In 2019, the State has changed its philosophy regarding the management of its administrations. It wanted the feeling of mistrust that the French might have had to give way to trust. This is how the notion of the 'right to make mistakes' came about, in particular with the creation of the official website 'oups.gouv.fr'.

This concerns all public administrations, but here we will focus on the tax administration.

The principle

Until the introduction of this right, the General Directorate of Public Finance carried out investigations to identify false declarations and fraudsters. When a taxpayer voluntarily regularised his or her situation, an amicable agreement could be proposed to avoid heavy penalties.

In order to encourage taxpayers to do what is necessary on their own, the State has introduced the "right to error". This allows a user to comply without incurring a financial penalty.

What are the consequences?

If an unintentional inaccuracy or omission is rectified, the additional tax due must simply be paid, to which late payment interest may be added. Since the rectification is spontaneous, this interest is reduced by 50% from 2.4% to 1.2%.

Note that this leniency is only allowed in cases where the errors are made in good faith. In fact, this excludes

• Late filing of a return,
• Late payment,
• Deliberate error or inaccuracy.

How to regularise the situation?

Most often, errors arise from an omission in the declaration. This may concern rental income or an exceptional bonus received but not declared, a property asset not revalued although it falls within the scope of the Impôt sur la Fortune Immobilière (IFI) or simply an error in the tax declaration made.

It is possible to make corrections until 31 December of the year N+2 following the declaration. As tax formalities are complex, the processes differ depending on the changes to be made.

It is therefore important to seek support or advice. There are professionals, in particular the Wealth Management advisors at Wealth A7, who can help you with your procedures; contact us!

In a changing world, Wealth A7 is there to bring your wishes to life.