency date and the documents supporting it. Every payslip and pension statement, French and foreign, for the whole calendar year. A list of every account held outside France during the year, including those opened or closed. Statements for foreign investment income, with any tax already withheld abroad. The treaty article that covers each category of foreign income. And the address of the tax office for your commune.
Frequently asked questions
How do I file if I do not have a French tax number yet?
Contact the tax office for your address to confirm registration and filing options. If you cannot file online, a paper return may be required. Do not assume that you must wait until the following year to obtain a number or access an online account.
Is my foreign income pre-filled like my French salary?
Do not rely on pre-filling. Check every item against your statements and complete the relevant forms for foreign income and tax. A pre-filled amount does not establish that the treaty treatment is correct or the return is complete.
I already pay tax at source. Do I still have to file?
Yes. Tax deducted at source, and the instalments you pay during the year, are payments on account, not a final settlement, and the return remains the act by which the tax is established. This matters most in the first year, when income arriving from abroad has typically had nothing withheld at all: you can then face a balancing payment for the year just ended and instalments for the year in progress within the same period. That overlap is predictable and worth budgeting for before it arrives.
What happens if I file late or get something wrong?
Check the procedure and deadline for the specific problem. A correction may be possible, and voluntary action can affect penalties under the applicable rules. Keep the documents explaining the change and seek assistance where the amounts or issues are substantial.
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Prepare my first French return
Book a callWritten by Stéphane Molère, President of Éthique et Patrimoine — page last reviewed on 2026-09-15 — reference date for the rules: 2026-09-07.