The 2023 income declaration campaign ends soon. The opportunity to take stock of these mistakes not to make to avoid unpleasant surprises.
The 2023 income declaration campaign is coming to an end. As planned by the schedule, paper filers will not have only a few hours left this Tuesday to return their completed form. Taxpayers who use the tax website will have a few more days: until Thursday May 23, 11:59 p.m., for online filers from departments 1 to 19, until May 30 for those from departments 20 to 54 and until June 6 for residents of departments 55 to 95 and the DOM.
Even if the process is often boring, there is no point in rushing to get it over with as quickly as possible. The risk would be to make errors that could increase the amount of your tax. Especially since there are many opportunities to make mistakes. The tax administration has also identified the most frequent errors and detailed the procedure to follow to avoid them. Overview.
• Validate your declaration without having checked the pre-filled information
To make things easier for taxpayers, more and more information is pre-filled by the tax administration in the tax return. However, it remains essential to verify their accuracy. Including if you are eligible for automatic declaration.
The tax services can always make errors by forgetting certain income or, conversely, by entering non-taxable income. In particular, remember to check box 1AJ (Known salaries and wages) by comparing its amount with that which appears on your last pay slip for 2023, as well as boxes 1AS or 1BS for retirement pensions.
• Forgetting to report a change of address
The General Directorate of Public Finances (DGFIP) reminds that it is important to inform the tax services in the event of a change of address. And this in order to ensure the best “monitoring of your file and your tax documents as well as the correct establishment of your taxes”.
The taxpayer can change his address at any time via the tax website or by mail. But he also has the opportunity to do so at the start of his tax return. Please note that parents with an adult child attached to their tax household must also specify from this year in their form the address of the latter if it is different from theirs.
Owners must, for their part, complete the declaration of occupancy of their real estate if they did not do so last year or if the occupation situation (main residence, secondary residence, rental, etc.) of their property has changed since their last statement.
• Being wrong about the amount of childcare costs
If you have your children under 6 looked after outside the home, you benefit from a 50% tax credit. In other words: the State covers half of the costs incurred.
Be careful, however, not to include food costs which “are not affected by the tax credit” in the declared amounts. “You must pay attention to the invoice where these costs appear, because canteen meals are often found there with the daycare or leisure center,” specifies the DGFIP. Furthermore, parents must deduct from childcare costs the aid received for this care (free choice of childcare supplement, assistance paid by the employer, etc.).
How to correct your tax return?
If you have made an error in your online tax return and you realize it after validation, it will always be possible to correct it later. The online correction service will open from July 31 to December 4. It will allow you to modify several pieces of information and receive a new tax notice. However, it will not be possible to correct certain elements relating to civil status or family situation (marriage, divorce, etc.).
• Make a mistake when declaring your donations to associations
Taxpayers can benefit from tax reductions by declaring donations made to associations during the previous year. They must still be entered in the correct box, because the reduction is not necessarily the same depending on the nature of the organization supported.
For example, donations made to organizations that help people in need (providing meals, medical care, housing, etc.) or victims of domestic violence must be entered in box 7UD. They give the right to a tax reduction of 75% up to 1,000 euros.
Donations to cultural and charitable associations must be declared in line 7UJ. They also entitle you to a 75% reduction but up to a limit of 562 euros. Finally, donations made to organizations of general interest or public utility foundations must be entered in box 7UF, while donations and contributions to political parties are to be reported in line 7UH. These two types of donations entitle you to a tax reduction of 66%.
• Not correctly declaring dependent children
Separated parents must provide information on the tax household to which their child is attached. Two scenarios, sometimes a source of confusion, are possible. If the dependent child usually resides with only one of the two parents, the latter must indicate that their child is their “exclusive dependent” in boxes F or G of the income tax return to benefit fully from the increase in tax shares ( half share for the first child).
On the other hand, if the child resides alternately in the home of each of his parents, the two parents can share the overall family quotient advantage by indicating in the tax return that the child is in “alternate residence” (boxes H Yes).
Please also note that any income received by minor or adult children attached to the tax household must be declared in boxes 1CJ and 1DJ. If the children are in shared custody, each parent declares half of the income received on their form. However, certain amounts are exempt. This is the case, within the limit of 3 monthly minimum wage, for salaries received by students under the age of 25 as part of an activity carried out during their studies or school holidays. Income received by a child apprentice is also exempt up to the annual minimum wage.
• Forgetting to check the “single parent” box
A separated parent caring for one or more children can benefit from an increase in the number of tax shares to reduce the amount of their tax.
To do this, you must remember to check the “single parent” box on the tax return. In fact, this box is not pre-checked from one year to the next. However, a parent living together is not entitled to this advantage, the tax authorities point out.
• Enter the wrong box when declaring alimony
Alimony paid by a taxpayer must be declared in section “6 – Deductible expenses”. However, the box to fill in differs depending on the situation. Thus, if the beneficiary is an adult child, box 6EL must be completed. If it is a minor child or another person, see box 6GU. In addition, if alimony is paid following a court decision that became final before January 1, 2006, the box to complete is 6GI.