Many taxpayers make the same mistakes every year on their tax return. If until now they have not been bothered by the tax authorities, this year, they risk a tax audit.
Tell me what you’re saying, I’ll tell you who’s controlling you. Every year thousands of households are subject to a tax audit. Main reason: their tax return is distorted or contains inconsistencies. However, in many cases the errors are unintentional, but the tax authorities do not always show leniency, particularly if the error modifies the calculation of the income tax owed by the taxpayer.
Clearly, an omission or understatement of income, whether intentional or not, can be costly. As well as an oversight or a simple careless error. We must therefore be particularly vigilant, particularly at a time when millions of French taxpayers are being asked to complete their tax returns.
Indeed, the tax authorities are particularly vigilant regarding taxpayers whom they suspect of omitting or underestimating certain income in their declaration. If breaches are identified, the increase incurred can reach 40% of the tax owed by the taxpayer. As a result, the guilty people will pay almost one and a half times their initial tax. Even if the right to make an error exists for taxpayers in good faith, the tax authorities are not kind to those whose errors significantly impact the calculation of the tax.
Among the most frequent errors, we find forgetting to declare rents from the rental of real estate. This income is subject to tax and must be mentioned when declaring income. Another common error concerns the failure to declare income received via furnished rental platforms such as Airbnb, Booking or Abritel. The latter are required to transmit to the tax administration the number of nights spent and the amount received, the tax authorities can therefore easily identify taxpayers not respecting the rules.
The accumulation of alimony and a dependent child also constitutes a flagrant inconsistency. If the reunification of a child with his or her household allows for a tax advantage, it is not possible to additionally deduct the alimony paid to this same child.
Another common error also concerns the flat-rate deduction on dividends. Subject to a single flat-rate withholding of 30%, dividends are subject to a specific declaration in box 2CK, where only the amount of income tax (12.8%) must be entered, and not the entirety. 30%. An error on this point results in an anomaly that is easily detectable by the tax authorities. Finally, it is important to be vigilant regarding the tax credits declared. Expenditures qualifying for reimbursement are particularly scrutinized by the tax administration. Declaring disproportionate amounts exposes the taxpayer to immediate scrutiny.
