The 2022 tax campaign started on April 7. The deadline is approaching. Will you be on time? Le Figaro takes stock.

Nearly two years after the introduction of the withholding tax, the declaration of income tax remains compulsory but has been automated for certain households. For these taxpayers, no declaration to complete: the tax authorities rely on information already known. If all the information provided by the tax authorities is correct and complete, the tax return is automatically validated.

To find out if you can benefit from this automation, check that:

In 2020, it was necessary not to have notified the tax authorities of any change of address or family situation in 2019 to benefit from the automatic declaration. This is no longer the case since 2021. The automatic declaration is now accessible to people who declared in 2020 a birth, an adoption, alimony, or the collection of a minor child.

Taxpayers eligible for this automated system will be notified by post or e-mail. They will obviously be able to make changes to their declaration if certain data has become obsolete.

PODCAST - Is Tax Fair? The Philo Moment, by Aziliz Le Corre

Listen and subscribe on your favorite audio platform

It should be noted that even if taxpayers have the possibility of declaring automatically, it is not an obligation. It is possible to continue declaring and correcting your declaration as before.

SEE ALSO - "At the end of the five-year term, taxes in France will have fallen by 50 billion euros", assures Olivier Dussopt

Online declaration is possible from this Thursday, April 7. Taxpayers who still receive their tax form on paper should receive it within the same period.

The deadlines for the online declaration and the paper declaration have been officially announced by the tax authorities.

Regarding the paper declaration, the deadline was set for Thursday, May 19, regardless of place of residence.

The deadline for sending the online declaration varies, depending on your department of residence:

Since 2019, online reporting has been mandatory for all taxpayers, as long as their home has internet access and they are able to complete it. And since 2020, it has become impossible to receive a pre-filled paper declaration if you have already declared online the previous year.

Bercy's objective is therefore to generalize the online declaration as much as possible. But a few exceptions remain:

Persons authorized to complete a paper declaration will normally receive declaration n°2042 or n°2042 C by post. It is also possible to download the declaration forms in PDF format for printing. To date, the printable declaration form for 2022 is not yet available, but it should soon be downloadable from a page on the impots.gouv.fr website.

If you realize afterwards that you have made a mistake in your tax return, you can modify it at any time if it was made online. The tax services advise making this change before the filing deadline. After this period, you will have to make a corrective declaration.

If you have filed a paper version of the declaration and wish to modify it, you must inform your public finance center by post or by filing a new declaration.

As every year, certain tax rules have changed in 2022 compared to last year. Among the main new features is the 10% increase in the mileage allowance scale, announced by Jean Castex last January. The exemption ceiling for the sustainable mobility package increases from 400 to 500 euros, and even to 600 euros if it is combined with the payment by the employer of the public transport subscription.

Tax credits have also been created for a first subscription to the press (at the rate of 30%), as well as for the installation of an electric car charging station (equal to 75% of the amount of the supply expenses and installation, within the limit of 300 euros). In addition, all widows of veterans over the age of 74 can now benefit from the additional half tax share.

Other exceptional measures have also been extended this year, such as raising the donation ceiling to 1,000 euros - for the benefit of organizations providing free meals or care to people in difficulty or fighting against domestic violence -, giving right to tax reduction at the rate of 75%. Ditto for professional expenses and allowances paid by employers for home teleworking, exempt up to a limit of 580 euros per year.