Yes, the deadline has passed. But, in the event of an error, it is never too late to repair an oversight! Prevention is better than cure. Our checklist to dive you one last time into the 2022 return looking for 3 potential sources of error: tricky boxes, forgotten tax benefits and culpable omissions.
Whoops! Did you miss the opportunity to claim a tax reduction? Did you take advantage of the automatic declaration without declaring home employment or childcare expenses giving rise to the right to a tax credit? You forgot to declare part of your income? Better to correct online as soon as possible: the platform remains accessible on impots.gouv.fr in June. Correcting quickly allows you to limit a possible tax increase.
Stop misunderstandings: the deadline has well and truly passed. Yes, by adding resources that you had forgotten to declare, you risk a penalty. It is therefore not necessary immerse yourself in the online declaration only if it is really necessary. On the other hand, if you have omitted to claim a tax benefit, modifying your declaration in this sense does not penalize you in any way… on the contrary, it allows you to catch up by requesting your credit or reduction.
The consequences of a correction after the deadline
The Directorate General of Public Finances (DGFiP) will have to carry out a corrective taxation. Consequently, you will receive a second tax notice, after the provision of the first at the end of July in your private space on the tax website. And the payment (or the refund of the overpayment) will probably be done in two installments instead of once this t.
How to correct your tax return after the deadline
1. Pigeon boxes
If you don’t have a television at home
A little less than 5 million tax households usually tick the box 0RA, synonymous with the absence of television, according to statistics from the Directorate General of Public Finances (DGFiP). It is difficult to know whether this figure corresponds precisely to the number of households with no television at home (including second homes). But the Bercy services themselves recognize that many taxpayers forget to tick this box and therefore risk pay wrong 138 euros tl fee. Because you have to tick in the absence of a television, and leave the box empty if you have a TV! In short, do nothing = declare a TV.
Important clarification: a video projector equipped with a tuner is like a television set but a computer connected to an Internet box, no… And beware: if you tick the 0RA box while you have a television, you risk a fine of 150 euros per undeclared televisionin addition to the 138 euros of TV license fees to be paid.
Who can escape the TV license fee
If you are a single parent
The isolated parent item appears at the very beginning of the declaration. Parents certifying living alone with one or more dependent children, in 2021, must tick the box T. An action that is not neutral: you get an additional half share, which automatically lowers your tax, even if the benefit is capped at 3756 euros. Single-parent households can also check this box even if the children are in alternating residence: the advantage is divided by two.
If you have t past single parent, for at least 5 years, and you still live alone, this time you can check box L, the benefit being then limited to 952 euros. Please note: widows and widowers must tick box V, which is more tax-efficient.
What you need to know before checking the single parent box
If you receive income from bank investments
No less than 8 million tax households left the box 2OP empty (the default choice) when they would have liked to check it, in 2019, for its first year of existence. Amount lost: 7euros or less for 4million households, but more than 50euros for 1.6million households! You are concerned if you receive income from assets (non-regulated savings accounts, certain PEL, certain stock market income, etc.) subject, by default, to the single flat-rate deduction (PFU), or flat tax, set at 12.80% for the income tax. However, non-taxable households and some low-taxed households have an interest in ticking the 2OP box to waive the PFU and choose a progressive scale taxation, as for earned income.
Since then, Bercy has corrected the situation. In theory, the tax authorities will notify you if you make the wrong choice at the end of the declaration. Logically, no more error possible… at least not without having been informed of it when finalizing your declarative chore.
2. Forgotten tax reductions and credits
If your children are in college, high school or university
You are entitled to a tax reduction when your dependent children attend college, high school or higher education. In this case, indicate the number of children continuing their studies in 2021 in the boxes 7EA (college), 7EC (high school) and 7EF (higher education), or the line just below for shared residence. This tax reduction is largely unknown: on Oups.gouv.fr, Bercy cites this oversight in the top 20 of the most frequent reporting errors. Each of these boxes is filled by less than 2 million households each year… but the national education system lists 3.4 million middle school students and 2.3 million high school students.
are you sure you haven’t forgotten any tax reductions?
If your children were born between 2015 and 2021
Your children were under 6 on January 1, 2021? All childcare costs are eligible for the 50% tax credit. Yes, all childcare costs, including preschool, drop-in daycare, leisure centre, crèche… and not just the salaries of nannies and childminders, the only charges pre-filled on your declaration thanks to your Pajemploi declarations. If you forget, go to the line 7GA-7GB-7GC (depending on the child concerned). As it is a tax credit, this advantage also benefits non-taxable households.
How to take advantage of the tax credit for childcare
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If you give to charities, political parties or trade unions
Nearly 6 million households declare donations to charities each year. The common mistake, however, is to get lost in the categorization of charitable donations. All 2021 donations to aid organizations for people in difficulty (Restos du Cœur, Red Cross, Secours populaire, etc.) must be completed on the line 7UD, even if the amount exceeds the ceiling for the 75% reduction, set at 1,000 euros in donations this year. The tax authorities then transfer the surplus to the other category of donations, which has a reduction ceiling of 66%. In addition, specific boxes are dedicated to donations to political parties (7HU) or union dues (7AC).
Namely: union dues do not entitle you to a reduction but to a tax credit! Only condition, to be entitled to it: not to opt for the real costs (in this case they must be included in the real costs).
3. Guilty omissions
If you have a foreign account: Revolut, N26…
Do you have a Revolut, N26, Monese or Bunq bank card? All these establishments have the particularity of being based abroad. If you opened your account in 2021, or had one in 2021, you are required to inform the tax authorities of its existence, by completing annex 3916. Don’t panic: declaring this payment account abroad will have no effect on the amount of your tax.
How to declare your N26, Revolut or PayPal accounts?
If you or your children have a student job
You are a student (or your dependent child is a student) and you have understood that it is not necessary to declare your income? It’s a mistake! You must declare the income from your student jobs by applying a partial exemption: thus the first 4690 euros are exempt for students under 26 years of age. If the resources drawn from your student job (or your child’s job) exceed this threshold, you must declare the surplus: 310 euros if the annual income from the student job increases to 5000 euros, for example. Revenue indicate line 1AD if you are filing your own declaration, the line 1CJ-1DJ if it is your child or children. On the other hand, if the income comes from a paid internship, the exemption threshold is much higher (18,760 euros).
Reattach your children or not: the calculation to do before choosing
If your parents give you money regularly
Do your parents give you money, every month or at least regularly, to help you financially? Do I have to declare this additional income to the tax authorities? In theory, yes: a regular donation cannot be considered as a present of use, even if the amount is modest, because from a tax point of view gifts must remain punctual and linked to an event. In fact, the risk of tax requalification is low if the amounts are reasonable, but it is still preferable to be transparent.
Moreover, if this money received each month is necessary to meet your needs, it is even in the interest of your parents to declare this amount: they can take advantage of the deduction for alimony, which will reduce their income tax. To know: if your parents choose to count these donations as a alimony, they fill in the statement on their declaration: a possible choice provided you are able to demonstrate to the tax authorities that you need this financial support to live. You also must then fill in these sums, in the income category, the line 1AO (maintenance payments received).
Do I have to declare what my parents pay me each month?
Other common errors
It is impossible to make an exhaustive list of everything you should have changed, as the situations are so diverse, but also because the pre-filled declaration does not include all income families. Do not forget, among other things, to detail the income from platforms such as Airbnb, which are well informed but not pre-filled. Do not forget, either, holiday vouchers when the annual ceiling of 1590 euros is exceeded, nor restaurant tickets when the company’s participation exceeds 5.55 euros per day, nor certain gifts from the employer…
10 mistakes to avoid on your tax return