Asking the French tax administration for time to pay

A company facing exceptional, one-off difficulties may ask the tax administration for time to pay: the public accountant may grant it as an exception, in the form of a payment plan whose term is always under two years. The request is made by the company's legal representative to the business tax office it reports to, in writing or orally at a meeting, supplying the documents that evidence the difficulties and setting out the circumstances in detail. Two conditions govern everything: the company must be up to date with its current tax returns, and the delay must stem from temporary, exceptional and unforeseeable difficulties. Not every debt qualifies — withholding tax on salaries, income tax and local business tax instalments and late-recovery interest are excluded, without the list the administration gives being exhaustive, as are registration duties where their payment is a precondition for a formality.

Up to date for 2026 — verified on September 11, 2026Official procedure, no printed formGuide: about 30 min

Deadlines

After the payment deadline: Time to pay may be requested for tax debts that were not settled before the payment deadline — the principal debt and penalties.
Term of the payment plan: Always under two years. The form handed to the legal representative sets out the term, the instalments and, where applicable, an upfront payment.
Termination and the Treasury's priority charge: The public accountant ends the plan on the very first breach. The debts are then entered in the Treasury's register of priority charges within 2 months of the termination notice being received, or of the letter being presented if it was never collected.

Documents to prepare

Documents evidencing the financial difficulties and a detailed account of the circumstances
List of the tax debts concerned, principal and penalties, leaving out those that cannot be deferred
A proposed schedule and, where possible, the security offered
The director's agreement to stand surety where no security is available
Certificate of a claim on the State issued by the authorising department, if you hold one
For a small-business CCSF application: the accountant's certificate of difficulty, the Urssaf certificate for employee shares, the last closed balance sheet, the current cash position

See the procedure on the official site

No form is attached to this procedure: the link leads to the official page that describes it.

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

Any company facing one-off, unforeseeable difficulties that prevent it, wholly or in part, from meeting its tax payment obligations
Companies up to date with their current tax returns — the plan covers PAYMENT, never filing
Companies holding a certain and due claim on the State, which are granted time systematically for the debts caused by the State's late payment alone, within the limit of that claim
Companies wishing to apply to the departmental commission of heads of financial services, which will examine the file and propose a payment plan with the tax and social security authorities
Directors prepared to stand surety: where no security can be offered, the director's personal guarantee is systematically required

Worked example

Example: Sérigraphie du Rhône obtains a fifteen-month payment plan

Sérigraphie du Rhône, up to date with every return, loses its main client in February and cannot settle €28,000 of VAT and corporate tax balance now due. Its manager makes an appointment at the business tax office and presents the request: documents evidencing the financial difficulties, a detailed account of the circumstances, and a proposed fifteen-month schedule with a €4,000 upfront payment. As the company can pledge no asset, the manager is asked to stand surety, which he accepts — a refusal would have exposed the request to rejection. The public accountant checks that the business is usually up to date with its instalments and that the delay stems from temporary difficulties, then counter-proposes twelve months. The manager dates the form handed to him, writes "lu et approuvé" by hand and signs; the accountant countersigns. Enforcement is suspended for as long as the plan is honoured, and the company, still up to date with its running charges, can obtain its annual tax compliance certificate no. 3666-SD to bid for public contracts. Had it also owed social security contributions, it would have done better to apply to the CCSF, which brings tax and social debts into a single file, free of charge and confidentially.

How to fill it in, step by step

Bring your current tax returns up to date before any request: the company must be up to date with them, since the request concerns payment and not filing.
Check that the debt can be given time: excluded are, for example, withholding tax on salaries, income tax and local business tax instalments, late-recovery interest, and any debt whose payment is a mandatory precondition for a formality, such as registration duties; the list the administration gives is not exhaustive, so a debt missing from it is not eligible for that reason.
Have the request presented by the company's legal representative to the business tax office it reports to, in writing or orally at a meeting.
Supply the documents evidencing the financial difficulties and set out in detail the circumstances that brought the company into difficulty.
Offer security: failing that, the director is systematically asked to stand surety, and a refusal exposes the request to rejection.
If you hold a claim on the State, evidence it with the certificate issued by the department authorising the expenditure: the claim must be certain and due for the automatic right to time to pay to arise.
Once the proposal is accepted or counter-proposed, date the form handed to you, write "lu et approuvé" by hand, sign it, and have it countersigned by the public accountant or an officer under their authority.
Then meet every instalment AND your current tax obligations outside the plan: the accountant ends the plan on the very first breach.

The form, line by line

Documents evidencing financial difficulties: They must accompany the request, whether written or oral, together with a detailed account of the circumstances. They are what the accountant relies on to judge whether the delay is temporary, exceptional and unforeseeable.
Security and the director's personal guarantee: Offering security with the request is preferable. Where the company can offer none, the director is SYSTEMATICALLY asked to stand surety; a refusal risks the request being rejected.
Claim on the State: It creates an automatic right to time to pay, but only for the debts caused by the State's late payment, and then only for the portion of tax debt matching the State's debt, and never beyond the deadline by which the State must pay. A claim on a LOCAL AUTHORITY does not create that right: the rules are then those that apply with no claim at all.
Payment plan form: Handed to the legal representative, it sets out the term of the plan — always under two years — the instalments and any upfront payment. It requires the date, the handwritten words "lu et approuvé" and a signature, then the public accountant's countersignature.
Treasury's priority charge: A company's debts must be entered there to be made public. The entry has no effect on repayment, but the debt becomes publicly visible — an unreassuring signal that can hold back trade. For as long as the company honours its plan, the entry is no longer required.

Good to know

Obtaining time to pay is an EXCEPTIONAL event: outside a claim on the State it is in no way automatic and depends on the public accountant's assessment.
The company may also apply to the commission of heads of financial services, which will examine its file and propose a payment plan with help from the tax and social security authorities. Its own advantage: it brings tax AND social security requests into a single file, where a request to the tax office covers tax alone.
Applying to that commission is free and confidential: there is no publication at the commercial court, and third parties and other creditors are not informed. It requires being up to date with the filing of tax and social security returns and with payment of the EMPLOYEE share of contributions.
A very small business has a lighter application file: a certificate of financial difficulty issued by the company's accountant, an Urssaf certificate showing the employee shares have been paid or a statement of honour to that effect, the last closed balance sheet and turnover excluding VAT since 1 January, and the current cash position.
The payment plan may provide for the possibility of being renegotiated.
For as long as the company honours its plan, enforcement is suspended and no forced recovery may be started — but enforcement already begun BEFORE the plan was put in place is unaffected.
A company that honours its plan and stays up to date with its filing obligations and running charges can obtain the annual tax compliance certificate no. 3666-SD on impots.gouv.fr in order to bid for public contracts.

Common mistakes

Asking for time without being up to date with current tax returns: that is the first condition, and it is not negotiable.
Asking for time on a debt that is excluded — withholding tax on salaries, income tax or local business tax instalments, late-recovery interest — or treating that list as complete: the administration gives it as examples.
Asking for time on registration duties: where paying a debt is a mandatory precondition for a formality, it cannot be deferred.
Refusing to stand surety where no security can be offered: the request then risks being rejected.
Treating a claim on a local authority as a claim on the State: it does not create the automatic right to time to pay.
Meeting the plan's instalments but neglecting the current tax obligations outside it: the accountant checks both, and ends the plan on the very first breach.
Relying on the plan to stop enforcement already under way: the plan suspends future enforcement, it has no effect on what preceded it.

Frequently asked questions

Who can ask for time to pay?

Any company facing one-off, unforeseeable difficulties that prevent it from meeting its tax payment obligations, wholly or in part, provided it is up to date with its current tax returns.

Is time to pay granted automatically?

No: it is an exceptional event. The only case of systematic acceptance is a company that holds and evidences a certain, due claim on the State, and even then only for the debts caused by the State's late payment, and for the matching portion of tax debt, never beyond the deadline by which the State must pay.

How long can the payment plan run?

Always less than two years. The form handed to the legal representative sets out its term, the instalments and any upfront payment.

What happens on a breach?

The public accountant ends the plan on the very first breach — that is the "dénonciation", notified by recorded delivery. Suspended enforcement resumes, the security or personal guarantee is called in, and the debts are entered in the Treasury's register of priority charges within two months.

Can the company still bid for public contracts?

Yes, if it honours its payment plan and stays up to date with its filing obligations and the payment of its running charges: it can then obtain the annual tax compliance certificate no. 3666-SD on impots.gouv.fr.

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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.