Avis d'Imposition in English: The French Income Tax Notice

The avis d'imposition (officially avis d'impôt sur le revenu) is the French income tax notice: the result of the return filed in spring for the previous year's income. It arrives between late July and early September, in your personal space on impots.gouv.fr and for some people by post. It shows the income taken into account, the tax, what was already paid through withholding or instalments (prélèvement à la source), and the balance to pay or to be refunded. Banks, landlords and authorities in France ask for it as proof of income.

Non-residents with French income

Someone who lives abroad but has income from France — typically rent from a French property — files a French return and receives the notice from the tax office for non-residents. Only the French income is taxed, subject to the tax treaty with your country. The tax follows the normal scale but cannot be lower than a minimum rate: 20% up to a yearly threshold and 30% above it. You can opt instead for the average rate of your worldwide income, which applies only when it is lower. Social contributions on rental income are added, at a lower rate for people covered by the social security of another EU / EEA country or Switzerland. Rental income also carries advance payments during the year, as for residents.

Paying the balance

The notice gives the dates. A balance of up to €300 is usually taken in one payment in late September, a larger one in four monthly payments until December — when the tax office has your bank details; otherwise you pay online. A late payment adds 10%.

If the notice is wrong

Correct the return online while the correction service is open (in the second half of the year), or send a claim (réclamation) through the secure messaging of your personal space or by letter to the office named on the notice. For income tax the claim is possible until 31 December of the second year after the tax was put into collection — for a 2026 notice, until 31 December 2028. A claim does not stop the payment unless you ask for a suspension in it.

Check before you pay

Fake e-mails promising a tax refund or demanding a payment are common. Pay and correct only in your personal space on impots.gouv.fr or as the notice states. The local taxes on a property are separate bills: see taxe foncière and taxe d'habitation. A lawyer for property tax for foreign owners can check the notice and the claim; for the sale of a property, see capital gains tax.