How to report death to the tax office?

In the event of the death of a spouse or one of the relatives, it is necessary to inform the tax authorities.

Indeed, as the surviving spouse or heir, if the person was single or widowed, you are responsible for this formality. How to report death to the tax office? Who pays taxes on death? Who pays taxes for a deceased person?

We support you step by step when filing a death claim with the tax authorities.

After a person's death Numerous administrative procedures must be carried out. Among them is an announcement to the tax service.

Deadlines for declaring death to the tax office

It is important to report this as quickly as possible as this change in situation will affect the calculation of your income tax rate. Particularly if you are the spouse, PACS partner or civil partnership partner of the deceased person. You must report this within 60 days.

As for other relatives of the deceased, you have up to 6 months to declare the death for tax purposes, or even 12 months if you died outside French territory. The tax administration processes your return and updates your situation within a maximum of 3 months.

After deadline for reporting the death of a loved one, you must pay a fine for late notification.

How to inform the tax administration about the death of a loved one

You must first report the change to the public finance center to which the deceased person was assigned. Depending on your situation, you may be able to declare his death directly on tax website or by sending an email to its help center.

Then declaring the death of your loved one depends on your relationship with him. If the deceased was your spouse or PACS partner, you will have to file 2 tax returns during the first year after death:

• Joint declaration of your income , as well as your deceased partner's income from January 1 until the date of their death.
• A personal return showing your income received from the date of death to December 31 of the relevant tax year . In this document, you will need to mention the death of your spouse.

If the deceased is single or widowed, the heirs must carry out various administrative procedures, especially those related to taxes. You will have to complete the deceased person's tax return within the same deadlines as other taxpayers.

Finally, the tax administration processes your return and updates information about your deceased loved one's situation and yours as necessary. She is also responsible for communicating information to various organizations. For example, pension funds. And depending on your situation, it may apply certain tax deductions to you on the death of your loved one, such as a portion of funeral expenses during probate (up to €1,500).

How to report death to the tax office? Online declaration

The death of a spouse or PACS partner means a change in personal situation and a change in the composition of your tax household. To report to the IRS, you can file a death claim online.

You will have to log into your personal space using your IDs, not the deceased person's office.

To do this, go to your personal account and select the section Gérer mon prélèvement à la source.

Then you need to follow these steps:

• Click Signaler un changement.
• Select Changement de situation de famille and press: Décès.
• You will then need to enter the next date of death in the format: DD/MM/YYYY.
• Confirm your changes by clicking the Confirmer button.

The tax administration processes the new information and recalculates the applicable income tax rate. The renewal will be taken into account automatically after 3 months and a new deduction rate will be set for the surviving spouse.

For the heirs of a deceased person, you need to have their tax IDs, which consists of their tax number and password. If you don't have this information, you won't be able to file a loved one's death report online. In this situation, you need to send a letter to your government finance help center.

What mail should I send to the tax center in case of death?

Did your deceased loved one file a paper tax return? Don't have access to their tax IDs? You must report their death by sending a registered letter to the public finance center to which the deceased was assigned. You can send mail with or without confirmation of receipt, depending on your preference.

You will find contact details for the help center in the latest tax notice of the deceased, in the box at the top left. Otherwise, you can get them from local tax notices or consult a tax center directory.

You also have the option of notifying the tax authorities of your spouse's death by sending them the same letter. Whatever your situation, you will need to include your loved one's death certificate with your letter. You will also need to provide all personal information relating to the deceased, such as:

• his date and place of birth,
• his tax number,
• his place of residence during his lifetime,
• Date of death.

Download our death letter template to submit to your tax authorities.

Who should pay taxes for a deceased person?

Responsibility depending on the situation Reimbursement of the deceased person's tax is the responsibility of either the surviving spouse or his or her heirs.

Are you the deceased's partner? Upon receipt of notification of your partner's death and after updating the reported information (within 3 months), the tax administration will carry out a new withholding tax calculation and monthly deductions will cease.

After filing your taxes each year, the remaining amount must be paid by the surviving spouse. In case of overpayment, a refund of the tax credit will be issued. Finally, don't forget to pay your residential income tax and estate tax returns after your spouse's death.

You can contact a notary who will take care of settling your deceased spouse's various debts on your behalf.

Are you the heir of the deceased? If the deceased is widowed, single, or divorced, it is the heirs who will be responsible for paying income taxes. However, upon inheritance, it will be possible to deduct the amount paid for the inherited property.