Last verified: 5 October 2026, based on the official pages cited at the bottom of the page.

You have just arrived in France and are wondering how to approach your first tax return? Let's start by distinguishing your tax residence, the income concerned, and how to file your return.

The 2026 tax return concerns income from 2025.

Who has to file a tax return in France?

You must declare your income to the tax office if you live in France or if your tax residence is in France.

If you live abroad but your income comes from France, you must also declare your income there.

You must file this return even if you have little or no income.

Filing a return can allow you to obtain a non-tax notice, which is required for certain benefits such as housing benefit.

Whether you are French or not, the tax authorities consider your tax residence to be in France if you meet one of the following criteria.

1. Household in France: the usual residence of your household is in France.

Your household includes you, your spouse (married, in a civil partnership, or cohabiting), and your children; other relatives, such as parents, brothers, and sisters, are not included.

If you are single with no children, your household is the place where you usually live, apart from your work-related travel.

2. Main stay in France: you stay there at least 183 days during the year.

3. Main activity in France: the activity to which you devote the most actual time or which provides you with most of your income; a secondary activity is not included.

4. Centre of economic interests in France: you have made your main investments there, or the headquarters of your business, from where you manage your assets, is in France.

Tax treaties: check your situation

An international agreement between France and a foreign country may provide for different rules regarding tax residence.

To determine your tax residence, check your situation with your tax office; if necessary, also check your situation with the tax authorities of the relevant foreign country.

For paper filing, form 2047 is an additional return for income received abroad.

Tip: prepare a list of your income and its source to clearly explain your situation, without relying solely on your nationality for tax treatment.

You are a student and you have worked

For the 2026 return on 2025 income, your student salary situation depends on your age on 1 January 2025: under 26 or 26 and over.

If you were under 26 on that date, your student salaries benefit from a maximum allowance of €5,405 (3 times the monthly gross minimum wage); only the part that exceeds €5,405 must be declared.

The "TRAITEMENTS ET SALAIRES" brochure specifies that this exemption is optional, for salaries from work done during secondary or higher education or during school or university holidays; it does not apply to public employees paid as part of their training.

If you were 26 or over on 1 January 2025, you must declare all your salaries, even those from occasional work.

There is no specific exemption for non-salary income of students.

Grants, apprenticeships, and internships

Study grants awarded for specific work or research are considered taxable income.

Study grants awarded based on social criteria are exempt income.

Tip: keep the document that describes the purpose of your grant.

For salaries received in 2025 under an apprenticeship contract, the exemption is €21,622; only the part that exceeds this amount must be declared.

For 2025, payments made to pupils and students during an internship or a period of work-based training, under Article L 124-6 of the Education Code, are exempt up to €21,622 per year.

The 2026 calendar: deadlines have passed

The 2026 declaration for 2025 income is over.

In 2026, the online deadline was Thursday 21 May at 23:59 for départements 01 to 19 and non-residents.

In 2026, the online deadline was Thursday 28 May at 23:59 for départements 20 to 54.

In 2026, the online deadline was Thursday 4 June at 23:59 for départements 55 to 974 and 976.

The paper deadline was Tuesday 19 May 2026 at midnight, including for French residents abroad.

First declaration: paper or online?

If your main home (résidence principale) has internet access and you are able to declare online, online declaration is compulsory.

If you cannot declare your income online, you must submit a paper declaration.

Depending on your situation, the paper declaration is form 2042 or 2042 C.

For the 2026 campaign, without an online access number or reference tax income (revenu fiscal de référence), you had to submit a paper declaration to your tax office.

If you do not receive a letter from the tax office, your identity must be verified to create your Finances publiques account: contact the personal tax office (SIP), at the counter or by post.

Provide your identity details (état civil), postal address, and a copy of an identity document.

After verification, you will receive an email telling you that you can create your Finances publiques account with your tax number and date of birth; you then enter your email address and a password you choose.

Tip: if you missed the campaign, explain your situation to the relevant office and ask how to submit your file.

Where to get help

You can ask a question to a tax administration agent via the secure messaging system in your Finances publiques account.

You can also request an appointment at the personal tax office (SIP).

Agents at France Services centres offer support and guide you through your online procedures.

Sessions with tax office agents are organised at the town hall.

FAQ

I don't have a personalised rate yet: what happens?

If you have not yet filed an income tax return, the administration cannot calculate a personalised rate and applies a default rate.

This default rate is set according to your monthly withholding base, that is, the amount of your salary.

My employer already withholds tax: is the declaration still necessary?

Withholding tax does not change the obligation to declare your income.

The declaration allows you to regularise the previous year's situation by taking into account your income and your expenses.

Official resources

• “Income tax – Declaring amounts received by a young person” (Service Public)

• “How to determine your tax residence?” (Service Public)

• “Income tax – First income tax return” (Service Public)

• “Income tax – Annual income tax return” (Service Public)

• “Income tax – Withholding tax” (Service Public)

• “This is my first tax return, what do I need to declare?” (Direction générale des Finances publiques)

• “How to file your 2026 income tax return” (Direction générale des Finances publiques)

• “SALARIES AND WAGES” (Direction générale des Finances publiques)

And what about Pionra?

Pionra does not replace the Direction générale des Finances publiques or your tax office. It is a place to share your own experience.

Have you just completed this process? Share it in a comment or in a note to help those who come after you.