how to skip the penalty if you file your return late

Please note, if you send your tax return in paper formyou have until tonight to do so, otherwise you expose yourself to a tax increase of up to 40% if the declaration has not been filed within 30 days of receipt of the formal notice. But then, for latecomers, is there a way to escape the penalties? “There are two scenarios. Either you are in good faith, due to an oversight, an error, an illness… and the tax authorities will be conciliatory, or you are in bad faith and the failure to declare can then cost you dearly”, explained Virginie Roitman, president of the Order of Chartered Accountants Paris-Île-de-France, to the Parisian last month.

If it is a simple oversight on your part, you can request a free rebate from the tax authorities. The website of the Ministry of Economy and Finance specifies the elements that are likely to constitute favorable grounds for the admissibility of the request. Unforeseeable loss of income (unemployment), or exceptional circumstances (death of spouse, separation, disability) may be valid reasons. But beware: the ministry’s website also specifies that they alone do not constitute sufficient criteria to benefit from a free discount. The tax history of the applicant may also be taken into account in the final decision of the tax administration.

Reinforced tax controls

If your delay is not a simple oversight, but you have voluntarily chosen not to declare your income on time to avoid tax, you should know that the hunt for tax evasion has become one of the priorities for the government. An unprecedented increase of 15% in the number of agents in charge of controls is thus planned by the Élysée. An increase in staff which is accompanied by a very specific watchword: increase the capacity of controls and target the largest assets. By 2027, the number of tax audits against individuals should jump by 25%as reported by our colleagues from CNews.