Taxes in France for PhD students and researchers

You’ve received a salary in France, paid by a French organization, you work in France, whether as an employee or not, and France is your country of residence (for more than 183 days a year): then you must submit a tax return to the French tax authorities every year.

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& TAXES

Important! If you’re a couple and one of you lives abroad and the other in France, you are considered as a “mixed” couple. You can be regarded as tax resident in France and your spouse as non-resident. You could be taxed differently.

Taxes on impots.gouv.fr

Income tax

France introduced withholding tax in 2019: the tax is deducted from your salary every month. You must declare your income to the French tax authorities once a year, so they can assess what you’ve paid and what you should be paying depending on your situation.

When you signed your work contract, your employer applied a default withholding tax rate to your income (this rate depends on your income and your personal situation).

If you already have a tax number, you can personalize your withholding tax rate in your personal space of the impots.gouv.fr website.
If your situation changed (your income increases or decreases, you have a child, etc.), you can also modify your withholding tax rate during the year so that it corresponds as closely as possible to your new situation.

If you don’t have a tax number, you can request one from your local tax office (Service des Impôts des Particuliers), either at the counter or by filling in a form available in the “Contact and Appointments” section of impots.gouv.fr website > “Vous êtes particulier” > “Votre demande concerne l’accès à votre espace particulier” > “Je n’ai pas de numéro fiscal”.

Understanding withholding tax

Managing your withholding tax rate options (access with usernames)

Declaring your income

Income in year N has to be declared each year in April or May of year N+1.

The annual tax return enables the calculation of your total income and the adjustment of the amount you have to pay so that it corresponds to your real income and actual personal situation (dependent family, tax-deductible amounts, change of situation, etc.):

if you have paid more income tax than you should have, you can be reimbursed for the overpayment
if you have paid less income tax than you should have, you will receive a schedule for payment of the unpaid balance.

Once your space has been created on the impots.gouv.fr website, you can access the online tax return service.

If you’re unable to declare your income online, you must submit a hard-copy tax return (form no.2042). You will be able to declare your income online the year after you receive your login details.

Official website for declaring your income online

Completing a tax return doesn’t necessarily mean you have to pay income tax.

France has signed several tax treaties with various countries with a view to resolving special cases and/or avoiding double taxation. A large number of international researchers fall under these tax treaties.

Important! Not declaring your income, late submission of a tax return and submission of an inaccurate return can lead to sanctions.

Property tax

Property tax on primary residences was abolished as from 1 January 2023. The only property tax now levied is on secondary residences.

Contacts and information

International portal for taxes in France

You can contact the tax authorities by email via the secure messaging on your personal space on impots.gouv or on the email address referenced on your tax notice.