Income tax refunds : the general procedure

Definition

What this covers

A refund is the repayment of income tax collected in excess of what was due. It is governed by article 241 bis, introduced by the finance law for 2017 and built in two parts : tax withheld at source, in three sub-paragraphs, and tax paid spontaneously, in four paragraphs one of which has been repealed art. 241 bis GTC.

Where the words "automatically" and any deadline are absent, the text describes a right to a refund and the return on the basis of which it is calculated, without itself saying when it takes effect. For at least one of those cases, the answer lies elsewhere in the code.

Scope

Who is concerned

• A taxpayer whose withholdings at source for the year exceed the tax due on their annual global income.
• A seller of securities held in an account with an authorised intermediary, or whose spontaneous payments exceed the tax due on the annual net gain.
• A person subject to expropriation, the victim of unlawful seizure, or whose property has been transferred by court decision.
• A seller exercising a right of repurchase (réméré) over immovable property or a real property right.
• A seller of immovable property who has provisionally paid the difference between the tax declared and 5% of the sale price art. 173-I GTC.

The legal basis follows from the nature of the levy suffered.

Applicable rules

The six refund cases, and what the code says about each

• Withholdings at source credited against global income : where the withholdings made by the persons referred to in articles 156, 157-I, 159-II and 160 bis exceed the tax due on annual global income, the taxpayer receives a refund automatically, calculated on the basis of the return under article 82 and which must be made before the end of the year of the return art. 241 bis-I GTC. The only case that is both automatic and bounded by a deadline.
• Gains on securities withheld by a financial intermediary : where the withholding made by the authorised intermediaries holding securities accounts referred to in article 174-II-B exceeds the tax due on the annual gain, the refund is calculated on the basis of the return under article 84. Neither "automatically" nor a deadline in article 241 bis ; but the corresponding return, that of article 84-II, constitutes a "request for adjustment and, where applicable, for a refund" and must be filed before 1 April of the following year art. 84-II GTC.
• Property capital gains withheld in execution of a court decision : where the withholding made by the persons referred to in article 160 quater exceeds the tax due on the property gain realised or recorded in those cases, the refund is calculated on the basis of the return under article 83, subject to article 224. Neither "automatically" nor a deadline.
• Sale with right of repurchase : on the repurchase of immovable property or a real property right art. 62-III GTC, the refund requires notarised instruments, a repurchase amount stated in the réméré sale deed, and a repurchase occurring within a period not exceeding three years from conclusion of the contract. It is granted on a request addressed to the Director General of Taxation within thirty days of the repurchase art. 241 bis-II-A GTC. If any of these conditions is not met, the administration may make an adjustment in respect of the property capital gain art. 224 GTC.
• Balance of the provisional payment : the balance of the provisional payment under article 173-I, after deduction of the additional tax raised at the end of the procedure under article 224, is refunded automatically ; likewise the full amount if the administration does not commence that procedure art. 241 bis-II-C GTC. Automatic, with no stated deadline.
• Spontaneous payments on gains from securities : where the payments under article 173-I exceed the tax due on the annual net gain under article 70, the refund is calculated on the basis of the return under article 84-I art. 241 bis-II-D GTC. A case added by the finance law for 2026 : it does not use the word "automatically" and sets no deadline.

Where the legislature intended automatic treatment, it said so : "receives automatically", "is refunded automatically". Elsewhere, it did not. Four of the six cases carry no deadline of their own : no date can be put forward on the basis of article 241 bis alone, but other articles supply one, as does article 84-II.

Deadlines and limitation

The timetable

1. Within 30 days of the repurchase

   The only application deadline set out in article 241 bis. It concerns the réméré, the repurchase itself being confined to three years.

2. Before 1 March or 1 April

   Deadlines for the returns on the basis of which the refunds are calculated : global income art. 82-I GTC, gains from securities art. 84 GTC, the return under 84-II itself constituting a refund request. Property capital gains are subject to a thirty-day period art. 83-I GTC.

3. Before the end of the year of the return

   The deadline assigned to the refund under the first sub-paragraph of article 241 bis-I alone.

4. Until 31 December of the 4^th year

   The period during which the administration may make good shortfalls, errors and omissions art. 232-I GTC.

The periods for the procedures set out in the code are clear days : the first day and the day of expiry are left out of account, and where the deadline falls on a public holiday it is postponed to the first following business day art. 245 GTC.

Documents and supporting evidence

What the file contains

The file rests on the following items :

• The return used as the basis for the calculation : depending on the case, the global income return, the property capital gains return or the securities gains return.
• Evidence of the levy suffered : evidence of the spontaneous or provisional payment and tax identification details. For the return under article 84-II, the code names the documents to be attached : withholdings by the authorised financial intermediaries, capital losses not offset in the same year, dates and acquisition prices of the securities or the weighted average cost art. 84-II GTC.
• The instruments : for the réméré, the code itself requires the request to be accompanied by the réméré sale deed and the deed recording the repurchase art. 241 bis-II-A GTC ; for judicial transfers, the decision having the force of res judicata.

This list is indicative ; the exact composition of the file depends on the situation.

Points to watch

What can cause a file to fail