LTaxpayers who are preparing to declare their income will be able to deduct from it the support payments they have paid, during the year 2021, to a parent or a child… provided that the latter has been ” in need “. This results from a combination of the civil code (items 205 to 211) and the general tax code (article 156-II-2). Alas, the“state of need” is not defined by any text, which gives rise to disputes.
The tax administration refuses to consider that a person is automatically in need, because he has resources below the minimum wage. She judges that she is not, if she can assume her essential expenses alone (housing, food, clothing). She then considers that she did not need to be helped, and disputes the deductions, even minimal, to which the donors claimed.
the October 2, 2003the administrative court of appeal of Lyon thus validates the position of the administration, which refused to deduct from the taxable income of two parents a maintenance allowance of 12,780 francs (2,700 current euros), paid to their daughter, in 1996 She considers that the net resources available to her, single with one child (81,100 francs, or 17,136 euros), enabled her to “to meet the necessary expenses of everyday life”.
the May 6, 2021, the administrative court of appeal of Douai agrees to refer to the minimum wage. She admits that the wages earned by a son in 2012 (1,075 euros) were slightly lower. She nevertheless refuses to consider that the young man was in need, because he benefited from accommodation given by his father. It is therefore opposed to the latter deducting the pension paid (5,700 euros).
The administration is not content to compare the beneficiary’s resources and expenses: it also scrutinizes his bank accounts. Although a mother declared, in 2015, to have received only the alimony (22,000 euros) paid by her son, she refuses to judge her in need, her statements showing “regular restaurant expenses” as well as ” custody rights “ for shares. the November 5, 2020the Administrative Court of Appeal of Nantes confirms that the son cannot deduct his pension from his taxable income.
When, on the other hand, the administration admits that a beneficiary is in need, although he does not benefit from Medicare, and that the pensions are used to pay his medical expenses – which are just as essential as those of housing – she does not dispute them. However, their amount is staggering.
the February 5, 1993, the Council of State thus validates the deduction, by a son, of some 60,000 francs (26,580 euros) per year, between 1978 and 1981, spent to treat his mother. the March 7, 2022, the Council of State thus validates deductions, from 160,000 to 210,000 euros, claimed by a surgeon who, between 2010 and 2014, paid for the care of his sick parents. The fact that the parents were established in Lebanon has no effect, the principle of deduction being valid even when the pension is paid abroad, as has already been judged by the Council of State, the March 28, 2012.