For French citizens, a numéro fiscal is often automatically sent out upon turning 18, but for foreigners with tax obligations in France, you will likely need to apply for one. How to apply for a numéro fiscal depends on your personal situation – here are the most common scenarios.

I am moving to France

If you are moving to France, you don’t need to apply for a numéro fiscal straight away – instead, you wait until it is time to file your first tax return in France (the year after you move). The tax year in France runs from January 1^st to December 31^st, and tax declarations open in April, when you will declare your income from the previous year.

So, for example, if you move to France in 2023, you will file your first tax return in April/May of 2024, declaring your income for the year of 2023. Depending on when you move to France, this may mean that you are in France for more than a year without having an official tax number; or (if you move at the very end of 2023, for example) that you will file a tax return for a half-year or less.

Your first tax return must be submitted as a paper return (Cerfa no. 2042), which you can download from the impots.gouv.fr website once they are released (annually in April) or request from your local Centre d’Impots. It is your legal responsibility to submit this tax return – you will not be sent a tax declaration form or tax number automatically, especially if you are not working in France.

Once you have a tax number, you can set up your online tax account at impots.gouv.fr (more on this below) and file your tax returns online from then on (see here for more details).

I own a property in France

As a French property owner, you will automatically be assigned a numéro fiscal when it comes time to pay your property taxes (typically between August and October). You’ll find the numéro fiscal at the top of your tax bills, and you can use this to set up your online tax account at impots.gouv.fr.

If you are worried that you haven’t received your property tax bills or you need to receive your tax number prior to the arrival of your first property tax bills, you should contact your local tax office – the Centre des Finances Publiques (more about this below).

I have French investments or income

If you are not resident in France but have French income, whether from a French pension, investments, rental income from your French property, or any other kind of work or business income in France, you must still submit an annual French tax return.

As a non-resident, you follow the same steps as ‘moving to France’ above and will need to fill in a paper tax declaration form (Cerfa no. 2042) which you can download from the impots.gouv.fr website once they are released (annually in April) or request from your local Centre d’Impots. The difference is that you will need to send it to a different address (here) – see here for more details.

Once you have submitted your first tax form, you will receive your numéro fiscal, and you can set up your online tax account at impots.gouv.fr (more on this below) and file your tax returns online from then on.

Remember, as with residents; it is your legal responsibility to submit a tax return if you earn income in France – you will not be sent a tax declaration form or tax number automatically.