Form 3916 — reporting an account held abroad
Every bank account, digital-asset account or life-insurance contract opened, held, used or closed abroad during the year is reported on the single form 3916 / 3916 bis, together with the income tax return. The duty applies to individuals, associations and companies that do not have a commercial form — a sole trader or a micro-entrepreneur is therefore concerned. Failing to file costs €1,500 per undeclared bank account or life-insurance contract, €10,000 if the State has no anti-fraud agreement with France; for a DIGITAL-ASSET account the fine is €750, raised to €1,500 above €50,000 of market value. The only exception: online payment accounts backed by a French account, used for purchases or for collecting sales of goods below €10,000 per year in total.
Up to date for 2026 — verified on September 11, 2026Official form3916Guide: about 20 min
Deadlines
- With the income tax return
- The declaration is made together with the year's overall income tax return, online with the single form 3916 / 3916 bis.
Documents to prepare
- List of accounts opened, held, used or closed abroad during the year
- For each account: institution, address, number, nature, opening and closing dates
- Yearly total of payments and collections on payment accounts backed by a French account
- Personal account credentials for online filing
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What this page gives you
The guide above and the link to the official site. ActioFin does not produce any document for this page: whatever you fill in or file is done on the official medium.
Who this applies to
- Individuals resident in France holding a bank account, a payment account or a life-insurance contract outside France
- Sole traders and micro-entrepreneurs collecting payment for their services through a payment institution established abroad, from the first euro: the €10,000 exemption only covers purchase payments and receipts from sales of goods
- Holders of digital-asset accounts opened with platforms established outside France (3916 bis)
- Associations and non-commercial companies, with their results return
Worked example
Example: Inès, a micro-entrepreneur graphic designer, collects foreign clients on a Lithuanian payment account
Inès invoices German and Canadian clients and gets paid on an account opened with a payment institution established in Lithuania, backed by her French business account. In 2025, €14,200 went through it. The €10,000 exemption does not apply to her: it only covers purchase payments and receipts from sales of goods, and Inès collects payment for services — she would have had to report even at €8,000. In spring 2026, with her income tax return, she reports this account on form 3916: institution, address, account number, opening date, nature of the account. Her friend who also holds an account with a digital-asset platform established in Malta reports it on the 3916 bis — where the fine follows its own scale: €750 per unreported account, raised to €1,500 if the account's value exceeds €50,000 at any point in the year. Failing to report costs more than the fine: the tax authority may tax the amounts as presumed income, with a 40 % surcharge, and an 80 % surcharge on adjustments resulting from the failure to report, ordinary accounts as well as digital-asset portfolios.
How to fill it in, step by step
- List every account opened, held, used or closed abroad during the year: bank accounts, payment accounts, digital-asset accounts, life-insurance contracts — including those closed during the year.
- Check the only exception: online payment accounts backed by a French account and used for purchases or for collecting sales of goods below €10,000 per year, all accounts combined. Beyond that, or for any other use, report.
- Gather for each account: name and address of the institution, account number, nature, opening or closing date, and your uses (personal, business).
- When filing your income tax return online, fill in the single form 3916 / 3916 bis — one form per account; digital-asset accounts fall under the 3916 bis.
- For a paper return, download the form and its notice from the official page and attach them to the 2042; for a digital-asset account, the 3916 bis may also be sent through the secure messaging of the personal account.
The form, line by line
- Institution and account
- Name and address of the institution, account number and nature: these are the data that allow matching with the information exchanged between States.
- Opening and closing dates
- An account closed during the year is still reported for that year: the duty covers accounts opened, held, used OR closed.
- Digital-asset accounts (3916 bis)
- Cryptocurrencies and tokens held with an entity established outside France (article 1649 bis C of the tax code): same single form, part 3916 bis.
Good to know
- Reporting an account does not in itself trigger any tax on the amounts it holds: the fine punishes the failure to report, not the holding. Failing to report, however, exposes you beyond the fine: the amounts may be taxed as presumed income (article 1649 A of the tax code), with a 40 % surcharge.
- In case of inaccuracy or omission in a filed return, the fine is that of article 1729 B, 2 of the tax code; in case of non-filing, €1,500 per bank account or life-insurance contract (article 1736), €10,000 for a State without an anti-fraud assistance agreement — and €750 per digital-asset account, raised to €1,500 above €50,000 of market value.
- Commercial companies (SARL, SAS) do not fall under this form: the duty applies to individuals, associations and non-commercial companies, with their income or results return.
- The 2026 edition is the latest served by the official page, read on 11 September 2026.
Common mistakes
- Believing an online payment account is not a foreign account: as soon as the institution is established outside France and the €10,000 exemption does not apply, it is reported.
- Forgetting an account closed during the year.
- Reporting a digital-asset account on the bank part instead of the 3916 bis.
- Filing nothing because no income was received on the account: the duty does not depend on income.
Frequently asked questions
Must my foreign online payment account, backed by my French account, be reported?
Not if it is used for purchases or for collecting sales of goods below €10,000 per year, all accounts combined, and it is backed by an account opened in France. Above that amount, or for another use, it is reported.
What fine if I do not report?
For a bank account or a life-insurance contract: €1,500 per unreported account; €10,000 when the duty concerns a State or territory that has not concluded an anti-fraud agreement with France. An inaccurate or incomplete return falls under the fine of article 1729 B, 2 of the tax code. For a DIGITAL-ASSET account (3916 bis) the scale is its own: €750 per unreported account and €125 per omission or inaccuracy, capped at €10,000 per return, raised to €1,500 and €250 where the market value of the accounts exceeds €50,000 at any point in the year. In every case the fine is not the whole risk: the amounts may be taxed as presumed income with a 40 % surcharge, and an 80 % surcharge applies to adjustments resulting from a failure to report, ordinary accounts as well as digital-asset portfolios. For an ordinary account or a life-insurance contract that surcharge replaces the fine; the doctrine provides no such substitution for the fine specific to digital-asset accounts, which may therefore be added to it.
Where are cryptocurrency accounts opened abroad reported?
On part 3916 bis of the single form, together with the income tax return; the completed and signed form may also be sent through the secure messaging of the personal account, or on paper.
Go further
Understand this form: the related course
Official sources
- impots.gouv.fr — Form 3916 / 3916 bis, declaration by a resident of an account abroad or of a capitalisation contract or similar investment subscribed outside France (2026 edition, the latest the page serves): individuals, associations and non-commercial companies, together with the income or results return, bank accounts, digital-asset accounts and life-insurance contracts — September 11, 2026
- impots.gouv.fr — How do I report my accounts and life-insurance contracts held abroad? (page updated 10 March 2026): accounts opened, held, used or closed; exemption for online payment accounts backed by a French account below €10,000 per year; reported together with the income tax return on the single form 3916 / 3916 bis; €1,500 fine per undeclared account, €10,000 for a State without an anti-fraud agreement (art. 1736 of the tax code), fine of art. 1729 B, 2 for inaccuracies — September 11, 2026
- impots.gouv.fr — How to report digital-asset accounts held abroad (news item updated 6 May 2024): duty under article 1649 bis C of the tax code, form 3916 bis sent through the secure messaging of the personal account or on paper — September 11, 2026
- bofip.impots.gouv.fr — BOI-CF-INF-20-10-50 (version of 27 January 2021), § 87: "les infractions à l'article 1649 bis C du CGI sont passibles d'une amende de 750 € par compte non déclaré ou de 125 € par omission ou inexactitude, dans la limite de 10 000 € par déclaration. Ces montants sont respectivement portés à 1 500 € et 250 € lorsque la valeur vénale des comptes d'actifs numériques […] est supérieure à 50 000 €" (l. 91) — article 1736 itself is NOT READ (Légifrance 403); the BOFiP restates it — read on 2026-09-11 by the form's AI review attestation (ADR-030, docs/revues/attestations/2026-09-11-form-declaration-3916-comptes-etranger.md) — September 11, 2026
- service-public.gouv.fr — Account held abroad, sheet F34342 (verified 9 July 2026), section on digital-asset accounts: "Amende forfaitaire de 750 € par compte non déclaré" (l. 120); "Amende forfaitaire de 1 500 € par compte non déclaré, si la valeur du compte d'actifs numériques dépasse 50 000 € à un moment quelconque de l'année" (l. 121); "Majoration de 80 % appliquée à tous les rappels d'impôt résultant du défaut de déclaration des portefeuilles d'actifs numériques détenus à l'étranger" (l. 122), the same 80 % surcharge being served for unreported ordinary accounts (l. 117); BOI-CF-INF-20-10-50 § 110 (l. 102) limits the substitution of that surcharge for the fine to IV and IV bis of article 1736 and to article 1766, excluding the X — read on 2026-09-11 by the form's AI review attestation (ADR-030, docs/revues/attestations/2026-09-11-form-declaration-3916-comptes-etranger.md) — September 11, 2026
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.