Only the far-sighted will not be surprised by the news sent by the tax authorities.
The pleasant surprise may turn into a bad dream. In the middle of summer, when your mind is more on vacation and relaxation, a rather unpleasant letter from the tax office will arrive in your mailbox or post box. For many French people, this will mean that you will have to pay more money to the tax authorities in a few weeks. Above all, the amount could be high due to a mandatory refund that many taxpayers may have forgotten.
In mid-January, more than 9 million French people received money in their bank account, sent automatically by the tax authorities. Without taking any action, without asking for anything, all these households received, on average, 634 euros. This was a transfer made by the DGFiP to help households pay for their childcare, their cleaning lady or their gardening work.
Indeed, when filing your income tax return, it is possible to reduce the amount of tax to be paid if you employ someone in your home (childcare, cleaning, gardening, etc.), if you have your child looked after in a nursery, if you are in an Ehpad or if you make a rental investment. In January, in order to limit household costs for these types of expenses, the State pays 60% of the tax credit received the previous year. However, if you have not used this system in 2023, you will have to repay the advance.
An example to help you understand: in 2022, you had gardening work done that cost you 2,000 euros. In your 2023 tax return, you indicated this amount. The tax authorities therefore reduced the amount of your taxes by 1,000 euros since they cover 50% of the bill. In January 2024, 600 euros were sent to you (60% of the amount covered in 2023). However, if in 2023 you did not do any gardening work or did not use personal services, you will have to repay this advance to the tax authorities.
Many households are affected, particularly parents of children who were in daycare in 2022 and have now been in school since 2023. The advance paid to pay for the childcare will therefore have to be repaid.
The surprise could therefore be big for many French people because the complexity of the mechanism means that many taxpayers are not aware of this rule. If the money has not been set aside in anticipation of the reimbursement, it will therefore be necessary to draw on one’s resources to pay what is owed.