TLDR: To regularize omitted income, file a corrective declaration spontaneously before any action by the tax authorities. For a first offense, spontaneous regularization or correction within 30 days of a request from the authorities avoids penalties. A 50% reduction in late payment interest is possible for spontaneous regularizations, and a 30% reduction for rental income in cases of good faith during an audit.
Who must declare their income?
Any individual subject to income tax must file a detailed declaration of their income, profits, family expenses, and other elements necessary for calculating the tax. This obligation applies even if certain income is exempt, but must be taken into account for calculating the tax applicable to other elements of the total income.
Which income must be declared?
The declaration must include all elements of the total income, including those that are exempt but necessary for calculating the tax. Income received abroad must be mentioned separately in the declaration. If not, it is considered omitted.
How to declare online?
The declaration can be filed online via the "Finances publiques" portal by authenticating with the tax number and password. The online declaration is pre-filled with the information known to the tax authorities. It can be corrected even after signing. The login details (tax number, online access number, reference tax income) are found on the income declaration received in April or on the tax notice received in August of the previous year.
Procedure for regularizing omitted income
To regularize omitted income, you can file a corrective declaration spontaneously before any action by the tax authorities. In the case of a first offense, if the omission or inaccuracy is corrected spontaneously or at the first request of the tax authorities before the end of the year in which the declaration was due, no penalty is applied.
Reductions in late payment interest
In the case of spontaneous regularization, you can benefit from a 50% reduction in late payment interest for omitted income from previous years. For rental income, a 30% reduction in late payment interest is possible if the regularization occurs during an audit, provided the error was made in good faith.
Penalties for omission or delay
Failure to declare income results in a fine of 50% of the undeclared amounts. Late submission of the declaration is penalized with a fine of €150. If a declaration is both late and contains omissions or inaccuracies, both penalties (€150 and 50%) are cumulative, except in the case of a first offense corrected spontaneously or upon request from the tax authorities.
Special cases
Distributed income incorrectly declared as ineligible for the 40% allowance incurs a 50% fine, capped at €750 per declaration. Omissions or inaccuracies in documents (address, beneficiary identity, etc.) are penalized with a fine of €15 per omission or inaccuracy, with a minimum of €60 and a maximum of €10,000 for documents that must be produced simultaneously.