The kickoff for the 2024 declaration of 2023 income is tomorrow, Thursday April 11. To help you with this annual procedure, here is a reminder of the errors to avoid!
What is, precisely, the ranking of the 10 most frequent errors in the income declaration? The General Directorate of Public Finances (DGFiP) is careful not to reveal it in detail.
But Bercy provides clues: on the one hand on Oops.gouv.frwhere the administration lists the pitfalls and errors to avoid; and on the other hand in ministerial responses which cite in particular child care and alimony as the main sources of difficulties.
here is the top 10 mistakes, oversights and errors to avoid in your 2024 declaration.
1 – Getting into the wrong box for alimony
Be careful, puzzle! At least for the uninitiated. The list of errors to avoid is long, on Oups.gouv.fr, in the alimony section: forgetting to declare it first, making the wrong heading or box, or even omitting to add it among the income on the alimony side. those who receive this alimony.
Go to the your expenses section (chapter deductible expenses for pensions for adult children or various charges and imputations for the others). And go to your income section if you receive a pension.
Income declaration: deducting alimony, instructions for use
The most used boxes? There 6EL and the following to deduct pensions paid to adult children. And the 6GU which includes the majority of pensions for minor children, those paid to the ex-spouse following a divorce by mutual consent, certain pensions paid to parents, etc. Bercy insists on a common error: alimony must not be declared in 6DD other deductions!
To remember. Whether you receive or pay alimony, you must always declare it to the Public Treasury. And this amount is not pre-filled! Be careful, however, not to combine deduction and tax attachment.
Taxes: do I have to declare what my parents pay me each month?
2 – Misdeclaring children following a divorce
The same child obviously cannot be declared simultaneously by both parents as being their exclusive responsibility.
You can attach your children resulting from a separation or divorce to your tax household if they reside with you, exclusively or mainly (section dependents in 2023 step 2 of the online declaration). In case of alternate custodyit’s the same section but just below: for the calculation of the family quotient, the tax authorities then distribute the children’s tax shares fairly between the two separated households.
To remember. If you do not have custody of your children, you cannot attach them to your tax household but you can deduct child support (see above).
Divorce: the consequences on your taxes
3 – Forgetting the income of your dependent children (and their exemptions)
Young people who receive salaries benefit from several exemption situationspoints out Bercy, specifying that this warning aims to avoid the most frequent errors in tax attachment.
So don’t forget to fill in the income of your children, minors or attached adults, alongside your salaries and other earned income (boxes 1CJ, 1DJ, etc.). But without forgetting the exemptions: up to 5,204 euros for student jobs, up to 20,815 euros for paid internships and apprentices.
To remember. Does your student child have a job earning less than 300 euros per month? And he received compensation for 2 months during the summer of 2023 for a paid internship? This income is exempt: you do not have to declare it.
Income tax: bringing your children back or not, what is the best option?
4 – Miscalculate childcare costs
Children, again… Childcare costs entitle you to a tax credit until the child is 6 years oldtherefore for those who were born after January 1, 2017 for this 2024 declaration of 2023 income. Two common errors for these childcare costs: including the meal fees, wrong; and integrate public aid (free choice of childcare supplement, or CMG). Neither food costs nor amounts already reimbursed thanks to the CMG must be declared under the tax reductions and credits section.
To remember. Base yourself, of course, on the amount mentioned (but not pre-filled) in the line for childcare costs for children under 6 years old, but check your tax certificates to take into account the correct amounts… And don’t forget to claim the certificate from the leisure center or primary school for a child aged 4 or 5, for example, because these amounts are rarely provided. The maximum tax credit has increased to 1750 euros.
This tax credit of 620 euros (on average) that thousands of parents forget to claim
5 – Forgetting tuition fees
Children, always… Did you know that you are entitled to a tax reduction ranging from 61 to 183 euros for middle school, high school and university students? Appointment lines 7EA and following or 7EB and following in case of joint custody.
To remember. All children who were still in middle school, high school or higher education on December 31, 2023 are entitled to this reduction.
6 – Do not renounce the flat tax for your financial income
The flat tax, or single lump sum levy, on capital income is certainly a reduced rate… but which applies automatically. However, if you are not taxable, it is better to exchange this flat rate 12.8% on financial gains for your personal rate since it is… 0%.
To remember. If you are not taxable and you receive bank interest or other taxable investment income… then take the test: finalize your declaration with or without checking 2OP. And choose the best option.
2OP, the magic box to reduce your taxes
7 – Improperly deduct retirement savings payments
One of the most frequent errors, according to Oups.gouv.fr, is in the retirement savings section: I do not deduct the amount of contributions directly from the amount of my salaries: I declare them on line 6NS, 6NT, 6NU or 6RS, 6RT , 6RU, that is to say the page for your expenses, retirement savings section.
To remember. In theory, your insurer or employee savings manager managing your PER or an older retirement savings plan must have sent you a single tax form (IFU) to help you.
How to deduct your retirement savings
8 – Missing the amounts of donations to associations
Donations to organizations helping the most deprived entitle you to a 75% tax reduction (box 7UD), donations to general interest associations only offer a 66% reduction (box 7UF) as do donations to worship. (box 7UJ). It’s up to you to sort it out.
To remember. Do your donations to associations eligible for the 75% reduction exceed the ceiling of 1000 euros? Nevermind. The tax authorities automatically switch the surplus to the other category.
Donations: declare amounts paid to associations, firefighters, etc.
9 – Skip the deduction of your professional allowance
Are you a family assistant, or childminder, or even a journalist? These professions benefit from a reduction which you must subtract yourself from the pre-declared taxable salaries.
To remember. It’s up to you to subtract the deduction: the DGFiP makes your task easier on impots.gouv.fr since, the window allowing you to modify the pre-filled income, the subtraction is done automatically when you fill in the amount of the flat-rate deduction (which is then carried over to 1GA or 1HA).
10 – Forget box T if you are a single parent
You are single, divorced, separated (…), you live alone with your children (…), check… T. If you meet the definition of a single parent, you benefit from a boost from the taxman’s share: half an additional tax share. On Oops.gouv.fr, the government points to this oversight as one of the most frequent errors in the declaration. But be careful: if I live together, I am not entitled to this advantage.
To remember. This box single parent (T) is never pre-checked, even if you fill it out regularly. You must check it each year as long as you are eligible.
Other common mistakes to avoid
- YOU rent accommodation and you are lost between real estate and micro-land management.
- You have made works but cannot combine the old tax credit for energy transition (CITE) and MaPrimeRnov.
- You forget to claim for yourself or a relative (in Ehpad or home) aid linked to loss of autonomy.
- You mistakenly add deductions other deductions (6DD) while this box only concerns a handful of taxpayers.