A Guide to Tax Credits in France

REDUCE YOUR INCOME TAX BILL WITH ELITAX’S GUIDE TO TAX CREDITS IN FRANCE

Ignoring the tax credits system could mean you pay more tax than you owe. Whether you’re in the business of organic farming, or just need help covering childcare costs, there could be tax credits for you.

Tax credits can significantly lower the amount of income tax for which a taxpayer is liable. In some cases, it can actually lead to a reimbursement from the government. If the total amount of a person’s tax credits exceeds the total income tax owed, the difference is reimbursed by the French Tax Administration.

Elitax has nearly two decades of experience dealing with French income tax and tax credits. Read on to see if you could reduce your tax bill using tax credits in France.

A LIST OF THE MAIN FRENCH TAX CREDITS

There is a huge range of available tax credits in France, many of which are covered below. This list is by no means exhaustive, so if you think you could be entitled to tax credits, contact Elitax for a free 30-minute consultation. We’ll help you identify whether you could benefit from any other tax credits.

You could get tax credits for:

• Interest on loans taken out before 2011 for the purchase of the principal residence
• Expenditure on major improvements, including thermal insulation in the principal residence
• The employment of help in the home
• Childcare expenses
• Union fees
• Interest payments on loans to finance higher education
• The purchase of an insurance policy against the risk of unpaid rent
• The premium for employment
• Certain forestry investments (applicable from income taxation 2014)
• Withholding tax paid on savings interest in Austria and Luxembourg
• Foreign source income under an international convention to avoid double taxation (in particular income from capital)

TAX CREDITS FOR BUSINESS OWNERS UNDER THE INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX REGIME

There are also a number of tax credits in France that business owners can take advantage of. Again, this is not a complete list, but should give you a good idea of the range of tax credits available for those who run their own business.

Business owners could get tax credits for:

• Research expenses
• Competitiveness and employment
• Learning tax credit
• Entrepreneur training
• Employee family expenses
• Membership of an approved prevention group
• The improvement of the energy performance of some housing
• Master restaurateur
• Business development expenses (commercial prospecting)
• The expenses of the person replacing a farmer on leave
• Tax credit in favour of organic farming
• Tax credit in favour of the incentive
• Tax credit in favour of the art profession
• Investments in France’s overseas départements (applicable from income taxation 2014)
• Investment in Corsica

THE ELITAX FRENCH TAX CREDIT PROMISE

When you choose to work with Elitax, our experienced accountants make sure that you benefit from all of the tax credits to which you are entitled. We will ensure that you do not pay one euro more or less than you owe to the French tax authorities.