Declaring is obligatory. Certainly, if you are not taxable, you do not risk a penalty, since the tax authorities’ sanctions are always tax increases… However, not declaring can cause you to lose the benefit of other social advantages.
I am not taxable, what is the use of declaring my income? Here, by rephrasing their words, is a question asked by several readers based on their testimonies. In fact, statistically speaking, a (very) small share of households do not declare their income each year. According to the data (1) distributed by Bercy on the occasion of the 2024 budget, more than 99% of individuals fulfill their reporting obligations. There remains a little less than 1% of the 40 million tax households, or nearly 400,000 households who do not declare their income.
The General Directorate of Public Finances (DGFiP) must however be satisfied with such statistics, since in 2019 around 2.5% of households did not declare their income. In the meantime, automatic declaration has appeared: those who have simple resources, pre-declared by a third party (employer, Social Security, Ple emploi, etc.) no longer need to complete their declaration to fulfill their declaration obligation. . For nearly 11 million households, to verify is to declare to use the tax slogan… but forgetting also means declaring whether you are eligible for automatic declaration. Enough to bring back on the right track many households previously accustomed to non-declaration.
Do not declare? A fault, punishable
Forgetting, if you are not eligible for the declaration… does it risk a sanction? Yes, however, all penalties for late or non-declaration are calculated as a percentage of the tax due. However, an increase calculated as a percentage has no effect for a non-taxable household… Certainly. But be careful: not declaring can have harmful effects.
Ratified tax credits
First effect, the most obvious: not declaring does not allow you to benefit from tax advantages. Certainly, a tax reduction has no benefit for a non-taxable household since there is no tax reduction. On the other hand, a tax credit (for childcare costs, union dues, etc.) also benefits tax-free households! Provided of course that you fill in the necessary boxes to claim this tax credit.
Income tax: these 7 reductions and credits not to forget for your declaration
CAF magnifying glass aids
More annoying: not declaring can deprive you of certain social benefits! More concretely, not completing a declaration does not allow you to have a notice of non-taxation. However, you need this notice and your reference tax income (RFR) to make a RSA requestofFamily allowanceshousing assistance (APL), study grants, or to take advantage of the free or reduced rates for municipal services (school canteen, school reception, etc.)…
Your resources declared for taxes are automatically transmitted to the CAF
The CAF reminds on April 27 that it exchanges information with the DGFiP: Each year, your resources declared for taxes are automatically transmitted to the CAF, explains the Family allowance. This process allows for an automatic recalculation of the amount of your benefits. It guarantees you benefit from exactly what you are entitled to. Thus, the 2024 declaration of 2023 income that you must do at the moment with the tax authorities will help the CAF to recalculate your rights in January 2025.
Savings account: the key to doing better than the Savings account
Do you know the Popular Savings Account (LEP)? It currently yields 5%, net of all taxes, which is much better than the 3% of Livret A! Now capped at 10,000 euros in deposits, it is reserved for low-income taxpayers. In short: if you are not taxable, you can claim it from your banker. Only one condition: the bank must be able to verify your reference tax income by questioning the tax authorities (or, failing that, by asking you for your non-tax notice). In short: to access the LEP, it is necessary to fulfill your reporting obligation.
(1) Rate of individual users respecting their reporting obligations: 99.31% in 2021, 99.02% in 2022 and more than 98.5% in 2023.