Like every year, time for the tax return has arrived. Since April 13, 2023, taxpayers must validate their tax form online. Time to look into the subject in detail because the tax return is full of little tricks that can lower the final bill. Another way to reduce your bill, little known and yet advantageous: the free tax rebate.
According to economie.gouv, “the free tax rebate is a reduction or moderation of a tax, granted free of charge by the tax administration”. It may relate to all or part of a tax or to penalties following late payment.
This discount applies exclusively to direct taxes: income tax, housing tax and property tax. On the other hand, registration fees (like inheritance tax) and real estate wealth tax cannot give rise to any discount.
The request for free rebate can be addressed:
– To the tax department on which the place of taxation of the applicant depends;
– To the director of the Tax Control Department (DIRCOFI) if the tax on which the free remittance should relate is established by this department;
– To the Individual Tax Service (SIP), if the free remittance relates to late payment, prosecution costs or default interest.
A graceful remittance can relate to different types of taxes and be addressed to various institutions. How do you address it to these different actors?
To apply for a free rebate, no particular format is imposed by the tax authorities. The request can be made:
– By letter ;
– At the counter of your tax office;
– Online on your tax.gouv space.
The request must contain the information necessary to identify the applicant as well as the tax concerned by the request for free rebate. It must also be accompanied by the questionnaire form 4805-SD. The request is considered rejected if no answer is given to the applicant within two months.
Who is eligible for a free discount? What are the criteria to be eligible?
A free discount, granted by the tax authorities, concerns people experiencing financial difficulties. According to economie.gouv, the tax administration analyzes the personal situation of each applicant and adapts its decision on a case-by-case basis.
To qualify for a free discount, you must meet several of these criteria:
– Attesting to a shift in the tax payment period;
– Experience an unpredictable loss of income (e.g. with a period of unemployment);
– Knowing of exceptional circumstances (for example the death of the spouse) or having caused abnormally high expenses (such as illness);
– Attesting to a disproportion between the importance of the tax debt and the level of income (for example during an accumulation of arrears).
– Have a tax history in terms of declaration and payment deemed favorable by the tax authorities.
– Having real payment capacity deemed insufficient by the administration ensures that the granting of a payment deadline is not enough to settle the debt.
If you meet several of these criteria, requesting a free tax rebate on one or more taxes will most certainly be granted to you.
