French Cerfa 2051 — balance sheet liabilities
Form 2051 of the French tax package presents the LIABILITIES side of the balance sheet under the standard regime: equity (capital, reserves, retained earnings, the year's result), provisions and debts. Its total must strictly equal the assets of form 2050, and the result it shows must be identical to form 2053's.
Up to date for 2026 — verified on August 27, 2026Official form2051-SDGuide: about 30 min
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Deadlines
- With the year's tax package
- The 2051 is filed with the whole package (forms 2050 to 2059) and the income return, electronically (EDI-TDFC).
Documents to prepare
- Trial balance drawn up at year end
- Accounting profit or loss for the year (form 2053)
- Schedule of loans and debts
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).
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Official form pre-filled with your data: read every box and check the amounts before filing or paying.
Who this applies to
- Businesses under the standard tax regime (BIC or corporate tax)
- Companies above the simplified-regime thresholds, or having opted for the standard regime
- Accountants and directors preparing the closing tax package
Worked example
Example: the liabilities of Yanis's SARL
The liabilities of Yanis's SARL consist of €10,000 of capital, €20,000 of reserves, €41,000 of profit for the year, €4,000 of provisions and €60,000 of debts (loans and suppliers). Total: €135,000 — strictly equal to the assets on the 2050, and the €41,000 result is identical to the one computed on form 2053.
How to fill it in, step by step
- Carry over capital, reserves and retained earnings from the trial balance.
- Enter the year's result, identical to form 2053's.
- Break down provisions for risks and charges.
- Detail debts by nature: loans, suppliers, tax and social liabilities.
- Total and check strict equality with the assets of form 2050 before filing.
The form, line by line
- Equity
- Capital, premiums, reserves, retained earnings and the year's result — the result line is THE audited cross-check with form 2053.
- Provisions
- Provisions for risks and charges substantiated at closing, consistent with the income statement charges.
- Debts
- Broken down by nature and maturity — loans cross-check with the bank schedule.
- Its official title: "Bilan-passif" (CERFA no. 10938)
- This table is one of the EIGHT ACCOUNTING TABLES attached to the profit return: the official guidance requires them to be completed "in accordance with accounting rules". They are distinct from the tax tables that follow (2058-A onwards), which carry out the adjustments. Completing an accounting table with figures already adjusted for tax is the basic mistake of the liasse.
Good to know
- The result entered on the 2051 must appear IDENTICALLY on the 2053: the most audited cross-check of the package.
- Retained earnings inconsistent with the allocation voted at the general meeting trigger queries.
Common mistakes
- A result on the liabilities side different from form 2053's — the most audited inconsistency.
- Forgetting the allocation of the previous year's result in retained earnings.
- Classifying supplier debts as loans, distorting the debt analysis.
- A liabilities total different from the assets of form 2050.
Frequently asked questions
Why must the 2051's result equal the 2053's?
The 2053 computes the year's result, the 2051 records it in equity: the same figure seen from two forms. Any gap flags an inconsistent package.
Where does a shareholder current account go?
Under debts, on its own line — never in equity, even if the shareholder demands no immediate repayment.
Is the 2051 filed on its own?
No. It belongs to the standard-regime tax package, filed with the income return.
The shareholders' meeting has not yet approved the accounts by the filing date: what should I do?
File a provisional return within the deadline, provided you can show it was impossible to hold the meeting before that date. It must state the results that will be put to the meeting and come with the accounting schedules. If the meeting changes the accounts, corrective documents are attached to the final return: only that final return, with the results approved by the meeting, is binding on the company.
Go further
Compute the related amounts
Understand this form: the related course
Related forms
- French Cerfa 2050 — balance sheet assets
- French form 2053 — income statement of the tax package (continued)
- Form 2054 — fixed assets of the French tax package
- Form 2054-bis — revaluation differences on depreciable assets
- Form 2056 — provisions on the balance sheet
- Form 2057 — maturities of receivables and payables
- Form 2058-C — appropriation of profit and miscellaneous information
- Form 2059-D — special reserve for long-term capital gains
- Form 2059-F — composition of share capital
Official sources
- impots.gouv.fr — Form 2050-LIASSE: standard-regime tax package (forms 2050 to 2059, 2026 edition) — August 27, 2026
- BOFiP — BOI-BIC-DECLA-30-10-10-20: form and content of the profit return under the normal regime (the eight accounting tables, their official titles and CERFA numbers) — September 13, 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.