The trap of the pre-filled income tax return that you must avoid when you receive the notice from the tax authorities

The pre-filled 2024 income declaration begins to be sent on Thursday April 11, 2024. 10.8 million French people are concerned, but be careful, the tax authorities may not have collected all your data.

While the 2024 income declaration campaign is about to begin, nearly 40 million French taxpayers are asked to declare those received during the year 2023. Around 10.8 million of them will benefit from a considerable advantage: the pre-filled declaration.

This system, put in place by the tax administration, aims to simplify procedures for tax households whose situation has not changed since the last declaration. However, this ease could hide a costly trap for those who are not careful.

Automatic declaration, a significant advantage

The pre-filled declaration is a system which has been put in place to simplify the tax procedures of households whose situation has remained unchanged since the last declaration. In other words, all people who only have to declare salaries, retirement pensions, compensation or allowances are potentially affected by automatic declaration. These incomes are communicated to the tax authorities by the employers, pension funds or social organizations which pay them. Thus, the General Directorate of Public Finances (DGFiP) can directly pre-fill the income tax return.

Unlike other taxpayers, the 10.8 million people eligible for automatic declaration have, in theory, no other gains to declare (rental income, investments, etc.). The information already pre-filled by the tax authorities is sufficient to fully complete the tax return. However, taxpayers affected by automatic declaration must remain vigilant when receiving the email from the DGFiP. Indeed, the message may hide a trap, because it will be sent to people whose tax situation may have changed in the space of a year.

The risks of the pre-filled declaration

Reading the email from the DGFiP, some taxpayers might think that their declaration has already been made and forget to mention certain crucial changes. New address, marriage, divorce, birth, death, acquisition of real estate, rental income, financial investment… All these elements must be indicated on the income tax return. In this case, taxpayers must make the necessary changes and waive automatic reporting.

It is important to remember that several categories of taxpayers will not be able to benefit from automatic declaration this year. This is the case for self-employed workers, traders, liberal professions or owners receiving rental income. All these people have fluctuating income which is not directly transmitted to the DGFiP and which must therefore be reported during the declaration campaign. Penalties can be heavy for taxpayers who fail to declare certain income. It is therefore essential to remain vigilant and carefully check your tax return.

Source : The Net Journal