To verify is to declare… Since the first confinement, more than 10 million households have been evacuated each year from tax drudgery without having to fill in a single box! As the declaration campaign opens this Thursday, April 13, on impots.gouv.fr, MoneyVox takes stock of the automatic declaration version 2023, in 10 questions.
1 – Were there any bugs with the automatic declaration in 2020, 2021 and 2022?
No, according to Bercy, who mainly communicates on the quantified aspects of the automatic declaration. Last year, 10.8million tax households were once again able to tick tax filing chores off their list in the blink of an eye. A stable statistic around 11 million since the launch of this tacit declaration, which does not require completing or validating the procedure for it to be considered carried out. Balance sheet: more than one in four households validated their declaration at a glance, France with 39 million tax households.
On the unions’ side, Anne Guyot-Welke, secretary general of Solidaires Finances publiques, asked for a contradictory assessment last year… but the first public finance union has still not obtained it. We fear that in the long term taxpayers will no longer check their declaration… which could lead to errors. And automation can erode taxpayers’ awareness of taxes, and it’s important to be aware of this to maintain consent for this redistribution.
Three years after the first automatic declaration, is there evidence of a surge in errors or complaints? At this stage, no, but the assessment remains to be refined.
2 – Are the beneficiaries of the automatic declaration still the same in 2023?
Yes. All those whose income is fully declared by third parties, ie their employer, the retirement pension centre, etc., are eligible for automatic declaration. On the other hand, you must not have reported a change of address, family situation (marriage, civil partnership, divorce, etc.) or have created a down payment withholding tax at source last year to be eligible for automatic declaration.
But beware: being able to benefit from the automatic declaration obviously does not prevent you from declaring normally, in particular if you have to claim a tax benefit.
Your income and benefits that escape the declaration
3 Can I apply for automatic reporting?
No. There is no point in claiming this tacit declaration! If the tax authorities do not offer it to you, you are not entitled to it. The detailed list of excluded taxpayers appears in appendix to the General Tax Code. Among them:
- Those declaring for the first time.
- Those who declared, the previous year (therefore in the spring of 2022, for 2021 income), self-employed income (BIC, BNC, BA), property income, life annuities (paying title), income from foreign source, financial income from foreign sources, life insurance withdrawals subject to flat tax or the collection of alimony.
- Managers or business partners, certain professions including variable remuneration (commissions, etc.), childminders and journalists (due to specific allowances), those liable for property wealth tax (IFI) and taxpayers formerly residing in Monaco, Mayotte, Saint-Martin or Saint-Barthlemy, if they declared themselves as such in 2022.
- If the DGFiP does not have the necessary information to identify the taxpayer and his tax household.
4 Can paper filers benefit?
Yes. Filing online is mandatory…unless you are unable to do so, ie if you do not have internet access or if you feel unable to complete the form online. Two years ago, 3.8 million households completed a paper declaration and… half (approximately) of the households having benefited from the automatic declaration received a summary document by post, the other half having received an email warning them that this document is available online.
In paper format, if the pre-filled information is correct, you do not need to resend the document. It is also written on the first page in capital letters: Check below. If you agree > do not return anything!
Check below. If you agree > do not return anything!
5 – I waived the automatic declaration in 2022: can I take advantage of it in 2023?
Yes. The fact of having completed your declaration, for example, to claim a tax credit or to claim the deduction of actual expenses last year does not in any way prevent you from benefiting from it in 2023. Except, of course, if you enter now in one of the cases of exclusion listed above (if you have corrected by adding alimony last year, for example).
6 – Am I notified before I can declare?
Yes. If you are one of the eligible households, the DGFiP will let you know when the spring declaration campaign kicks off, this Thursday 13 April. Like all taxpayers, you will receive a pre-filled declaration in paper format if you remained faithful to it last year, or an email notifying you of the launch of the declaration campaign. The only difference is that the tax authorities warn you that you can benefit from the automatic declaration, with the following invitation: verify the data of my declaration.
7 – Am I obliged to consult my automatic declaration?
No but… A check is more than advisable! With automatic declaration, to forget is to declare. The tax authorities will consider that you have fulfilled your obligation without doing anything. However, in the event of an error, you will be at fault, and not the DGFiP: Is deemed to have subscribed to the declaration the taxpayer having received a tacit declaration, now has the General Tax Code.
To check your pre-filled income, on the internet, you must log in to your personal space on impots.gouv.fr. After logging in, you have two choices: click on verify the data of my declaration and access the specific automatic declaration document code name 2042K Auto – or complete or correct my declaration. The Impots.gouv app also allows you to consult your automatic declaration, so without having to connect to a computer.
Auto-declaration: 4 frames verify
In paper format, the automatic declaration is presented on 4 pages, with a summary of the information known by the tax authorities on page 1, then 3 pages to complete them if necessary. In digital format, the principle is the same with this summary accessible by connecting to impots.gouv.fr. From the 1st page, you have the essential information to check, in 4 parts:
- There family situation known to the tax authorities (civil status household members and number of dependents) and your address.
- Your coordinates banking.
- Your expenses and income (situation known to the administration): the summary table that compiles your salaries, pensions, capital income, home employment expenses, etc.
- Your estimated tax (if you haven’t changed anything)with a reminder of the amount already deducted at source, the amount of tax credits, a reminder of the January advance, the amount remaining to be paid in summer 2023, etc.
8 – Should I specify a new source of income?
Yes! It is even an obligation. Any omission can be blamed on you by the DGFiP and then give rise to possible penalties. If you have started a self-employed activity, or rented an apartment (for the year or on Airbnb) in 2022, for example, and the tax authorities were not aware of it, you must complete your automatic declaration accordingly.
For complete or correct your automatic declaration, just follow the usual procedure. In paper format, you complete the form received and return it to the Public Treasury. Online, you can correct your declaration by clicking either on the pencil at the bottom right of each editable boxor on the button Declare online located at the beginning and end of the digital document.
Income tax: what do you risk in the event of forgetting or late declaration?
9 – Allowances, credits, reductions, tax options… Is it automatic?
depends. The tax authorities only pre-fill a few charges giving the right to a tax benefit, such as expenses related to home employment or childcare that you were able to provide information on Cesu or Pajemploi, for example. The tax authorities also automatically apply the 10% allowance for professional expenses. On the other hand, if you want to switch to actual costs, if you have to declare donations to charities, if you want to take advantage of the tax reduction for children’s school fees, if you want to avoid the flat tax on income from investment or even if you benefit from a specific allowance, you have to switch to the classic declaration to claim this tax advantage… which is not automatic.
Income tax: these 7 reductions and credits not to forget when filing your tax return
10 – Can an automatic declaration be corrected after the deadline?
Yes. Like the correction tool accessible each year in August for all declarants, the same section Access the correction online will be offered at the end of the summer to those who have benefited from the online declaration… and who omitted information.
Taxes 2023: what changes for the declaration of your income in 2022
(1) Directorate General of Public Finances.