Skip to content

French form 2042 — income-tax return

Form 2042 is the annual French income-tax return for individuals: salaries, pensions, capital income, property (via annexes), charges and tax reductions. It is completed online in spring on impots.gouv.fr (paper is reserved for households unable to file online), usually pre-filled — your job is to check, complete and sign. It triggers the computation of your tax under the progressive scale.

Up to date for 2026 — verified on August 26, 2026Official form2042Guide: about 30 min

This content is part of the path: Filing my income tax return· Step 11 of 12· Next step: Form 2042-C — complementary income tax return

This content is part of the path: Investing and reporting my holdings· Step 11 of 12· Next step: Form 2086 — gains on disposals of cryptocurrencies

This content is part of the path: Reporting my rental income· Step 8 of 8· Last step of the path

This content is part of the path: Reducing my income tax· Step 6 of 7· Next step: Form 2042-RICI — tax reductions and credits

This content is part of the path: Preparing and drawing my pension· Step 8 of 8· Last step of the path

This content is part of the path: Understanding my pay as an employee· Step 7 of 7· Last step of the path

Deadlines

Annual spring campaign
Opens in April; online deadlines staggered from late May to early June by département (zones 1-3) — the exact calendar is published yearly on impots.gouv.fr.

Documents to prepare

  • December payslips or annual cumulative pay figures
  • Receipts for donations and deductible expenses
  • Previous tax notice
Download the official form (2042)

The blank PDF remains downloadable from the official site. For pre-filling, we keep a copy of this public form (Licence Ouverte 2.0, source cited on the produced document).

What you get

  • The official form itself, pre-filled with your entries. Only the boxes that match the fields below are filled in: complete the others on the form before filing it.

Free, no account and no email address.

The generated document is written in French — the language the receiving French authority expects. This page is in English; the document itself is not translated.

Fill in the official form online

Free. The official PDF is filled on the fly: your entries are not recorded in any of our databases and are only used to produce this document. They travel in the request body, never in the page address.

All fields are required unless marked “optional”.

Your details

DD/MM/YYYY

DD/MM/YYYY

5 digits

DD/MM/YYYY

Whole number, up to 9 digits, no spaces

Whole number, up to 9 digits, no spaces

Whole number, up to 9 digits, no spaces

Whole number, up to 9 digits, no spaces

Whole number, up to 9 digits, no spaces

Whole number, up to 9 digits, no spaces

Whole number, up to 9 digits, no spaces

Whole number, up to 9 digits, no spaces

Whole number, up to 9 digits, no spaces

Whole number, up to 9 digits, no spaces

Whole number, up to 9 digits, no spaces

Whole number, up to 9 digits, no spaces

Whole number, up to 9 digits, no spaces

A draft is a file you save wherever you like, just like the document itself: we keep no copy of it and nothing is left in your browser. When signed in, you can also save it to your space to pick it up later — only if you ask.

Official form pre-filled with your data: read every box and check the amounts before filing or paying.

Who this applies to

  • Every tax household domiciled in France, taxable or not — the return remains mandatory even with no tax due.
  • Self-employed people and landlords report business and property income via annexes (2042-C-PRO, 2044…) attached to the 2042.

Worked example

Example: Camille checks her pre-filled return

Camille, an employee, opens her online return: her wages are pre-filled. She compares them with her December payslip totals, adds €200 of donations to a charity and validates. Her return is signed in twenty minutes, without re-declaring what was already withheld at source.

How to fill it in, step by step

  1. Check every pre-filled amount against your documents (payslips, statements).
  2. Add income that is not pre-filled (property income, self-employment — via the annexes).
  3. Declare deductible expenses and reductions (donations, alimony paid, home employment).
  4. Check your family situation and dependants.
  5. Sign online before your département's deadline.

The form, line by line

Civil status and household
Family situation and dependants — this sets your number of shares (family quotient).
Wages and salaries (boxes 1AJ…)
Pre-filled salaries to check against payslips; actual expenses by option if above the 10% allowance.
Capital income (boxes 2DC, 2TR…)
Dividends and interest, taxed by default at the 31.4% flat tax — the global scale option (box 2OP) may be better at a low marginal rate: compare with the linked calculators.
Property income (box 4BA / annexe 2044)
Micro-foncier up to €15,000 of rents (30% allowance); beyond or by option, the real regime via annexe 2044.
Charges and reductions
Alimony, donations, home employment, childcare… — keep supporting documents.
Annexes
2042-C (additional income), 2042-C-PRO (self-employed, micro-entrepreneurs, furnished rentals), 2042-RICI (reductions and credits), 2044 (real property regime).

Good to know

  • Withholding at source does not replace the return: the return settles the actual year.
  • Annexes (2042-C-PRO, 2044) are filled in the same flow and carried over automatically.

Common mistakes

  • Validating the pre-filled return without checking amounts against documents.
  • Forgetting annexe 2042-C-PRO for micro-entrepreneur or furnished-rental income.
  • Not testing the scale option (box 2OP) for capital income at a low marginal rate.
  • Omitting a family change that modifies the shares.
  • Missing your département's deadline — at least a 10% surcharge.

Frequently asked questions

Is the return mandatory if my tax is zero?

Yes (unless the administration explicitly offers you the tacit automatic return). It also produces your tax notice, needed for many procedures.

Flat tax or scale for my dividends?

The 31.4% flat tax applies by default. The global scale option (box 2OP) can win at a low marginal rate thanks to the 40% dividend allowance — compare with our income-tax and flat-tax calculators.

How do I report micro-entrepreneur income?

On annexe 2042-C-PRO: gross revenue under micro-BIC or micro-BNC (the flat allowance is applied automatically), or the dedicated boxes if you opted for the flat payment.

How do I declare my micro-entrepreneur income?

On the 2042-C-PRO schedule: gross turnover under the micro-BIC or micro-BNC heading (the flat-rate allowance is applied automatically), or in the dedicated boxes if you opted for the versement libératoire.

Where do I find the official 2042 form?

On impots.gouv.fr (form 2042, 2026 edition, and its schedules) — the return itself is filed online from your personal account.

Go further

Compute the related amounts

Understand this form: the related course

Related forms

Official sources

Read in French

This topic in other countries

Each country applies its own law: these pages are written in its language and read from its official sources.

Guide and document provided for information purposes only; they do not constitute personalised legal or tax advice. Check the recipient organisation's requirements and consult a professional if needed.